SEFI-JEEA Vol.3 No.1 : Editorial and Contents

Abstract

Editorial

Engineering education is undergoing profound transformation in response to rapidly evolving technological, societal, and environmental challenges. Among these, the growing influence of artificial intelligence, the urgency of sustainability, and the increasing complexity of interdisciplinary collaboration are key drivers in shaping how best to educate future engineers.

A theme emerging across the issue is the importance of responsibility in engineering, particularly in relation to the ethical, social, and environmental implications of engineering decisions. Mirsch, Moreno, Schultz, and Leicht-Scholten examine the prescient topic of responsible engineering in relation to AI. Their work uses student reflections to highlight not only the growing awareness among engineering students of ethical challenges, but also the need to embed responsibility for the use of AI more deeply within curricula, positioning it as a core skill and not simply a peripheral concern.

Continuing this strand on responsibility, some contributions explore new learning structures that enable students to engage with real-world problems. Sivertsen’s article on technical student-run projects demonstrates how such initiatives can act as powerful enablers of cross-disciplinary learning, allowing students to develop collaboration, leadership, and real world problem-solving skills. Meanwhile Forbes’ paper on community-centred sustainability innovations emphasises the value of grounding engineering design education in local contexts, where students work alongside communities to co-create solutions and help students see societal responsibility as a key aspect of engineering problem solving.

A further key strand of this issue concerns pedagogical innovation, particularly through experiential learning in highly specialised fields with Lazendic-Galloway, Mackus, and Deijkers explore teaching the applications of plasma physics via challenge based initiatives.

Hermund, Rees, and Duedahl-Olesen investigate how structured roles and knowledge-sharing practices can foster student motivation, critical thinking, and the development of engineering competencies. These contributions reinforce the importance of active learning strategies that engage students as contributors rather than passive recipients of knowledge.

The issue also highlights the significance of integrative experiences in engineering programmes. Poblete, Leiva, and Flores present an account of a multidisciplinary capstone project, demonstrating how such experiences can successfully tie together diverse skills while preparing students for professional practice. Their findings underscore the value of collaboration across disciplines and the role of project-based learning in bringing application to formal theory.

Finally, Kisaalita’s reflective study on a graduate course focused on developing research thinking offers insight into the cognitive and reflective dimensions of engineering education. By capturing student reflections, this reveals how careful pedagogical design can help foster deeper forms of critical awareness among students.

We hope you enjoy this issue and hope you might consider deploying some of the ideas you have read about into your own context......and, as always, if you would like to join us as an author we look forward to hearing about your approaches and if you want an early scoop on the work of others please sign up as a reviewer – we would be delighted to welcome you.

Gareth

 
Gareth Thomson - Editor in Chief