Introduction
Ramiro Jordan
IFEES President Elect, 2017-2018
Dr. Ramiro Jordan is Associate Dean of Engineering for International Programs at the University of New Mexico and host of WEEF-GEDC 2018 Albuquerque.
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Sustainable Education: Readying Today’s Higher Education Students to Tackle the World’s Grand Challenges
Michael Milligan
Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer, ABET
Michael Milligan is responsible for all aspects of ABET global operations. ABET represents over 3,700 accredited programs in 30 countries.
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Before students of higher education, especially those in STEM fields, can take on advancing sustainable solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges in their careers, they must first gain unbiased perspectives in their education through diverse and global experiences that serve to develop (1) awareness and understanding of the world’s problems (2) sensitivity to differing cultures and needs (3) novel ways to holistically address long-standing issues.
In this webinar, ABET CEO and Executive Director Michael K. J. Milligan will discuss the important role higher education plays in better preparing students to lead on global challenges relating to population growth, environmental concerns, and the depletion of human resources. Shared insights will include a preview of a new report ABET will release in November that offers case studies of successful STEM programs that have aligned high-impact cultural and global learning experiences with academic coursework across both the humanities and technical disciplines to best prepare tomorrow’s global sustainability and engineering leaders.
Engineering Amidst Social and Political Conflict: A Challenge to Engineering Education
Robert Muscat
Board Member, Global Peace Services
Robert Muscat is a development economist who has served with the USAID, World Bank, UN agencies, and as an advisor to foreign governments.
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In numbers of social and political conflicts, including those involving violence and warfare, the consequences of engineering projects have been among the problems at issue, and engineers were unavoidably parties to the problems. In some situations, especially in developing countries, engineering projects have exacerbated the tensions dividing the societies. In other cases, engineering projects have been deliberately designed to help sustain intra- or inter-country peace. Engineers need to raise their awareness of the potential socio-political effects of their projects, especially in situations of serious social contention, and to explore alternative designs or engineering solutions, and methods of implementation, that can ameliorate rather than exacerbate the conflicts. Engineers will also need to dialogue effectively with the various stakeholders affected if these projects are to be technically and politically viable and are to achieve inclusive and conflict-resolution objectives. A few examples of actual engineering projects in conflict situations will illustrate hazards of exacerbation and options for amelioration.
Finally, some questions: how can all this most effectively be taken into account in engineering education?
(An earlier expanded version of Muscat’s presentation can be found on the GPS-USA website.)
Facilitator
Christina White
IFEES Webinar Designer & Executive Committee Member
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