Opportunities and challenges for incorporating case studies from developing countries in core engineering courses

Abstract

Engi n eering education must adapt to the emerging approache s put forwa rd by international development actors. In a globalised world, the work of f u ture engineers will be carried out i n many contexts. In t h e case of developing countries, the Technology for Human Development ( THD ) ap p roach is increasingly being integrat ed in the practice of engineering. On the other hand, in indust r ialised countries, th e lessons learned from d evelopment projects may contribute to a mor e sustainabl e engineering practice. The purpose of this pap e r is to sh o w the use of c ase studies from developing countries as a valuable metho d for teaching enginee r ing with a human and sustainabl e development perspective. It will illustrate case studies from the E ducation fo r Development ( ED) pro g ramme of Engineering W ithout Borders Spain (ISF-Spai n ) . Some of them have bee n successfully imp l emented in core an d elective courses of the Technical University of Catalonia. These exper i ence s highlight the feas i bility and the acquiesce n ce of many t eachers for incorporating case studies based on THD int o engineering courses. I n contrast, some challenges arise in the dissemination of t h i s methodology, especially in core courses