“What are the legal issues relating to machine condition monitoring? What ethical codes relate to data security and privacy? What responsibilities do engineers have in developing these technologies?”

These are some of the questions posed in our Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study Protecting data in an auto parts production facility.

This case study involves an engineer hired to develop and install an Industrial Internet of Things online machine monitoring system for a manufacturing company. It incorporates a variety of ethical components including law and policy, stakeholders, and risk analysis. 

We’ve provided this and other case studies 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.

Want to contribute your own content to the Ethics Toolkit? Get involved here.

You are an electrical engineer working as a technical consultant in an international organisation aiming to transform the global energy system to secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. The organisation is invited by the federal government of Nigeria to implement the country’s new Energy Transition Plan and you are given the task of creating a comprehensive decarbonisation roadmap and presenting it at the stakeholder meeting. How do you go about this?

This is one of the questions posed in our Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study Developing a decarbonisation roadmap.

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.

Want to contribute your own content to the Ethics Toolkit? Get involved here.

You’re a biomedical engineer working for a company that develops Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) for specialised applications. You have designed a BCI that can measure brain activity non-invasively and assess the job-related proficiency of a person. What are the physical, ethical, and social difficulties that could result from the use of devices that have the ability to directly access the brain and decipher some of its psychological content such as thoughts, beliefs, and emotions?

This is one of the questions posed in our Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study Neuroethics of brain-computer interfaces.

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.

Want to contribute your own content to the Ethics Toolkit? Get involved 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.

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.

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: stakeholder mapping to elicit value assumptions and motivations.

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.”

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.

Want to contribute your own content to the Ethics Toolkit? Get involved here.

Who should make decisions about projects that affect nature on a global scale? What laws or regulations exist that govern internet constellations? What aspects of the natural world might be affected by this technology in both the short- and long-term?

These are some of the questions posed in our Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study Developing an internet constellation.

This case is about an experienced engineer leading a team at a tech start-up, and addresses two of AHEP 4’s themes: The Engineer and Society (acknowledging that engineering activity can have a significant societal impact) and Engineering Practice (the practical application of engineering concepts, tools and professional skills).

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, Anatomy of an internet satellite.

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. You can join our Ethics Ambassadors community here.

What is your initial reaction to using solar energy for oil and gas production? What might your initial reaction reveal to you about your own perspectives and values? What are the potential benefits and risks to implementing this technology?

These are some of the questions posed in our intermediate level Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study, Solar panels in a desert oil field,  which addresses the ethical issues of respect for the environment, sustainability, honesty, and public good, and examines situations that professional engineers need to consider, such as communication, bribery, and working cultures.

This case requires an engineer with strong convictions about sustainable energy to make a decision about whether or not to take a lucrative contract from the oil industry.

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. You can join our Ethics Ambassadors community here.

Our original Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study Choosing to install a smart meter is an example of ‘everyday ethics’.

In this case study a professional engineer must give advice to a friend about whether or not they should install a smart meter. It addresses issues of ethical and environmental responsibility as well as public policy, financial burdens and data privacy, and helps to uncover values that underlie assumptions that people hold about the environment and its connection to human life and services. It also highlights the way that those values inform everyday decision-making.

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: a technical integration that covers a practical investigation of electrical energy.

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 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. You can join our Ethics Ambassadors community here.

You are an engineering consultant working for a commercial heat pump company. The company handles both the manufacture and installation of heat pumps. You have been called in by a county council to advise and support a project to decarbonise both new and existing housing stock. How do you go about this?

This is the dilemma presented in our Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study Feasibility of installing heat pumps at scale to reach net zero.

This case study offers students an opportunity to practise and improve their skills in making estimates and assumptions. It also enables students to learn and practise the fundamentals of energy pricing and link this to the increasing issue of fuel poverty. Fundamental thermodynamics concepts, such as the second law, can also be integrated into this study.  

We’ve provided this, and other case studies, 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. You can join our Ethics Ambassadors community here.

We are excited to launch the EPC engineering enrolment survey 2023/4. The survey will be open throughout October and we encourage each engineering department to respond. If you have completed the survey previously, look out for an email from us in the next couple of days. Otherwise, if you would like to get involved, please contact us.

The annual EPC survey remains ever valuable as it provides an early check on the health of HE undergraduate and postgraduate engineering enrolments. It provides early signals of the changing patterns of enrolment long before the official sector enrollment data becomes available.

We would like to thank everyone who responded last year and contributed to its massive success in 2022. Thanks to our data explorer, analysing the results of the survey has never been easier and we are excited to implement this feature again for the upcoming year. See last year’s results in the data explorer.

Everyone who submits a completed survey will be entered into a prize draw for a free ticket to the EAN Access and Admissions Forum. Simply enter this by simply completing and submitting the survey.

This year the survey will be opening on the 2nd of October and will be open until the 30th of October. If you have any concerns about meeting HESA data collection deadlines, please feel free to contact us. The results for this year will be launched at the EAN Access and Admissions Forum. Watch this space for further details.

For more information and to access the survey, please follow this link.

 

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