The Globally Minded Engineer
Every pair of socks had holes in them after living out of my backpack for three months.
After graduating my civil engineering program in the spring of 2014, I went on a trip. At a time with no worries, cares or responsibilities, I learned about new cultures and ways of life. This trip was the inspiration for The Engineering Nomad. My travels gave me a new way of looking at engineering and the importance of sustainable development. This trip was the final capstone project of my undergrad. Based on my experiences, I began to write about infrastructure challenges and local solutions.
After returning from this trip I learned of an organization titled Global Dimension in Engineering Education (GDEE). The organization was active from 2013 to 2018, but all of the resources can still be viewed online including course guidelines, course readings, case studies, and videos. GDEE fueled my interests: a blend of engineering and sustainable development. The project is an initiative to teach Engineering students around the world about the relationship between technology and sustainable development.
“The next generations of engineers need to understand the challenges our world faces and critically assess issues such as poverty, inequality and sustainability.” Engineers Without Borders UK.
GDEE provides teaching resources and case studies (free of charge) for educators under a free Creative Commons license. While these resources are aimed at educators, they are available to anyone with the interest and desire to learn more about the Global Dimension in Engineering Education. The majority of information (linked above) is hosted through the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Spain, also referred to as Barcelona Tech.
The purpose of GDEE is to provide a more rounded education for Engineers who are tasked with solving the world’s challenges. As globalization continues, and work can be outsourced to companies all around the world, it is important for Engineers to be aware of local factors that affect the success of a design. The goal of the GDEE project is to fill the gap that students face in the existing engineering curriculum in social studies. Each case study, prepared by Engineers with various backgrounds, is formatted to be an educational tool with a lesson plan, classroom activities, and assignments complete with answer guides.
Every problem that an Engineer is trying to solve relates to people and the struggles they face. This factor is all-too-often skimmed over in the traditional STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) curriculum. Yes, there is a need to be able to design brand new buildings, yes there is a need to design power grids, yes there is a need for bridges, planes, cars, and chemical plants. The big gap in engineering education is the human factor, not the technical factor. Sustainable development is greatly hindered when engineers and designers are not aware of the global dimension to their profession.
Traditional engineering education focuses on the technical aspect of providing a solution to a problem; the human factor is about defining and understanding the problem on a local scale. This is discussed in detail throughout the course materials. In particular, the first volume of materials under the course readings is titled “Making the case for a critical global engineer.”
More than 30 case studies are made available through GDEE. The case studies range in topics including: rural water supply and sanitation, photovoltaics in off-grid systems, and trade and mobility in rural areas. The full set of case studies are available here.
A related initiative to the GDEE is the Engineering Services and Global Development (EScGD) group as a part of Barcelona Tech. Their focus is on research and development in engineering with a focus on helping vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.
Practical Action is another group that provides information for groups focused on poverty reduction. Their vision is to provide knowledge and resources for people that are focused on poverty reduction in the world. Some of their resources are available here. Their resources cover a broad range of topics such as disaster mitigation, economic development, and construction. Practical Action has a portal that allows people to share how these resources have helped improve their situations. Some of these “Stories of Change” can be found here.
“Gravity goods ropeway is a simple means of goods transportation technology for the hilly communities of Nepal where access to road is limited.” This video is developed by Mani Karmachary and narrated by Shradha Giri. Practical Action.
There are so many resources at our fingertips to educate future engineers about the importance of sustainable development. As we face more and more challenges associated with a changing climate, it is crucial that we incorporate the global dimension into engineering education.
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