Eng+ | Ethics For Sustainable Development In Engineering Programmes A Praxis Report Of Tu Berlin’s Think Tank Technology Reflection

Many technical universities alike, TU Berlin is in a future-oriented process of programme transformation to invite a holistic perspective on technology which includes critical thinking and ethical reflection. To this end, TU Berlin recently issued a general study guideline calling for an orientation of all programmes toward sustainable development. Accordingly, students should know about the historical, social and cultural contexts of science and technology and learn to reflect on the ethical consequences of their actions. Together with training in good scientific practice, this content should comprise 12 ECTS in each respective BA and MA programme. With only minor integration of this content in the current curricula to date, this transformation presents a significant challenge since courses need to be realigned as well as replaced. To find an answer, TU Berlin’s engineering faculty initiated a think tank in spring 2022, bringing together students, teachers and administration to search for ways of integrating ethics as well as science reflection and technology reflection to foster sustainable development. In our contribution we present a first outcome, namely the integration framework ENG+ for programme design which allows for the incorporation of ethics and strengthening of core values such as diversity, sustainability, and good scientific practice. In the ENG+ framework, we introduce the strategies of advancing and complementing as well as six corresponding measures for integration – emphasising, empowering, embedding, enabling, enriching, and encountering. We explain how they jointly contribute to the overarching ENG+ concept which brings together ethical reflection and sustainable development.