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.
Want to contribute your own content to the Ethics Toolkit? Get involved here.
We’re pleased to announce that we have just published some much requested new materials focused on helping you to assess ethics learning within the classroom.
Assessing ethics: Guidance & rubric is designed in a way that encourages students to grapple with the numerous tensions involved in ethical decision making, with a focus on assessment of the decision-making process as opposed to the âanswerâ given, the decision made, or the outcome of the scenario.
We would like to thank Dr. Natalie Wint (UCL) and Dr. William Bennett (Swansea University) for the time and effort they have put into creating these resources.
Dr. Jude Bramton of the University of Bristol discusses her first-hand experience of using the Engineering Ethics Toolkit and what lessons she learnt.
Starting off
Let me set the scene. Itâs a cold January morning after the winter break and I need to prepare some Engineering Ethics content for our third year Mechanical Engineers. The students have never been taught this topic, and I have never taught it.
Iâm apprehensive â many of our students are fantastic engineering scientists/mathematicians and Iâm not sure how they will engage with a subject that is more discussive and, unlike their more technical subjects, a subject with no single correct answer.
Nonetheless, my task is to design a 50-minute session for ca. 180 undergraduate Mechanical Engineers to introduce the concept of Engineering Ethics and start to build this thinking into their engineering mindset. The session will be in a flatbed teaching space, where students will be sitting in groups they have been working in for a number of weeks.
For a bit more context, the content is assessed eventually as part of a group coursework where students assess the ethical implications of a specific design concept they have come up with.
Designing the session with the help of the Toolkit
From doing a little bit of research online, I came across the Engineering Ethics Toolkit from the EPC â and I was so grateful.
I started off by reviewing all 8 case studies available at the time, and reading them in the context of my session. I picked one that I felt was most appropriate for the level and the subject matter and chose the Solar Panels in a Desert Oil Field case study.
I used the case study in a way that worked for me â thatâs the beauty of this resource, you can make it what you want.
I put my session together using the case study as the basis, and including the Engineering Councilâs principles of Engineering Ethics and some hand-picked tools from some of Toolkitâs guidance articles â for example, I used the 7-step guide to ethical decision making.
I used the text directly from the case study to make my slides. I introduced the scenario in parts, as recommended, and took questions/thoughts verbally from the students as we went. The students then had access to all of the scenario text on paper, and had 15-20 minutes to agree three decisions on the ethical dilemmas presented in the scenario. Students then had to post their groupâs answers on PollEverywhere.
The overall session structure looked like this:
How did it go?
When I ran the session, one key component was ensuring I set my expectations for student participation and tolerance at the start of the session. I openly told students that, if they feel comfortable, they will need to be vocal and participative in the session to get the most from it. I literally asked them – âIs that something we think we can do?â – I got nods around the room (so far, so good).
Overall, the session went better than I could have expected. In fact, I think it was the most hands up I have ever had during a class. Not only did we hear from students who hadnât openly contributed to class discussion before, but I had to actively stop taking points to keep to time. It made me wonder whether this topic, being presented as one with no wrong or right answers, enabled more students to feel comfortable contributing to a large class discussion. Students were very tolerant of each othersâ ideas, and we encouraged differences of opinion.
For the small group discussions, I left a slide up with the three ethical dilemmas and the 7-step guide to ethical decision making as a prompt for those that needed it. During the small group discussions, I and supporting teaching staff wandered around the room observing, listening and helping to facilitate discussion, although this was rarely needed as engagement was fantastic. The small group sessions also allowed opportunities for contribution from those students who perhaps felt less comfortable raising points in the wider class discussion.
To my delight, the room was split on many decisions, allowing us to discuss all aspects of the dilemmas when we came to summarise as a larger class. I even observed one group being so split they were playing rock-paper-scissors to make their decision – not quite the ethical decision making tool we might advertise, but representative of the dilemma and engagement of students nonetheless!
Student feedback
I asked our Student Cohort Representative to gather some informal feedback from students who attended the session. Overall, the response was overwhelmingly positive, here are a few snippets:
âIt was the best lecture Iâve had since Iâve been here.â
“The most interesting session, had me engaged.”
âIt was the first time learning about the connections between engineering and ethics and it was really useful.â
“I enjoyed the participation and inclusion with the students during the lesson. It has favoured the growth of personal opinions and a greater clarity of the subject and its points of view. Furthermore, the addition of real-life examples gave more depth to the topic, facilitating listening and learning.”
“The session was very engaging and I liked the use of examples⊠This whole unit has showed me how there are more aspects of engineering to consider apart from just designing something. Engineers must always think of ethics and I believe this session has demonstrated that well.”
And finally, when asked âWhat was your overall impression of the session?â a student replied âInteresting and curious.â â what more could you ask for?
It was such a pleasant surprise to me that not only did students engage in the session, but they actively enjoyed the topic.
Iâve run it once, how would I improve it?
One thing I would do differently next time would be to allow even more time for discussion if at all possible. As discussed, I had to stop and move on, despite the engagement in the room at certain points.
I also reflect how it might have gone if the students werenât as engaged at the start. If you have other teaching staff in the room, you can use them to demonstrate that itâs ok to have differences of opinion. A colleague and I openly disagreed with each other on a topic, and demonstrated that this was ok. Additionally, if larger class engagement doesnât work for you, you could also go straight to the small group discussion.
In summary (and top tips!)
I now feel very comfortable, and excited, to be teaching engineering ethics. It has now also catalysed more content to be created to embed this theme further in our programme – so it doesnât just become that âone offâ lecture. However, I think providing specific time on this subject was very beneficial for the students, it gave them time and space to reflect on such a complex topic.
My takeaways and recommendations from this experience have been:
Donât be worried about the engagement â students will enjoy it and find it interesting.
Set the expectations for participation and tolerance at the beginning, encouraging that there are no right or wrong answers.
Use the Toolkit as you need it for your context â donât be afraid to take only snippets from certain parts and make something your own.
Use PollEV or similar to involve the whole cohort and demonstrate the overall difference of opinion in the room
Give a good amount of time for discussion in small groups as well as in the larger class.
All in all, I would recommend the resources on the Engineering Ethics Toolkit to anyone. They can be easily adapted to your own contexts and there is a plethora of resources and knowledge that are proven to engage students and get them thinking ethically.
You can find out more about getting involved or contributing to the Engineering Ethics Toolkit here.
This blog (originally published in June 2023) is also available here.
Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professorsâ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.
Could the shift of food production from soil to chemical industries concentrate power in the hands of a few? What public perceptions or cultural values might impact the acceptance or uptake of this technology?
These are some of the questions posed in our advanced level Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study, Power-to-food technologies, which addresses the ethical issues of sustainability and social responsibility, and examines situations that professional engineers need to consider, such as public health and safety, reputation, falsifying data, and communication, with the educational aim of practising ethical reasoning.
Want to contribute your own content to the Ethics Toolkit? Get involved here.
“Engineering can have a significant impact on society and the environment, in both positive and negative ways. To fully understand the implications of engineering requires navigating complex, uncertain and challenging ethical issues. It is therefore essential to embed ethics into any project or learning outcome and for engineering professionals and educators to operate in a responsible and ethical manner.”
This article should be read by educators at all levels in higher education who wish to integrate ethics into the engineering and design curriculum, or into module design and learning activities.
We have a growing library of guidance articles available to support you as you expand your understanding of engineering ethics, and begin to embed it within the curriculum, and an interactive Ethics Explorer to help you get started. We also have a library of case studies and enhancements for you to use and adapt in your teaching.
Add: Want to contribute your own content to the Ethics Toolkit? Get involved here.
What personal values will an engineer have to weigh in order to decide which job offer to accept? Which companies are doing the work that an engineer might feel is most ethically impactful? What wider impact does the work of a company have?
These are some of the questions posed in our beginner level Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study, Choosing a career in climate change geoengineering, which addresses the ethical issues of respect for the environment, social responsibility and risk, and examines situations that professional engineers need to consider, such as public health and safety, and communication.
This case study involves a dilemma that most engineering students will have to face at least once in their careers: which job offer to accept. It allows students to consider how personal values affect professional decisions.
Weâve provided this, and other case studies and case enhancements for you to use and adapt in your teaching. If youâre new to ethics, we have a growing library of guidance articles available to support you, and an interactive Ethics Explorer to get you started.
Want to contribute your own content to the Ethics Toolkit? Get involved here.
“The Statement of Ethical Principles published by the Engineering Council and the Royal Academy of Engineering contains the recommendations to which all UK engineers should comply. These principles are based on the premise that engineering professionals work to enhance the wellbeing of society, and in so doing they are required to maintain and promote high ethical standards, as well as to challenge unethical behaviour. The principles are the foundation for making decisions when faced with an ethical dilemma in engineering.”
This article should be read by educators at all levels in higher education who wish to integrate ethics into the engineering and design curriculum, or into module design and learning activities.
We have a growing library of guidance articles available to support you as you expand your understanding of engineering ethics, and begin to embed it within the curriculum, and an interactive Ethics Explorer to get you started. We also have a library of case studies, for you to use and adapt in your teaching.
Want to contribute your own content to the Ethics Toolkit? Get involved here.
You are the software engineer responsible for the integrity of the system in a community of smart homes. During a routine inspection you discover several indicators suggesting a data breach may have occurred via some of the smart appliances, many of which have cameras and are voice-activated. What do you do?
This case involves a software engineer who has discovered a potential data breach in a smart home community. The engineer must decide whether or not to report the breach, and then whether to alert and advise the residents. In doing so, considerations of the relevant legal, ethical, and professional responsibilities need to be weighed. The case also addresses communication in cases of uncertainty as well as macro-ethical concerns related to ubiquitous and interconnected digital technology.
Want to contribute your own content to the Ethics Toolkit? Get involved here.
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?
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.
Want to contribute your own content to the Ethics Toolkit? Get involved here.
Our original Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study, Developing a school chatbot for student support services, addresses the ethical issues of bias, social responsibility, risk and privacy, and examines situations that professional engineers need to consider, such as informed consent, public health and safety, conflicts with leadership, and legal implications.
This case study involves the employees of a small software start-up that is creating a customised student support chatbot for a Sixth Form college. The employees come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives on the motivations behind their work, which leads to some interpersonal conflict. The team must also identify the ethical issues and competing values that arise in the course of developing their algorithm.
Case enhancement author, Karin Rudolph of Collective Intelligence, had this to say about her contribution: “I’m pleased to have contributed the case enhancement for the Engineering Ethics Toolkit. Now it is more important than ever that engineers engage in discussions about the ethical consequences of technology and learn how to apply ethical thinking to real-life products. The toolkit offers free access to an array of helpful resources.”