How does international development fit
within the global dimension?
The UK is one of the leading providers in the world of under-
graduate and post-graduate degree programmes tackling
international development. There are a number of specialist
‘development engineering’ degrees and masters pro-
grammes, that is programmes specifically aimed at
engineering in an international development and humani-
tarian relief context. Working in developing countries raises
some very specific issues and complexities that engineers
working in the UK are unlikely to have encountered and
‘development engineering’ courses play an important role
in preparing engineers unfamiliar with these challenges for
work in international development and humanitarian
sectors. However, there is a danger that universities will see
such specialist courses or elective modules as an adequate
response to global dimension and fail to acknowledge that
(1) all engineering students need exposure to the global
dimension and (2) the skills, lessons and approaches which
underpin ‘development engineering’ have universal rele-
vance.
Dialogue with academics from Cambridge and the Open
University (OU) with considerable experience in ‘develop-
ment engineering’ education confirmed this danger. They
recalled the perception of some colleagues that sustainable
development is only concerned with poverty reduction in
developing countries or with the environmental impacts of
engineering. The danger in developing a specialist centre or
provision for development engineering within an engi-
neering department is that these issues and thinking may
be marginalised: partitioned in a corner, while ‘proper engi-
neering’ gets on with what it does. However there is counter
evidence that suggests
“The presence of......a specialist sustainable development
(SD) delivery unit has proved an important driver in some
cases. Wolverhampton, for example, has long had its inter-
nationally recognised Centre for International Development
and Training (CIDT), which has been a niche player in the SD
space within the university for many years. As HEIs develop
a more institutional approach to SD such units can have an
important catalyst role in advancing SD adoption.” 48
Whilst there will continue to be demand for specialist post
graduate courses preparing engineers for work in the relief
and development sectors, the challenge is to ensure that the
global dimension is central to the thinking across the whole
faculty and embedded within all engineering courses. The
lack of an explicit poverty reduction dimension within
HEFCE’s recently launched resource centre on sustainable
development education49 perhaps illustrates the difficulties
and confusion arising from different understandings and
definitions of the global dimension or sustainable develop-
ment and the danger that the poverty dimension is excluded
from this agenda.
A strategy identified to reduce this risk of marginalisation is
to demonstrate the relevance of ‘international development’
thinking to engineering in ‘developed’ countries. Engi-
neering and related services impact on the lives of the global
poor whether those activities are in the UK or overseas. Most
engineers working in the developing countries do not work
for aid agencies nor on aid-funded projects and few will
have an educational background in development or develop-
ment engineering. It follows that if the engineers of
tomorrow are to have skills, knowledge and attitude to be
able to respond to global challenges and complexities, then
the global dimension needs to be embedded across all engi-
neering courses. In doing so, adequate attention to
development and poverty reduction is needed.
In considering how engineering can best minimise its
harmful social and environmental impacts and maximise its
positive contribution to society, the same issues and the
same skill sets arose whether UK or international case studies
were used. The importance of local context and stakeholder
engagement can as well be demonstrated by studying the
Mersey barrage or terminal 5 as the Pergau dam. Bill
Kennedy of the Open University stated his belief that courses
should instil graduates with the confidence, adaptability,
skills and breadth of perspective to work anywhere. In the
past, there was talk of knowledge sharing between the
global North and the South. It is suggested that now and for
the future the emphasis should be much more on recog-
nising the complex linkages between local and global and
that what happens in one part of the world has a direct
impact on another.
The principle finding and recommendation arising from this
study is that champions of ‘education for sustainable devel-
opment’ and ‘development education’ should seek to place
sustainability and poverty reduction at the centre of the
global dimension of education. This understanding of the
global dimension should be at the heart of the curriculum
and pedagogy change; a multi-faceted, cross cutting agenda
that is entwined throughout the course and flowing
between its individual components. The global dimension
should be at the heart of the university life: its brand,
strategy, structures, values and culture. The market for engi-
neering services is increasingly global in nature and
engineering is both affecting and being affected by the
major global crises. Whilst these issues are particularly rele-
vant to civil engineers and engineers working in developing
countries, they affect all engineers to a greater or lesser
extent. This is something that is increasingly recognised by
engineering institutions.
What are the key barriers and constraints
and how can these be overcome?
Alongside the drivers for the global dimension it is equally
important to recognise, explore and identify strategies that
address barriers and constraints to change. These barriers
will vary between universities, however discussions identified
common constraints linked to space and time in the cur-
riculum, skills and expertise, resources, research agendas and
support from senior management.
Curriculum content management
The Bologna Process promotes harmonisation of engineering
qualifications across Europe. In mainland Europe, courses
are typically 5 years in duration, whilst in the UK 4 years is
The Global Engineer Page 13