Incorporating ecological economics into engineering education

Engineering students require an education which facilitates the development not just of functional design of technological artefacts and processes, but they also need to be equipped to understand and engage with their wider implications and context. Consequently, as part of the formation of sustainability informed engineers, there is a clear necessity to integrate the socio-economic aspects of sustainability in order to posit technology in appropriate contextualised settings. The chemical engineering degree programme at University College Cork incorporates a strong emphasis on integrating the socio-economic dimension of sustainability within the programme. This paper focuses on ecological economics, and how it can connect with engineering and why it is important that engineering students receive a grounding in ecological economics. It outlines the content of a five-lecture series on ecological economics given to fifth-year chemical engineering students. This includes environmental aspects, such ecological limits analysis and the use of strategies, including economic, to move unsustainable natural resource use and emissions discharges to within their ecological limits. It explores social aspects and the critical barriers to transitioning to a sustainable economy, as well as the impact of ecological economics on engineering. Finally, three consecutive final year classes were surveyed to elicit their feedback on being taught ecological economics and to test the hypothesis that the inclusion of ecological economics appreciably enhances students’ ability to engage productively with sustainability and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); a key accreditation and professional requirement for contemporary engineering graduates. Overall, most students enjoyed the material, stating that is of value to engineering students, and they provided a useful qualitative assessment of the content.