Fostering sustainable mindsets in engineering education

Abstract

Transitioning to a more sustainable society requires that universities produce an increasing number of engineering professionals capable of redesigning current production and consumption systems. This calls for restructuring engineering curricula towards sustainability becoming an integral part of engineering education and professional practice. To this end, this paper investigates the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational aspects of professional identity that contribute to consolidating sustainable mindsets in engineering, considering education as its main route. Specifically, we focus on identifying significant personal and education-related factors that contribute to fostering sustainable decision-making and affect the development of sustainable mindsets in engineering students. In order to identify such factors, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a diverse set of students and professionals (N=12). A thematic analysis of survey transcripts present three main components that support the development of sustainable mindsets throughout engineering education: i) Personal commitment, ii) Learning opportunities, and iii) Internalization time.