Roadmapping towards sustainability proficiency in engineering education Academic Article in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited.Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to deliver a roadmap that displays pathways to develop sustainability skills in the engineering curricula. Design/methodology/approach: The selected approach to enrich engineering students with sustainability skills was active learning methodologies. First, a survey was carried out on a sample of 189 students to test the current sustainability literacy and determine the roadmap starting point. Next, a scientometric study regarding active learning methodologies was executed. A total of 2,885 articles and conference proceedings from the period 2013-2016 were retrieved from the Web of Science database. The records were then imported into text mining software to undergo a term clumping process. Annual knowledge clusters based on key terms were outputted. Finally, a roadmap was created by experts based on the annual knowledge clusters. Findings: Four annual pathways were created along the roadmap to develop sustainability skills during the four-year college course in engineering. The first consisted on promoting a recycling campaign through a circular economy. The second aimed at creating educational videos regarding sustainability. The third reinforced reasoning and argumentative skills by preparing a debate on environmental issues. The last path assumed that the student is working in internship programs and prepared him/her to apply environmental management models to solve sustainability issues within the company. Research limitations/implications: Roadmaps should be updated approximately every two years to reflect novelty. The proposed methodology shows an easy way to create them. Practical implications: Results from this paper, as well as the proposed methodology, can be applied to any organization forming individuals: from primary school education to employee training programs in organizations. Social implications: The development of sustainability skills has a direct, positive impact on professional decision-making and, ultimately, on the environment. Originality/value: This paper presents a roadmapping process to develop sustainability competences throughout engineering college education.

publication date

  • January 1, 2018