The Sustainability Matrix: A Tool for Integrating and Assessing Sustainability in the Bachelor and Master Theses of Engineering Degrees

Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo, David López, Carme Martín, Eva Vidal, Jose Cabré and Joan Climent
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Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo: Barcelona School of Informatics, University Research Institute for Sustainability Science and Technology, UPC-BarcelonaTech, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
David López: Barcelona School of Informatics, UPC-BarcelonaTech, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Carme Martín: Barcelona School of Informatics, UPC-BarcelonaTech, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Eva Vidal: Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering, UPC-BarcelonaTech, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Jose Cabré: Barcelona School of Informatics, UPC-BarcelonaTech, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Joan Climent: Barcelona School of Informatics, UPC-BarcelonaTech, 08034 Barcelona, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-24

Abstract: It is vital that subjects such as the circular economy, sustainable design, green computing or environmental engineering be included in the engineering curriculum. Education for sustainable development will enable engineers to develop sustainable products and provide sustainable services, thereby leading to a beneficial result for society and making an indispensable contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals achievement. As the last stage for students in academia, Degree Theses (Bachelor’s and Master’s) provide a good tool for reviewing the sustainability competencies developed during the degree, as well as being an opportunity for applying these competencies in a holistic way. In their Degree Theses, students should be able to demonstrate that they are aware of the need to introduce and assess sustainability in their future engineering projects. This paper presents a guide aimed at helping engineering students to design and develop sustainable projects, and analyzes the first results of its use in two schools of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya—BarcelonaTech. The proposal is based on a tool referred to as “the Sustainability Matrix”, in which cells contain questions that engineering students should take into account when undertaking their Degree Theses. The questions are related to the project development, the project exploitation and the possible risks involved, three aspects in accordance with the sustainability dimensions (economic, environmental and social). The Sustainability Matrix helps students to develop sustainable projects when they graduate, and teachers to assess how sustainability is incorporated across the curriculum in the subjects they teach and in the students’ Degree Theses.

Keywords: sustainability; sustainable development; education for sustainable development; sustainability assessment; engineering projects; engineering degrees; sustainability in bachelor’s thesis; sustainability in master’s thesis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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