Developing Role Models for Engineering and Sustainable Development: Engineers Without Borders’ Global Engineering Certificate

Abstract

The presence of role models within the engineering community has long been an integral component of the education and cultivation of successive generations of the profession. As the profession continues to grow and evolve, new types of role models are required to reflect the changing nature of the world within which the profession exists. One such evolution is the creation of Global Engineers, professionals who are competent in an increasingly complex and globalized society. In this paper, we explore the function of role models in creating shifts within the profession in past decades and discuss the Global Engineering Certificate being implemented by Engineers Without Borders Canada at several Canadian universities to help develop role models within the Global Engineering space.