Webinar: Developing Engineering Ethics scenarios – Nurturing character strengths through role-play and reflection

Sergio Guillén Grillo, B.Eng., M.A., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering and Society at the University of Virginia, where he teaches Engineering Ethics, directs the UVA in Costa Rica study abroad programme on renewable energy governance, and co-directs the Online Ethics Center. Over four decades of professional practice, he has worked across engineering, renewable energy development, environmental governance, conflict resolution, labour dialogue, and migrant human security. His interdisciplinary career has spanned the private, non-profit, academic, and international development sectors, bringing together engineers, policymakers, governments, industry leaders, and communities throughout the Americas to address complex societal challenges through dialogue and collaborative governance. Drawing on more than two decades of experience teaching and facilitating conflict resolution in university and community settings, Professor Guillén is particularly interested in adapting experiential, simulation-based, and scenario-oriented learning approaches to engineering education, where such pedagogies remain relatively uncommon. His teaching and facilitation focus on ethical decision-making, stakeholder engagement, and collaborative problem-solving under conditions of uncertainty and competing values.

Madeline Polmear is a lecturer in engineering education at King’s College London. Her research interests relate to engineering ethics education and the development of societal responsibility through formal and informal learning. Madeline received her PhD in civil engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, USA and completed a postdoc in engineering education research at the University of Florida. Prior to joining KCL, she was a Marie Sklodowska-Curie, EUTOPIA Science & Innovation Cofund Fellow at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium where she led an interdisciplinary research project on macroethical development among civil and architectural engineering students. She is a contributor to The Routledge International Handbook of Engineering Ethics Education 2025 and The Routledge International Handbook of Engineering Education Research 2023. Dr Polmear is the Content Coordinator for the Engineering Ethics Toolkit.

Stella Fowler is the Interim Chief Executive at the Engineering Professors’ Council, having previously been the Policy and Research Director. She has, until August 2026, been responsible for all aspects of policy and research including projects; data analysis; publications; member surveys and consultations; and communications. Stella has worked in HE policy, planning and analysis for over 30 years with experience at UCAS, on the Higher Education Strategic Planners Association (HESPA) Board and in senior university planning and research data management roles.