Brandiff Caron

This presentation will explore recent initiatives in the Centre for Engineering in Society (CES) housed in the Engineering and Computer Science (ENCS) faculty at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec to integrate the “Professional skills” outlined in the new Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) accreditation requirements into capstone design courses.

These so-called “Professional skills” include:  “Professionalism” defined as: “An understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the professional engineer in society, especially the primary role of protection of the public and the public interest,” “Impact of engineering on society and the environment” defined as: “An ability to analyze social and environmental aspects of engineering activities. Such abilities include an understanding of the interactions that engineering has with the economic, social, health, safety, legal, and cultural aspects of society; the uncertainties in the prediction of such interactions; and the concepts of sustainable design and development and environmental stewardship,” and, finally, “Ethics and equity” defined as “An ability to apply professional ethics, accountability, and equity.” 

Borrowing from the the interdisciplinary field of Science and Technology Studies (STS), CES set out to integrate these “Professional skills” into the research and design practices taught in capstone courses by asking students to think through constructive technology assessment methodologies during the design phases of their capstone projects. More specifically, we adapted the four-step process described in the constructive technology assessment method “Real-time Technology Assessment” to operate as a pedagogical device in the undergraduate classroom. The assessment model hopes to provide an explicit mechanism for observing, critiquing, and influencing social values as they become embedded in innovations. This presentation will share the experiences (in the form of quantitative and qualitative data) of CES in trying to implement this strategy into the undergraduate engineering classroom.