Erik de GRAAFF
This working group is now chaired by Joachim Hoefele and Erik de Graaff.
Over the past years the working group has addressed issues like sense of responsibility of engineers and teachers in engineering education, sustainability, globalization, ethics and implementing these topics in engineering education. Moving forward means to continue these topics, hoping that we may get to a stage where we achieve that students in engineering learn to take responsibility for the consequences of the introduction of new technology. A concrete example could be to refuse to contribute to the waging of wars, which are fought to defend the control of the Western World over natural resources, like oil and minerals.
Issues like this are a complicated matter. IGIP should not become involved in political statements. What is right and wrong differs from one culture to the next. However, there should be a basic understanding about what is fair and what is not from a humanistic perspective. Engineering education should teach students to take responsibility based on these basic human values and also to explore the values of different cultures in order to broaden that understanding.
The topic of intercultural collaboration is identified as one of the key issues for the future activities of the working group.
Exploring Cooperation with SEFI
Working Groups
Just like in IGIP, working groups stand at the basis of the activities of SEFI. The working group “Ethics” appears to be a natural partner for cooperation with the working group “People and Technology”. Collaboration could take different forms, like participating in each other events, to organize joint events and to collaborate in the production of papers.
It was suggested to invite the chairman of the “Ethics” working group, Henk Zandvoort to come to the next regional IGIP conference, to be organized in April 2008 in Mittweida, Germany.