How important is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Construction?

This is one of the questions posed in our intermediate level Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study, Implementing the use of homegrown mass timber for residential housing, which addresses the ethical issues of sustainability, respect for the environment, future generations, societal impact and CSR, with the educational aim of practising ethical analysis.

This case study involves an early-career consultant engineer working in the area of sustainable construction. She must negotiate between the values that she, her employer, and her client hold in order to balance sustainability goals and profit.

We’ve provided this, and other case studies and case enhancements for you to use and adapt in your teaching. If you’re new to ethics, we have a growing library of guidance articles available to support you, and an interactive Ethics Explorer to get you started.

If you would like to give feedback on this or any other Engineering Ethics resource, or submit your own content, you can do so here. We also have a newly created community of practice that you can join, where we hope that educators will support each other, and share their success stories of teaching engineering ethics. You can join our Ethics Ambassadors community here.

What are the environmental effects of textile production? Does an engineer have a responsibility to do anything about potential groundwater pollution from a project they are working on?

These are some of the questions posed in our Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study Industrial pollution from an ageing pipeline and its impact on local communities.

This case requires an engineer to balance multiple competing factors including economic pressure, environmental sustainability, and human health. It introduces the perspective of corporate social responsibility as a lens through which to view the dilemma. The engineer must also make decisions that will affect their professional success.

Now, as well as the activities within the original case study, we have provided an expansion on one of the activities in the form of a Case enhancement, with which an educator can facilitate a class discussion about relevant issues.

We’ve provided this, and other case studies and case enhancements for you to use and adapt in your teaching. If you’re new to ethics, we have a growing library of guidance articles available to support you, and an interactive Ethics Explorer to get you started.

If you would like to give feedback on this or any other Engineering Ethics resource, or submit your own content, you can do so here. We also have a newly created community of practice that you can join, where we hope that educators will support each other, and share their success stories of teaching engineering ethics. You can join our Ethics Ambassadors community here.

For both the Engineering Ethics and Sustainability toolkits, the strategy for promotion and dissemination will focus on 3 priorities:

a.     Build awareness of the toolkit by highlighting the need/problem and the resource/solution;  

b.     Build understanding and engagement by helping educators to know and use the toolkit; 

c.     Motivate action by getting others to advocate for and champion the toolkits, and to submit further resources. 

We can break this down into the following outputs and activities for the Engineering Ethics Toolkit:

Who/What/When

Output or activity

Notes 
  • Privately commissioned
  • Impact study.

 
  • This study will inform the further enhancement of the Ethics Toolkit, determining where attention should be prioritised, and will influence the ongoing development of the Sustainability Toolkit.
  • Run a dedicated workshop session (~half day).
  • This workshop will be developed/delivered in partnership with other Toolkit contributors.
  • Funding would be required to support travel. 
  • SEFI Ethics SIG (Special Interest Group)
  • Collaborate on a webinar workshop series which would feature an Ethics Toolkit resource per session, encouraging attendees to become familiar with, use, and then report back on integrating the resource.
  • EPC would work in collaboration with Ambassador event lead/co-chairs and Toolkit contributors to develop/deliver these.
  • Present a paper on the impact of the Ethics Toolkit (via data/testimonials). 
  • Funding would be required to support travel. 
  • Our proposal was accepted after a very competitive submission process and ASEE is the world’s largest conference of engineering educators with a very strong Ethics subcommittee.
  • Advance HE
  • PEIs
  • Sponsorship
  • Continuing professional development. 
  • Feedback from users of the Ethics toolkit suggests a demand for an ongoing programme of professional development opportunities for both toolkits, potentially with sponsorship, or in partnership with leading organisations in the CPD field for the HE sector. This is unlikely to be fully realised in a year, but a trial programme would be developed and piloted.
  • Educators and other stakeholders need to understand where and how changes can be made in the curriculum to embed ethics and sustainability, so that they can fully engage with the toolkit resources and delivering system change.
  • PEIs accreditation committees
  • Integration with accreditation.
  • Reach out to the accreditation committees of the PEIs in order to establish what they need to help them better understand our resources and how they relate to the accreditation process of HEI courses.   
  • The toolkits need to address the needs of accreditors as well as educators.
  • Through the accreditation committees of the PEIs a framework will be established to help them better understand the toolkit resources and how they relate to the accreditation process of HEI courses.
  • This could even involve developing training modules or short courses for accrediting personnel. 
  • Ethics Ambassadors
  • Toolkit contributors
  • Develop, produce and publish further Toolkit content.
  • Continued support for systems of expanding the toolkits, including commissioning, creating and compiling resources, a network of reviewers, and a fast-track process from review to publication of content.

New content to be informed by:

  • RAEng’s Ethics report (see below).
  • Requests from academics.
  • Pitches from contributors.
  • Ethics Ambassadors
  • Expand, strengthen and publicise the community.
  • Continued support and guidance for the Ethics Ambassadors community and extension into a Sustainability Ambassadors community to ensure the toolkits become an ongoing, regular component of engineering teaching and highlighting excellence in integrating ethics and sustainability.
  • EPC leads
  • Ethics Ambassadors leads
  • Toolkit contributors
  • Run a rewards and awards scheme for Toolkit contributors.
  • E-badges for contributors, that can be used on their email, website and other communications.
  • Awards for highest quality content and most popular content.
  • Award to help an educator/institution embed ethics in a module or course.
  • Media
  • HEIs
  • PEIs
  • Other media and institutions
  • Continue to promote and disseminate the Toolkit. 
  •  Expand into unexplored areas such as engineering podcasts/social media/student unions etc.
  • HEIs and engineering staff
  • PEIs
  • Other interested parties
  • Workshops (in person).
  • A roadshow (taking workshops to various HEIs or other locations).
  • This will either be run by the EPC and Ethics Ambassadors, or via a CPD provider.
  • EPC
  • Ethics Ambassadors
  • HEIs
  • PEIs
  • Other interested parties
  • A self-study module.
  • Whereas the Ethics Explorer provides various routes to learning, this will be a number of linear modules, available online.
  • This will either be devised and run by the EPC and Ethics Ambassadors, or via a CPD provider.
  • External provider

 

 

 
  • Build a portal.
  • To maximise impact and effect change globally, the toolkit materials should not be confined to the EPC website. While this may be the ideal place for this content to reach UK engineering academics, a wider audience in other stages of education and internationally can be reached by developing a bespoke portal allowing the toolkits to reside and be updated on the EPC website, through an API on other sites (including RAEng’s own), and on a dedicated URL such as “engineeringsustainability” which would rank more highly on internet searches.
  • This is unlikely to be realised within a year, but funding is needed until the next phase of Siemens support is likely to be available in Q3 of 2024.
  • Siemens may also be able to provide technical support in kind.

The Royal Academy of Engineering’s 2023 Ethics in the Engineering Profession report key findings and recommendations mapped to the Engineering Ethics Toolkit outputs and future activities
Key findings or recommendations Output or activity Notes 
  • Key Finding 1: “…one-third of engineers and technicians report that the work they undertake makes them feel ethically compromised.“ 
  • Key Finding 2: “There is evidence many engineers and technicians feel dissuaded from raising concerns in the workplace. …More than one-third of engineers and technicians report that the culture in their organisations discourages raising bad news…”
  • Recommendation 3: “Clearer guidance on how to raise concerns…[is] needed.”

 
  • Guidance article: How workplace culture affects ethics and the practice of acting ethically.  
  • How to raise ethical concerns in the workplace. 

Explicit guidance on: 

  • Good practice in raising or addressing concerns; 
  • Whistleblowing: your duties and your rights; 
  • The human challenge of raising concerns: the Bystander effect/diffusion of responsibility/lack of experience or confidence/fear of reprisal. 
  • Whilst some of our current case studies allude to this, it would be useful to have stronger and more explicit guidance.  
  • Guidance for educators, handouts for learners, on good practice for raising concerns if they feel ethically compromised.
  • Assemble a page of external resources on whistleblowing, starting with engc.org.uk/whistleblowing to create a short guide. 
  • Key Finding 4: “There is a greater gap between the relevance and preparedness scores engineering firms ascribe to risks in their supply chain. The growing importance of human rights was recognised by many companies in interviews but did not appear in the top 10 ethical risk areas in terms of relevance.”  
  • Guidance on addressing issues that are seen as less important. 
  • A case study on supply chain that overlaps with the Sustainability Toolkit. 
  •  A classroom activity examining which ethical issues are seen as more or less important and why. (Similar to the activity used at our SEFI workshop.) 
  • Key Finding 5: “Professional engineering institutions are beginning to explore ethical issues, but often in a piecemeal and unsystematic way.” 
  • Key Finding 6: “…the professional institutions are not an effective channel for communications on ethics to engineers and engineering technicians, or the broader UK engineering community. Only a minority of PEI members and registrants engage with their professional institutions in a meaningful way after registration. There are also an estimated three million individuals working in engineering roles in the UK who have no affiliation with any professional engineering body.”
  • Recommendation 4: “Create and support links between PEIs and employers”  
  • Engagement with PEIs. 
  • Resource pack aimed at PEIs. 
  • Training for the accreditors that answer to the PEIs who go out to evaluate HE programmes. 
  • Resource pack aimed at employers. 
  • Explore CPD and sponsorship/partnership opportunities. 
  • Key Finding 6: “Sizeable numbers also report that they are asked to take unacceptable shortcuts (35%) and accept situations they would characterise as professional or ethical misconduct (40%).”  
  • Diversity, equity & inclusion: “A number of interviewees commented on matters of neurodiversity and colleagues on the autistic spectrum.”  
  • Assemble a page of external resources relating to a breach of a code of ethics/conduct. 
  • Ask educators what resources they use, and what have they already created, and link to it (or encourage them to submit to toolkit if their own resources are appropriate and open source). 
  • Tie in with neurodiversity work.
  • PEIs’ views on ethics in the profession: Key findings: “Modern slavery & human rights were not on the radar of most PEIs, with a particularly low perceived importance rating for members and employers.“
  • Specific guidance on teaching/discussing modern slavery and human rights within engineering.  
  • Assuming that educators might not have a deep enough understanding of the issues that our case studies address, produce a bullet point guide, with relevant internal and external links.  
  • Recommendation 1: “training and engagement to build awareness of and alignment with the Statement of Ethical Principles… throughout the engineering sector as a whole.“  
  • Guidance article. Deconstruct and examine the SoEP; suggest discussions and activities for teaching it; link to case studies that specifically reference it (Engineers and Public Protest, and others).  

 
  • Recommendation 1: “Partner with firms to promote the principles amongst their engineering workforce in order to reach those who are not professionally registered. Consider developing training modules that can be delivered within firms or other membership organisations covering the principles of ethics for an engineer.”
  • Recommendation 2: “Promote and develop ethics-related continuing professional development (CPD).” 
  • Engagement with PEIs. 
  • Resource pack aimed at PEIs. 
  • Resource pack aimed at employers including guidance on how they might use our resources to train staff. 
  • Resource pack aimed at individual engineers (those not professionally registered) including guidance on ‘how this is relevant to you/how you can use this resource’. 
  • Explore CPD and sponsorship/partnership opportunities.  
  • Recommendation 7: “Ensure all ethics programmes consider how to support SME engineering firms.”
  • Case studies dealing with SMEs falling behind in ethics/compromising values? 
Who should be responsible for the messaging and processes for public health decisions? How are engineers connected to this system? How did power, privilege, and politics influence the response to the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in the United Kingdom versus other countries?

These are some of the questions posed in our Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study Financially and politically motivated misinformation about STEM research,

The case involves an engineering student whose personal choices may affect her future professional experience. It highlights both micro- and macro-ethical issues, dealing with the ways that individual actions and decisions can scale to create systemic challenges, and offers several approaches to engaging students in the critique and improvement of their critical digital literacy skills.

We’ve provided this, and other case studies and case enhancements for you to use and adapt in your teaching. If you’re new to ethics, we have a growing library of guidance articles available to support you, and an interactive Ethics Explorer to get you started.

If you would like to give feedback on this or any other Engineering Ethics resource, or submit your own content, you can do so here. We also have a newly created community of practice that you can join, where we hope that educators will support each other, and share their success stories of teaching engineering ethics. You can join our Ethics Ambassadors community here.

Do engineers have a responsibility to warn the public if there is a chance of risk?

This is one of the questions posed in our beginner level Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study, Glass safety in a heritage building conversion, which addresses the ethical issues of safety, communication, whistleblowing and power, with the aim of developing ethical awareness in learners.

This case concerns a construction engineer navigating multiple demands. The engineer must evaluate trade-offs between technical specifications, historical preservation, financial limitations, social needs, and safety. Some of these issues have obvious ethical dimensions, while others are ethically more ambiguous. In addition, the engineer must navigate a professional scenario in which different stakeholders try to influence the resolution of the dilemma.

Now, as well as the activities within the original case study, we have provided an expansion on one of the activities in the form of a Case enhancement, which asks learners to dig deeper into the ethical issues in the case through a debate.

We’ve provided this, and other case studies and case enhancements for you to use and adapt in your teaching. If you’re new to ethics, we have a growing library of guidance articles available to support you, and an interactive Ethics Explorer to get you started.

If you would like to give feedback on this or any other Engineering Ethics resource, or submit your own content, you can do so here. We also have a newly created community of practice that you can join, where we hope that educators will support each other, and share their success stories of teaching engineering ethics. You can join our Ethics Ambassadors community here.

What is circularity, and how does it relate to climate goals or environmental practice?

This is one of the questions posed in our Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study Recycled materials and the circular economy.

This case involves an engineer responsible for verifying the source of recycled construction material to ensure it is not contaminated. It address the ethical issues of risk and respect for the environment, and examines situations that professional engineers need to consider, such as conflicts of interest, public health and safety, legal implications, whistleblowing, and corporate social responsibility.

We’ve provided this and other case studies – which include classroom activities and additional resources – for you to use and adapt in your teaching. We also have a growing library of guidance articles available to support you, and an interactive Ethics Explorer to get you started.

If you would like to give feedback on this or any other Engineering Ethics resource, or submit your own content, you can do so here. We also have a newly created community of practice that you can join, where we hope that educators will support each other, and share their success stories of teaching engineering ethics. You can join our Ethics Ambassadors community here.

Our original Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study, Facial recognition for access and monitoring, addresses the ethical issues of diversity, bias and privacy, and examines situations that professional engineers need to consider, such as informed consent, misuse of data, and conflicts with leadership.

This case involves an engineer hired to manage the development and installation of a facial recognition project at a building used by university students, businesses and the public. It incorporates a variety of components including law and policy, stakeholder and risk analysis, and both macro- and micro-ethical elements. This example is UK-based: however, the instructor can adapt the content to better fit the laws and regulations surrounding facial recognition technology in other countries, if this would be beneficial.

Now, as well as the activities within the original case study, we have provided an expansion on one of the activities in the form of a Case enhancement: Prompts to facilitate discussion activities.

We’ve provided this, and other case studies and case enhancements for you to use and adapt in your teaching. If you’re new to ethics, we have a growing library of guidance articles available to support you, and an interactive Ethics Explorer to get you started.

If you would like to give feedback on this or any other Engineering Ethics resource, or submit your own content, you can do so here. We also have a newly created community of practice that you can join, where we hope that educators will support each other, and share their success stories of teaching engineering ethics. You can join our Ethics Ambassadors community here.

The EPC’s Engineering Ethics Toolkit is produced in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering.

We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to making the Toolkit such a useful and vital resource.
If you would like to add or update your bio, please contact Wendy Attwell.

Contributor biographies


Engineering Professors’ Council (Research and Editorial Executive)

Wendy Attwell works on the development of the EPC’s Royal Academy of Engineering funded Engineering Ethics Toolkit, to which she has also independently contributed a case study.  


University of Bath

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.


Ultra Group

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.


Kings College London, Royal Academy of Engineering, Aston University

Dawn Bonfield is a Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence at King’s College London embedding entrepreneurship skills into undergraduate engineering qualifications, and empowering students to use their engineering skills to address the SDGs through teaching, project work, and competitions.

She is also Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor at Aston University teaching professional skills, ethics, sustainability, global responsibility, inclusive outcomes, and ESG to MSc and Degree apprenticeship students.

She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and sits on the Education and Skills Committee, as well as the Africa Engineers Steering Group, and is UK representative of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations, and incoming President of the Commonwealth Engineers’ Council.

She is also a Fellow of IOM3 where she sits on the Sustainable Development Group.

Professor Mike Bramhall
TEDI-London

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassador.

 

Dr. Jude Bramton
University of Bristol

Dr. Jude Bramton is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Electrical, Electronic & Mechanical Engineering, and Programme Director of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bristol.

She holds a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Oxford, and worked as a qualified Engineering Project Manager in industry before coming back to teaching in academia.

She currently teaches design and manufacturing, and engineering management to primarily undergraduate students and is an accredited Fellow (FHEA) of the UK Higher Education Academy.

She is also a Toolkit Content Co-ordinator within the EPC’s Ethics Ambassadors community.

Emma Crichton 
Engineers Without Borders UK

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.

Andrei Dragomir
National University of Singapore, University of Houston 

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.

Claire Donovan
Royal Academy of Engineering 

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.

Kathryn Fee
Queen’s University Belfast

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.

Nina Fowler
Uppsala University

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.

Patric Granholm
Ă…land University of Applied Sciences

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.

Martin Griffin
Knight Piésold Consulting

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Isobel Grimley

Engineering Professors’ Council

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor. 

Alison Gwynne-Evans
University of Cape Town

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor. 

Dr. Sarah Jayne Hitt SFHEA
Engineering Professors’ Council, NMITE, ENU (Project Manager for the Engineering Ethics Toolkit)

Sarah Jayne Hitt, Ph.D. SFHEA specialises in the integration of the arts, humanities and social sciences within engineering education, especially focussing on ethics and communication.

She has served as project manager for the EPC’s Ethics and Sustainability Toolkit initiatives, is Transferable Skills Lead for the Centre for Advanced Timber Technology at NMITE and is Visiting Professor in the School of Computing, Engineering, and the Built Environment at Edinburgh Napier University.

She has led national and international workshops on interdisciplinary learning and teaching and worked with academic and industry partners on various engineering education initiatives. She has recent publications in the International Journal of Engineering Education and The Journal of Problem-Based Learning in Higher Education.

Cortney Holles
Colorado School of Mines  

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Dr. Irene Josa
University College London

Dr. Irene Josa is a Research Fellow at the Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering Department at UCL. She is currently working on environmental and social life cycle assessment of circularity strategies in construction. Irene holds a BSc and MSc in Civil Engineering, a MSc in Human Rights and a PhD in Construction Engineering.

She is interested in interdisciplinary research at the intersection between engineering and socio-environmental systems. She believes in sustainable engineering as key for making this world a better place by improving people’s quality of life and solving several of today’s most important global challenges. She is also an EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Dr. Sarah Junaid
Aston University  

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassador. 

Steven Kerry
Rolls-Royce

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor. 

Konstantinos Konstantis
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens  

Konstantinos Konstantis is a PhD Candidate at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. The title of his dissertation is “Contextualizing the Emergence of Engineering Ethics”. He has a Master’s degree in STS and he has also graduated from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens.

He is a Visiting Student (January 2024 – April 2024) at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge and he was the 2022 Elizabeth & Emerson Pugh Young Scholar in Residence at the IEEE History Center. He is also an EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Dr. Gill Lacey
Teeside University  

Dr Gill Lacey is a Senior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, MIEEE (2012), MIET (2017). Her focus is low carbon technologies, especially Smart Grid and the effect of EV charging on networks. She runs courses around decarbonising the electricity grid and renewable energy, together with entry level 3 courses designed to equip students with the relevant skills for undergraduate engineering. Partnerships with industry, such as offshore wind installers, community energy charities and local entrepreneurs, make the courses relevant, interesting and aspirational.

She is passionate about sustainable technologies; with rooftop solar, domestic storage, and a driver of electric vehicles for ten years, this is more than a job, it is a way of life. She is also an EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Professor Thomas Lennerfors 
Uppsala University

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor. 

Diana Martin
UCL

Diana Adela Martin is a Senior Research Fellow in engineering education based at the Centre for Engineering Education, University College London. She is also the co-chair of the SEFI Ethics SIG, a Europe board representative in REEN-Research in Engineering Network, and associate editor of The European Journal of Engineering Education and Science and Engineering Ethics. Diana’s research focuses on pedagogical and theoretical aspects related to engineering ethics, societal responsibility and sustainability. She is also an EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Dr. Darian Meacham
Maastricht University

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.

Dr. Sandhya Moise
University of Bath

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.

Onyekachi Nwafor
KatexPower

Onyekachi Nwafor is a seasoned professional in the field of renewable energy and energy transition, with a strong passion for sustainability and driving the transition towards a low-carbon economy. He is currently the CEO of KatexPower. His expertise includes designing and implementing solar PV systems to provide clean and sustainable energy services to off-grid and underserved communities.

Onyekachi is also the membership manager for Western Africa at the Global Waste Cleaning Network, advocating for environmental protection and waste management. With a background in electrical engineering, green energy, and climate finance, he is also a certified energy transformation expert. He has actively participated in various international conferences and workshops, where he shares his knowledge and experiences with industry experts and institutions. He is also an EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Professor Raffaella Ocone OBE FREng FRSE
Heriot-Watt University

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Professor Chike Oduoza
University of Wolverhampton

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Dr. Ahmet Omurtag
Nottingham Trent University

Dr Ahmet Omurtag is a researcher based in the Engineering department at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom. He has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University and post-doctoral training in computational neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He was director of research and engineering working on device development at Bio-Signal Group. Ahmet’s current research focusses on using electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to understand the brain bases of cognitive load and motor expertise.  

Goudarz Poursharif CEng SFHEA
Aston University

Dr Goudarz Poursharif is the Associate Dean-Education for the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) at Aston University. He is a Chartered Engineer member of the IET, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a Practitioner of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.

He is the Chair of Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment’s Birmingham Steering Group and the Chair of Sustainable Development in Teaching working group at Aston University. His two main passions are education and engineering for a sustainable development, so since 2012, Goudarz has combined his two main passions by embedding Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the Engineering curricula of both University of Sheffield and Aston University as well as working directly with industry to upskill their sustainability skills.

He has funded the Engineering for People Design Challenge at Aston University and co-led the development and implementation of MSc Sustainable Engineering Aston University. He is also an EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Alasdair Reid
Edinburgh Napier University

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.

Johnny Rich
Engineering Professors’ Council (Chief Executive)

As well as his role with the EPC, Johnny Rich is well known across the higher education sector as a high-profile commentator on policy issues as well as the chief executive of student advice and outreach organisation Push, as a consultant working in education and careers, and as an author.

Before joining the EPC, Johnny has already worked on many issues of concern to our members. Over the past 25 years, he led Push’s research – such as on drop-out rates and student debt – which has had direct impacts on policy.

Johnny’s thought leadership, such as his papers for a graduate levy and a national access fund (2018) and on employability (2015) for the Higher Education Policy Institute, have been influential throughout the sector. Policy issues are also a significant part of his consultancy work, along with communications. His clients have included the European Commission, HEFCE, U-Multirank, as well as many universities, recruiters and charities.

He’s a regular speaker at conferences, awards and in schools. In 2013, his novel A Human Script was published.

Elizabeth Robertson
University of Strathclyde

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Neil Rogers
Independent Scholar

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Professor Manuela Rosa
Algarve University

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Dr. J.L. Rowlandson
University of Bristol

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Karin Rudolph
Collective Intelligence

Karin Rudolph is the Founder of Collective Intelligence, a Bristol-based consultancy that provides resources and training to help startups, and SMEs embed ethics into the design and development of technology.

She is currently preparing the launch of the Ethical Technology Network, a pioneering initiative to help businesses identify, assess, and mitigate the potential ethical and societal risks of  AI and other emerging technologies. She is also an EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Ekaterina Rzyankina
University of Cape Town

Ekaterina Rzyankina is a Lecturer at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, South Africa. With her unique dual expertise in both engineering and education, she has played a pivotal role in enhancing engineering education and the overall teaching and learning landscape in higher education. Her research is focused on STEM education through the lens of Cultural Historical Activity Theory, alongside exploring the impact of digital technologies in Higher Education. She is also an EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Paola Seminara
Edinburgh Napier University

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.

Yann Serreau
CESI

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.

Matthew Studley
UWE Bristol

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Professor Mike Sutcliffe
TEDI-London

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassador.

 

Dr. Fiona Truscott
UCL

 

Fiona Truscott has a BA/MSc in Natural Science (Chemistry) from the University of Cambridge and a DPhil in Organic Chemistry from the University of Oxford. Following her PhD, she conducted postdoctoral research on the interface of Biology and Chemistry at the ICSN, part of the CNRS Delegation Ile-de-France Sud. She then moved to conduct postdoctoral research in the Department of Biochemical Engineering, UCL, working on the application of automation technology to Biochemical Engineering.

Currently she is an Associate Professor (Teaching) with the Integrated Engineering Programme and Centre for Engineering Education in the Faculty of Engineering at UCL. She is the Engineering Challenges Module Lead, a cross faculty, large scale team project module for first year undergraduates. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and co-chair of the SEFI DEI Special Interest Group. Her current research interests are interdisciplinary teaching, teamwork and the embedding of social factors in Engineering Education. She is also Co-Chair of the EPC’s Ethics Ambassadors community.

Jonathan Truslove
Engineers Without Borders UK

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor.

Dr. Nicola Whitehead
University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Dr. Natalie Wint
UCL

Dr. Natalie Wint is a Lecturer within the Centre for Engineering Education (CEE), UCL, having previously worked across engineering disciplines and as Head of the Engineering Foundation Year at Swansea University. She is particularly interested in integrating and embedding professional skills into engineering and takes an interdisplcinary approach.  She has co-authored chapters in the use of ethical theories within engineering education and ethical design. She is also Secretary of the EPC’s Ethics Ambassadors community.

Associate Professor Scarlett Xiao, PFHEA
University of Hertfordshire 

Scarlett is an associate professor in learning and teaching at the University of Hertfordshire.  She has been recognised as a Principal Fellow of Advance HE through her sustained achievements in strategic leadership in learning and teaching and her proactive support of others to enhance their practice.  Scarlett was awarded several learning and teaching grants nationally funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and the National HE STEM Programme.  With her track record and active contributions to engineering education, Scarlett has been awarded a highly commended Vice-Chancellor’s Award for enhancing the quality of the student experience and the success of our graduates. She is also an EPC Ethics Ambassador.

Dr. Yujia Zhai
University of Hertfordshire

Engineering Ethics Toolkit contributor and EPC Ethics Ambassaor.

 

 

What health and safety, environmental, and legal policies affect offshore wind farms? If they are in the open sea, which country’s laws are applied? Who is responsible for maintaining ecosystem health in the open sea? How are harms identified and mitigated?

These are some of the questions posed in our Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study Balancing safety, costs, and the environment in the inspection of wind turbine blades.

This case study is based on a genuine challenge raised by a multinational energy company that operates an offshore wind farm in the North Sea. It involves three professional engineers responsible for various aspects of the project to negotiate elements of safety, risk, environmental impact, and costs, in order to develop a maintenance plan for the wind turbine blades.

We’ve provided this and other case studies – which include classroom activities and additional resources – for you to use and adapt in your teaching. We also have a growing library of guidance articles available to support you in your teaching, and an interactive Ethics Explorer to get you started.

If you would like to give feedback on this or any other Engineering Ethics resource, or submit your own content, you can do so here. We also have a newly created community of practice that you can join, where we hope that educators will support each other, and share their success stories of teaching engineering ethics. You can join our Ethics Ambassadors community here.

 

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