‘A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO EMBEDDING
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INTO
ENGINEERING EDUCATION TO SUPPORT THE
WATER INDUSTRY
Karlson ‘Charlie’ Hargroves
Executive Director of ‘The Natural Edge Project’
Co-editor of ‘The Natural Advantage of Nations’
charlie@naturaledgeproject.net
Population, sustainability, climate
change and water
Cheryl Desha – TNEP Education Director/Griffith
University Associate Lecturer
Shanghai has built more
skyscrapers in the last 10 years
then there are in the whole of
New York! (Urban Eco-System)
Product Development Curve for the Australian Water Industry
Source: The Barton Group Australian Water Industry Roadmap
Credit: Rob Ward and Chris Train (UK Environment Agency)
Credit: Jocke Berglund, Fotoflyget, Skandinavien
If you are thinking 1 year ahead,
sow a seed.
If you are thinking 10 years ahead,
plant a tree.
If you are thinking 100 years ahead,
educate the people.
Chinese Tao patriarch Kuan Tzu, 500 BC
‘The urgent challenge for higher education now
is to include ecological literacy as a core
competency for all graduates, whether they are
in law, engineering or business’
Griffith University’s Vice Chancellor Ian O’Connor
2006 Earth Dialogues Conference
Indeed there is a scarcity of documentation by
higher education institutions anywhere in the
world as to how sustainability will be
systematically embedded into curriculum across
the universities’ offerings
Example: Leadership in Australia
Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standards
•
•
•
•
•
PE2.2 Understanding of social, cultural, global, and environmental
responsibilities and the need to employ principles of sustainable
development
professional engineers are required to take
Appreciation of the interactions between technical systems and the
responsibility
for engineering
projects
and
social,
cultural, environmental,
economic and political
context
in which
theyprograms
operate, and the
relationships
between
these factors
in the
most far
reaching
sense…
Appreciation
of the
imperatives of safety
and
of sustainability, and
including
understanding
the
requirements
of
approaches to developing and maintaining safe and sustainable
clients and of society as a whole; working to
systems
optimise
social,
environmental
and
Ability
to interact
with people
in other disciplines
and economic
professions to
broaden
knowledge,
achieve
outcomes,
and ensure
outcomes
over
themultidisciplinary
lifetime of the
product
or
that the engineering contribution
is properly integrated into the total
program’
project
Appreciation of the nature of risk, both of a technical kind and in
relation to clients, users, the community and the environment
Example: Leadership in Australia
Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standards
PE2.3 Ability to utilise a systems approach to complex problems and
to design and operational performance
- Ability to engage with ill-defined situations and problems involving
uncertainty, imprecise information, and wide-ranging and conflicting
technical and non-technical factors
- Understanding of the need to plan and quantify performance over the
life-cycle of a project or program, integrating technical performance with
social, environmental and economic outcomes
- Ability to utilise a systems-engineering or equivalent disciplined, holistic
approach to incorporate all considerations
- Ability to conceptualise and define possible alternative engineering
approaches and evaluate their advantages and disadvantages in terms
of functionality, cost, sustainability and all other factors.
The Time-Lag Dilemma
Key Predictions in Problem Escalation:
- Drought and Water Shortage
- Depletion of Ground water
- Sea Level Rise over Time
- Temperature Rise over Time
2007
+5
+10
+15
+20
+25
Transition Scenarios for ‘Education for Sustainable Development’ - Minimum Graduation Timeframes
1. Lock-Step Model: Planned, Strategic Roll-Out Approach
Graduation Windows for:
Undergraduate (U/G)
Postgraduate (P/G)
2. Business as Usual Model: Ad Hoc Approach
3. Laggards Model: Delayed Transition Approach
Proposed Rapid Curriculum Renewal Elements
•
Awareness Raising Activities
•
Scoping Workshops with Key Staff
•
Sustainability Desktop Audit
•
Curriculum – Existing Course Renewal
(Integrated Approach)
•
Curriculum - New Course Development/
Replacement (Flagship Approach)
•
Outreach and Bridging
(Recruitment/Professional Development)
•
Integration with Campus Operations
Sustainability Desktop Audit:
Collaborative, Non-Confrontational, Pro-Active Approach to
Curriculum Renewal, Addressing Accreditation Requirements
• An initial meeting with the audit team and senior management.
• An introductory session with Course Convenors to clarify the
purpose and method of the audit.
• Semi-formal interviews with Course Convenors, to assess and
classify all courses in the program of focus (using a Category Rating
of 1-5).
• A collaborative mapping process with the Course Convenors, to
identify opportunities and constraints for each course.
• A scoping of resource and timing requirements for existing course
renewal and new course development/ replacement.
• The production of an audit report which contains a map of the
current curriculum and recommendations and suggested content for
curriculum renewal in each course.
Table: Sample Assessment Summary – First Year Engineering
Unit
(Subject)
Unit Name
ENG1XXX
Momentum, Mass & Heat
Transfer
ENG1XXX
Engineering Structures
ENG1XXX
Electrical Systems
ENG1XXX
Engineering Dynamics
ENG1XXX
Engineering Materials
ENG1XXX
Computing for Engineers
Fundamental
Principles/
Base Theory
Knowledge
Application/
Practice
√
√
~
clearly explained
Appears suitable
Room for improvement
√
√
~
clearly explained
Appears suitable
Room for improvement
√
√
√
clearly explained
Appears suitable
Appears suitable
√
√
~
clearly explained
Appears suitable
Room for improvement
√
clearly explained
~
Room for
improvement
~
Room for improvement
√
√
~
clearly explained
Appears suitable
Room for improvement
Category
Rating
2
2
1
2
3
2
Shanghai Century
Publishing