Lynette Cheah
Singapore University of Technology and Design
Lynette Cheah is an Assistant Professor in Engineering Systems at the Singapore University of Technology and Design. There, she leads the Sustainable Urban Mobility research group, which focuses on developing models, tools and solutions to assess and reduce the energy and environmental impacts of road transport. Lynette holds bachelor degrees in civil and environmental engineering from Northwestern University, a masters degree in management science from Stanford, and a Ph.D. in engineering systems from MIT.
Sustainable development features prominently as a key challenge for humanity. In 2008, the U.S. National Academy of Engineering announced grand challenges of engineering, of which several relate to sustainability – including achieving energy security, curbing global warming, and improving access to clean water. The concept of sustainability, while appealing, tends to be widely interpreted. It is a broad concept, often requiring multidisciplinary approaches to solve, and the involvement of multiple stakeholders. Why and how can educators then best introduce sustainability into undergraduate engineering curriculum?
In teaching sustainability to engineers in training, the objectives would be to expand domain knowledge and awareness of issues, equip students with sustainability assessment tools and methods, facilitate technically-grounded and balanced debate, and to motivate future engineers and designers to apply their skills towards addressing these grand challenges. In training engineers of the future to address sustainability, there is also a general need to develop skills in oral and written communication, critical thinking and analysis, researching and information literacy, and finally, problem solving across disciplines, including creative design.
Towards these objectives, active learning and community engagement can play valuable roles in sustainability education. Active learning is generally defined as any instructional method that engages students in the learning process, other than passively watching, listening and taking notes. (Prince, 2004, Felder & Brent 2009) Active learning techniques include role playing, problem solving using real data, think-pair-share, etc. These in- or outside class activities, other than simply listening to lectures, have been found to be effective in promoting learning. Students tend to remember more content if activities are interspersed with short lectures. We review the use of active learning in a sustainable engineering elective course, with activities including debates on the sustainability of 3-D printing and electric vehicles, mock UN Climate Summit negotiations, and applying eco-design concepts to redesign everyday products.
Incorporating community-based projects in the curriculum can also benefit engineering students. With these projects, students have the opportunity to take action locally and apply their skills towards achieving sustainability within their own communities and cities. Students can be tasked with resolving local, real-world sustainable engineering challenges, such as energy or waste audits for efficiency improvements. They come to understand a link between their professional knowledge and role as citizens in the context that they live in.
These pedagogical methods train engineers of the future to be more collaborative, involved members of their communities, discerning analysts in the information age, and proficient in technical communication. Ultimately, teaching sustainability would instill consciousness in 21st-century engineers, and guide them towards incorporating notions of sustainability into all aspects of their professional lives.
