Development In Students' Perceptions Of Sustainability And Responsibility As Relevant Aspects Of The Role Of Engineers

Engineering and technology-based solutions can address the global challenges associated with sustainable development. In this context, engineers have a substantial responsibility in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Meeting the challenges of all SDGs influences economic, political and social aspects of human life. However, engineering students' understanding of sustainability is often limited to its ecological and economic dimension, not taking into account or even neglecting social issues. Therefore, teaching approaches in engineering education should address the different dimensions of sustainability and the responsibility of technological development concerning society. This paper provides a case study on successfully addressing competencies related to sustainability and responsibility in the context of a mandatory lecture called “Engineering and Society” for undergraduate environmental and civil engineering students. With this work, we aim to discuss how engineering students can become aware of the relevance of social responsibility and sustainability through an introductory mandatory lecture. For this purpose, students' competency development and their knowledge acquisition related to social aspects of sustainable development are analyzed. It is investigated how far the lecture contributes to students' perception of sustainability and responsibility as relevant aspects of the engineering profession. To do so, on a quantitative level the self-assessment of competency development is analyzed, and on a qualitative level we analyzed the students' self-perception of the role of engineers and their statements on learning gains and knowledge gaps after the lecture.