Sustainable Development for Design Engineering Students: A Peer Assisted Problem Based Learning Approach

The Engineering Council’s UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence explicitly incorporates sustainable development (SD) encouraging engineers to take a leadership role and goes beyond “eco-design” to include social and cultural aspects. This is reflected by the Royal Academy of Engineering describing a “new integrative principle, not a new set of skills”. To provide first and second year Design Engineering students with an understanding of SD a primer was developed from the ongoing research incorporating the concept of “social-usefulness”. A problem based learning approach was adopted with no didactic element. Instead, students learned through investigation, presentation, discussion and reflective learning with both sets of students working together. Data indicated a change in perception of SD with understanding of the complexity evident. Providing the course early in the students’ education enables aspects learned to be developed in future study; Learning so gained becomes normal practice when the graduate enters the profession and contributes to improved design practices and future sustainability in an ever more demanding environment.