Welcome to the first Holistic Engineering Education Working Group Summit sponsored by the Department of Technology and Society at Stony Brook University in conjunction with Purdue University Press.
We have gathered an unprecedented group of thought leaders from around the globe to begin to discuss ways to transform engineering education through Holistic Engineering Education in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century and beyond.
Summit Logistics
Dates: March 21st - 23rd 2016
Location:
Stony Brook Manhattan
387 Park Avenue South - 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10016
646-472-2025
Some Background:
Today's engineers not only design new products but also play a significant role in shaping humanity. Therefore, 21st century engineering leadership must develop a clear, deliberate and expansive understanding of complex societal issues in order to situate problems within a broader context; one that aligns with the grand challenges, Europe's 2020 goals and other global initiatives.
However, at present engineering education is modeled on curriculum and pedagogy designed primarily in the 1950s in response to post-WWII requirements. The result is generally engineering education that reflects deep technical emphasis but often lacks depth when it comes to intentional, reflective and integrative thinking about complex problems in other terms such as ethics, culture and multi-stakeholder communities.
In addition, it is essential that the 21st century engineer be equipped to move seamlessly from one domain to the next, playing a pivotal role in leadership, communication and collaboration across boundaries within vast, complex social systems. Universities, industry and government continue to struggle with this challenge.
One response has been the development of the “holistic engineering” ideal (Grasso & Burkins, 2010; Sobel-Lojeski, 2015).
Our goal is to address these most critical needs by operationalizing a Holistic Engineering Education curriculum that can be implemented, replicated and scaled across the globe.