Incorporating global skills within UK higher education of engineers



Executive Summary

Engineering is a global industry undergoing a period of
unprecedented change. The future of engineering (and the
world economy, in general) is being framed by global forces
which transcend national boundaries such as the impacts of
globalisation, rapid technology advances, climate change
and inequality. Through the application of science and
engineering, humanity has the potential to meet all of its
basic needs: water, sanitation, food security, shelter, energy,
transport. Growth markets in infrastructure, construction
and the extractive industries are increasingly in the devel-
oping countries. Technological and scientific advances
especially at the interface of advanced computing, biology
and physics are leading exponential growth of innovation
and opening a world of new possibilities and markets.

It follows that engineering higher education needs to con-
stantly strive to keep pace with these advances and in
particular the contribution of engineering to these global
opportunities and challenges. Higher education needs to
prepare engineers of the future with the skills and know-
how they will need to manage rapid change, uncertainty
and complexity. Key here is the ability to tailor engineering
solutions to the local social, economic, political, cultural and
environmental context and to understand the impact of local
action on the wider world. Although there is a global dimen-
sion within all subject areas, engineering and technology has
unique importance in addressing global challenges, deliv-
ering environmental sustainability, international poverty
reduction and economic growth. This publication looks at
why the global dimension is critical to engineering, what
this means for engineering education and how this can be
implemented. It specifically considers the importance and
relevance of poverty reduction within the global dimension.

However as a recent study amongst engineering academics1
found, there would be strong opposition to any reduction in
‘core engineering’ content or dilution of course content with
peripheral subject matter and this was confirmed by
dialogue which informed this study. There are strong drivers
supporting greater inclusion of the global dimension within
higher education and engineering higher education in par-
ticular. However, as there is little space within the curriculum
for additional content, the challenge is to identify solutions
which address the constraints engineering departments
operate under and the need to protect ‘core engineering’
content. This publication captures some of approaches
currently being applied within UK universities and attempts
to draw out wider lessons.

Over the past 18 months, Engineers Against Poverty and the
Development Education Research Centre at the Institute of
Education of the University of London has facilitated a series
of university workshops and key stakeholder dialogues to
better understand current practice and thinking within engi-
neering higher education. In particular the work looked at

Current understanding of the global dimension of engi-
neering education

The importance and contribution of the international
development / poverty reduction agenda to this global
dimension

Page 2 The Global Engineer

The alignment and tensions with related agendas within
education such as global skills, education for sustainable
development and education for global citizenship

The barriers and constraints to change within engineering
education

The business and policy drivers supporting change

Examples of innovation within teaching and curriculum
design

The role of partnerships in delivering the global dimension
The case for radical and urgent change is a strong one.
Climate change policy requires an urgent and fundamental
change within engineering to mitigate and adapt to climate
change, both within the UK and globally. This is especially
important in the areas of transport, energy generation and
construction. Climate change may increase water scarcity,
soil and habitat degradation, food insecurity, natural
disasters, conflict and international migration. It will hit the
poorest and most vulnerable first and hardest. These are the
issues which frame the global dimension of engineering and
define engineering’s contribution to sustainable develop-
ment. Encouragingly the past 5 years has witnessed a sea
change in the UK policy environment. There is wide spread
support from across government, the engineering institu-
tions, academia, employers and students to embrace the
global skills and sustainability agendas. The importance of
global skills in science and engineering education to UK
competitiveness is reflected in UK government policy and
course accreditation guidance. Since 2004, it is mandatory
for engineering courses to incorporate sustainable develop-
ment.

The global skills agenda presents particular challenges for
engineering education. Firstly there are number of notable
constraints which inhibit curriculum change such as an
already crowded curriculum, funding constraints, a percep-
tion that research is more highly valued than teaching, a
lack of relevant experience and knowledge amongst some
teaching staff and resistance to any dilution of core
engineering content within the curriculum. Secondly, there
is a risk that different interpretations and language can result
in a lack of policy coherence, competition between different
agendas and initiatives and a marginalisation of the poverty
reduction agenda within the wider global skills agenda. For
example, within the global skills debate, the focus is often on
advanced engineering and advanced and emerging industri-
alised markets to the exclusion of intermediate technology
and markets amongst the world’s poorest billions. Similarly,
within the education for sustainable development debate,
the focus is often on the environmental rather than social
and political dimensions of sustainable development. The
publication sets out why the poverty reduction and develop-
ment agendas are essential components of the sustainability
and global skills agendas especially within engineering
education. It also suggests solutions to overcome the barriers
identified.

It unpacks the concept of global skills and shows how many
of the skills and attitudes which define global skills (such as



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