Promoting cross-departmental initiatives for a global dimensionin engineering education: The imperial college experience

Abstract

Cross-departmental schemes to broaden the inter-professional and skills-focused development of engineering students, and to emphasise engineering in its context of societal priorities, are presented. The central coordination of the schemes has streamlined implementation of the developments and promoted a culture of shared responsibility for engineering education. A description of the coordination effort, and subsequent mechanisms for promoting strategic educational development, is given. This will be of value to institutions that are attempting to organise educational initiatives across multiple engineering departments. Examples are given to demonstrate the range of learning outcomes that can be achieved through such cross-departmental approaches. Evaluation data are also presented on the value and impact of these approaches. Specific schemes that are described include: the Engineering Impact series of lectures; flexible timetabling for shared option-courses across departments; a common framework for engineering ethics engagement; the establishment of a new academic role for the support of student-led projects. 2011 SEFI.