SEFI Engineering Ethics SIG Spring School 2022

Engineering ethics education and social justice: synthesis and growth

31st March and 1st April 2022 in Leysin, Switzerland

Registration details: There is no registration fee for the Spring School. 

To register to participate on-line in the Spring School (please note, not all sessions will be open to on-line participation): Register here

To register to participate on-site in the Spring School (participants will pay their own accommodation costs): Register here

Spring School themes will include:

• Using emotions in engineering education to bridge the divide between micro and macro ethics
• Research methods to examine the ethical culture of a university
• Using digital games for the teaching and learning of ethics in STEM
• An asset-based approach to reframing engineering ethics education
• Masculinities and ethics in engineering education 

Theme: Engineering ethics education is often described as addressing two domains: the domain of individual responsibility and day-to-day decision-making (micro-ethics), and a domain that addresses the social and environmental impact of engineering as a profession including a focus on sustainability and social justice (macro-ethics).  Notwithstanding differences across global regions as to how engineering ethics is designed and taught, the dominant trend has, until recently, perhaps tended to focus more on micro issues than on macro ethics.  

At the same time, engineering ethics education has perhaps never had as much diversity as it has today. In the last year, the SEFI ethics seminars have addressed a wide range of themes including emotional aspects of engineering ethics, ethics in design, social justice issues, as well as a rich array of ethics teaching methods (case studies, film, and fiction).  

At this time too, events outside engineering and education such as Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, the Coronavirus Pandemic, political realignment in many countries, and attacks on expertise and scientific knowledge, raises questions about how the macro and the micro are connected in engineering ethics education, and about the methods and approaches appropriate for ethics education with engineers.

The spring school will give as space for those interested in the topic of engineering ethics education, to map out, combine, and generate new approaches to practicing micro and macro engineering ethics education.

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The timetable is as follow:

Thursday 31st March 2022

 Friday 1st April 2022

Our approach: Spring school is intended to maximise opportunities for interaction, discussion, and exchange.  Workshops will prioritise exchange and discussion on a theme, and the school will include sessions dedicated to small group meetings and dialogue.

Our location:  The Spring School will take place in the Central Residence Hotel in the Swiss village of Leysin.  Secluded in the Alps, Leysin will provide a quiet space apart from daily life to allow participants to engage with the spring school’s themes and to collaborate with each other.

Leysin is accessible by train from Geneva main railway station and airport, along with the UNESCO World Heritage site of Lavaux, and via the spectacular Aigle – Leysin train. 

Leysin is also a renowned ski resort, and participants will be able to avail of the winter sports facilities for skiing and snowshoeing, fatbiking, and tobogganing…