Student perspectives on sustainability in engineering education: multiple case study of european bachelor's programs in industrial engineering and management

Abstract

The global sustainability crisis is calling for engineers to take action. To enable and empower engineers to address this crisis, there must be a change in engineering education. Given the industry's key role in not only causing but also solving this sustainability crisis, it is especially crucial to improve how sustainability is addressed in industrial engineering and management (IEM) education. This paper examines (1) to which extent European IEM degrees are covering sustainability; (2) European IEM students’ motivations to learn and work with sustainability topics; and (3) their perceptions of their degree’s contribution to their knowledge and motivation regarding sustainability; and (4) which sustainability-related changes they would like to see in their degrees. Three IEM curricula covering different regions of Europe—Portugal, Germany, and Turkey—were analysed. The mixed-method analysis included a quantitative evaluation of the extent to which each course meets specific theory-based learning objectives pertinent to sustainability in engineering education. The analysis was complemented by students’ perspectives, which were gathered through group discussions and interviews. The results reveal how sustainability is addressed in IEM education in different European regions, its impact on students’ knowledge and motivation for sustainability issues, and how sustainability in engineering education should be developed based on students' perceptions. These findings contribute to the research on sustainability in engineering education and support university teachers in revising engineering study programs to provide adequate sustainability understanding and skills to students.