Introducing Sustainability in a Robotic Engineering Degree: A Case Study

Francisco A. Pujol and David Tomás
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Francisco A. Pujol: Department of Computer Technology, University of Alicante, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig-Alicante, Spain
David Tomás: Department of Software and Computing Systems, University of Alicante, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig-Alicante, Spain

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

Abstract: This paper describes a group activity concerning the topic of climate change, designed to introduce the concepts of sustainable development into a Robotic Engineering degree. The purpose of this activity was to make students reflect about the impact of their work on the planet as future engineers by asking them to design an environmentally friendly robot that also integrated social and economic aspects, covering the three dimensions of sustainability in this way. Students were surveyed in order to study different aspects of their commitment, attitudes, practices, and motivation towards sustainability. In addition to the overall analysis of the survey, three specific studies were carried out with the aim of comparing the responses of different population groups: (i) Students who completed the proposed assignment and students who did not, (ii) female and male students, and (iii) roles played in the assignment. The results of the analysis revealed the high commitment of the students with respect to sustainability, but also a lack of active participation and awareness of their impact as future engineers. The activity was not only a way to introduce sustainability concepts, but in many cases, it also became a motivation for the participants, especially for the female students.

Keywords: education for sustainable development; engineering education; robotic engineering; gender bias (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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