Ethics Ambassadors

“When I started to teach ethics, many years ago now, I felt alone… today we are a community who help and support each other. Together we can make ethics in engineering the core of the way we teach and practice engineering. This is why I would like to invite you to join such a vibrant and inclusive community.” – Raffaella Ocone, Chair of the Engineering Ethics Advisory Group

To join Ethics Ambassadors, please fill out this Membership request form.

To be added to the LinkedIn group, first fill out the membership request form and then send us a request via the group link.

To vote, click here.


Co-Chair

Queen Mary University of London

Dr. Shah is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Mathematics and Engineering Education at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) with research interests in applied mathematics (nonlinear dynamics, analytical mechanics and mathematical modelling) as well as mathematics and engineering education pedagogy.

He is also the School Lead for Inclusive Scholarship for the Centre for Academic Inclusion in Science and Engineering (CAISE) at QMUL, the Research Seminars Coordinator, Centre for Research in Engineering and Materials Education (CREME)and a Research Integrity Champion for the Queen Mary Research Integrity Committee (RIC). In addition to this, he is also an Associate Member of the UCL Centre for Engineering Education (CEE) and serves as the Co-Chair of the Ethics Ambassador Community for the Engineering Professors Council (EPC).

He completed his PhD in Applied Mathematics (Nonlinear Dynamics) at University College London (UCL), where he also taught on a wide range of courses in mathematics, physics and engineering for which he received several teaching excellence awards. In addition to this, he is an accredited Fellow (FHEA) of the UK Higher Education Academy and has also been a Guest Mathematics Teacher at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Prior to this, he taught GCSE and A-Level Mathematics as a full-time secondary school teacher at several independent schools across London. He also has an MSc in Mathematical Modelling and Scientific Computing from the University of Oxford (St. Anne’s College) and a BEng in Mechanical Engineering with Business Finance from UCL.

 


Co-Chair

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.


Secretary (Lead)

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 interdisciplinary approach.  She has co-authored chapters in the use of ethical theories within engineering education and ethical design.


Secretary (Deputy)

UCL

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.

Dr. Laura Justham
Toolkit Champion (Lead)

Loughborough University 

Laura is a Reader in Human Centric Inclusive Engineering within the Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering at Loughborough University. As well as an academic member of staff, she is co-Director of Undergraduate Admissions and Director of Student Experience within the School, meaning she is embedded within the entire student journey from application to graduation. Her teaching expertise is focused around the development of professional skills, ethical practice and problem based learning across a multitude of different degree programmes in a cross-disciplinary approach.

Laura has been co-lead in the development of the university’s Inclusive Engineering Hub, a Royal Academy of Engineering funded Diversity Impact Programme award. The team have recently been awarded a second Diversity Impact Programme for the development of digital technologies to support inclusivity of engineering education.

VACANT
Toolkit Champion (Deputy)

 

Elizabeth Robertson
Toolkit Events Co-ordinator (Lead)

University of Strathclyde

Elizabeth Roberston is a Teaching Associate in the Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Strathclyde and senior fellow of the HEA.

Karin Rudolph
Toolkit Events Co-ordinator (Deputy)

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. 

Onyekachi Nwafor
Toolkit Content Co-ordinator: Creation & Sourcing (Lead)

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.

 

 

Jude Bramton
Toolkit Content Co-ordinator: Creation & Sourcing (Deputy)

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.

Konstantinos Konstantis
Toolkit Content Co-ordinator: Review & Publication (Lead)

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.

Jamshed Iqbal
Toolkit Content Co-ordinator: Review & Publication (Deputy)

University of Hull

J. Iqbal is currently working as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Hull, UK where he is also looking after the Robotics and AI programme. Before joining Hull, he was working as a Professor at the University of Jeddah, KSA. With two decades of professional experience in academia as well as in industry, his interests include emerging learning and teaching strategies, educational pedagogy, and ethics in engineering and computer science education. He is a senior member of IEEE USA and a Senior Fellow of Advance HE, UK.

Ekaterina Rzyankina 
Community of Practice Co-ordinator: (Lead)

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.

 

Muhammad Ayat
Community of Practice Co-ordinator: (Deputy)

University of the West of Scotland

Muhammad Ayat is currently serving as a Lecturer in Engineering/ Project Management at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) since August 2022. He holds a Ph.D. in Industrial and Management Engineering from Hanyang University, South Korea, a master’s in industrial engineering from Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey, and a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Dawood University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan. Before joining UWS, Muhammad worked as a Lecturer at the Department of Industrial Engineering at Dawood University for three and a half years and as a Project Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for two years. He also served as the Country Representative for UDEF in Pakistan for three years.

Muhammad Ayat is actively involved in academic leadership as a Member of the Board of School at the University of the West of Scotland and as an Expert Panel member for the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP). He is also Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA), a Member of The Institution of Engineering and Technology (MIET).

His research expertise in Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) Projects, Competency Development, and Project Management Standards, he has published several articles in prestigious journals and conference proceedings. He is also working as lead consultant in competency development projects. His PhD dissertation titled “Machine Learning-Based Project Management Framework for Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects,” received several awards, including the Best PhD Thesis Award 2022 at Hanyang University and the Doctorate of the Year Award 2023 from the Association for Project Management (APM).

The Ethics Ambassadors community was created in March 2023, to expand and develop the work and recommendations of the Engineering Ethics Advisory Group, on their completion of Phase 2 of the Engineering Ethics Toolkit.

We are currently in the process of gathering members and assigning roles.

The goal is for Ethics Ambassadors to evolve into a self-managed community of volunteers that will: 

  • Develop a scheme for recognition and reward for use of Toolkit materials; 
  • Promote the use of the Ethics Toolkit, through media channels and/or workshops; 
  • Continue seeking financial support for the Toolkit and its promotion.

The aims of the community are:

 

  • to champion the teaching of ethics within engineering courses and modules;

 

 

 

  • to support educators integrating ethics teaching within engineering courses and modules;

 

 

 

  • to share best practice in engineering ethics teaching;

 

 

 

  • to identify and address needs within engineering ethics teaching;

 

 

 

  • to source, review, develop and publish new materials for the Engineering Ethics Toolkit.

 

Contributions

We welcome new content for the Engineering Ethics Toolkit and encourage you to pitch ideas or submit materials. You can find out more on our Get Involved page.

We are specifically looking for the following content.

Case studies on:

 

  • Design / disposal of medical waste such as home Covid tests or masks, pill packaging, etc;

 

 

 

  • Genetically engineering mosquitoes or other animals to reduce or eliminate their reproduction;

 

 

 

  • Design / implantation of devices that control human health or biology, such as sleep/wake cycles, etc. (or another transhumanist topic);

 

 

 

  • Balancing human safety in public spaces at night with dark sky or animal health initiatives;

 

 

 

  • Transport issues (infrastructure, access, safety, etc.);

 

 

 

  • Artisanal or deep-sea mining and the connection to indigenous rights;

 

 

 

  • Equity and impact of flood or erosion mitigation solutions.

 

Enhancements on the following case studies:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Solar panels in a desert oil field. Enhancement desired: Produce example calculations in chemical and/or electrical engineering related to carbon offset and solar installations.

 

Guidance articles on:

 

  • How ethics links to other competencies and skills

 

 

 

  • Getting comfortable with open-ended problems/questions related to ethics

 

 

 

  • Learning taxonomies and ethics education

 

 

Co-authors

Some Ethics Ambassadors members are in need of co-authors to write with.

The following are currently looking for co-authors:

 

  • Martin Griffin: Reimaging the 21st Century Engineering Education in the lens of neurodiversity

 

If you are interested in becoming a co-author, or are looking for a co-author for an ethics paper, please contact us with details.

 

To join Ethics Ambassadors, please fill out this Membership request form.

To be added to the LinkedIn group, first fill out the membership request form and then send us a request via the group link.

To get in touch with the Ethics Ambassadors leadership team, in the first instance please email w.attwell@epc.ac.uk

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