NEW SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING PROGRAM PROPOSAL – MINDSET AND DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

With the continued climate crisis, there is increasing recognition for the important of sustainabilityeducation in engineering. At the University of Calgary, we are developing a program in Sustainable Systems Engineering to address this need. Systems thinking and sustainability are intrinsically linked, as in order to comprehend the wicked challenges of sustainability today, we must take a holistic, interconnected, systems approach. This paper outlines sustainability education literature, and our approach to program development. Overall, we hope to foster mindsets and develop engineering students who are able to fundamentally shift the discourse on sustainability engineering within industry, and critically reflect on the role of engineering itself.