A Scoping Review: Examples Of Mission-Driven And Mission-Oriented Innovation In Engineering Education Research

Engineers of the future are being requested to become part of solutions for dealing with complexities in the world, exemplified by the adaptation of the 17 United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs). Ensuring that engineering students are introduced to these is of the utmost importance, if sustainable solutions to grand challenges shall be developed, whether being of technological, social and cultural, and/or economic character. This paper entails a scoping review of the concept of mission-driven or mission-oriented innovation, as defined by the European Commission (EC) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in engineering education research (EER). Seven papers were identified as relevant out of 50 papers derived from five databases, which were then reviewed by the two authors, indicating a substantial gap within engineering education research of mission-driven initiatives in education and research. It further reveals significant overlapping understandings, as the papers included often align their focuses with the SDGs without relating them to mission-driven or mission-oriented conceptual understandings. Outcomes of this scoping review propose that the field of EER acknowledges possible affordances, albeit challenges are still present, for engineering students in applying missions as a binding component for framing projects, crossdisciplinary collaboration, and partnerships with companies, authorities, or other stakeholders. Finally, future research directions are suggested in the field of EER with regards to mission-driven or mission-oriented innovation for grasping practical circumstances for staff and students involved in the works of dealing with complexities through missions.