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 email Wendy Attwell at w.attwell@epc.ac.uk
To be added to the LinkedIn group, first become a member by emailing us, and then send us a request via the group link.
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:
- Choosing a career in climate change geoengineering. Enhancement desired: Activity: map the arguments of the three professors. Whose perspective might be the most persuasive and why?
- Smart homes for older people with disabilities. Enhancement desired: Create a sample data set for technical analysis.
- 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 email Wendy Attwell at w.attwell@epc.ac.uk
To be added to the LinkedIn group, first become a member by emailing us, and then send us a request via the group link.