Special Issue "Strategies and Applications for Sustainable Engineering Education"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Diana Mesquita
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Centre for Human Development (CEDH), Faculty of Education and Psychology, Portuguese Catholic University, Porto, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal
Interests: school management and organization; professional development; collaborative and professional learning; curriculum innovation; active learning
Dr. Rui M. Lima
E-Mail Website
Assistant Guest Editor
Department of Production and Systems, Algoritmi Reseach Centre, School of Engineering, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Interests: industrial engineering and management; production management; lean and agile project management; lean healthcare; lean thinking; engineering education; project-based learning (PBL); active learning; university-business cooperation (UBC)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last few decades, engineering education has been dealing with a demand for quick changes, in order to prepare engineers to deal with societal and technological challenges, in public and private sectors and in industries and services. A wide range of innovative initiatives have been conducted in terms of curriculum design in engineering programs, strategies to foster students’ engagement in active learning environments, and partnerships between university and industry, amongst other areas.

Currently, in order to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and COVID-19 recovery, engineering education challenges are even more complex. A new world implies the need to rethink a whole new engineer. Thus, academics, researchers, students, and practitioners need to be engaged in designing, developing, and evaluating strategies and applications for sustainable engineering education. With this in mind, this Special Issue looks for original research and empirical contributions to reflect on sustainable engineering education. Amongst other themes, this may include the following:

  • Sustainability initiatives in engineering education
  • Strategies to foster attractiveness of engineering to young people
  • Implementation of active learning strategies in disruptive contexts
  • Perspectives of engineering competences for a new world
  • Organizational initiatives to sustain engineering education

Dr. Diana Mesquita
Dr. Rui M. Lima
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Active Learning Strategies
  • Project-Based Learning
  • Curriculum Design
  • Engineering Competences
  • Teachers’ Training and Professional Development
  • STEAM Initiatives
  • University-Business Cooperation
  • Engineering Education Research
  • Sustainability in Engineering Education

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Article
Teacher Competences for Active Learning in Engineering Education
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9231; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169231 - 17 Aug 2021
Viewed by 310
Abstract
The implementation of active learning strategies in engineering education still encounters barriers when facing conventional teaching-learning practices. This work aims to contribute to the discussion on teachers’ pedagogical competences required for active learning. This contribution is developed from the perceptions of 205 engineering [...] Read more.
The implementation of active learning strategies in engineering education still encounters barriers when facing conventional teaching-learning practices. This work aims to contribute to the discussion on teachers’ pedagogical competences required for active learning. This contribution is developed from the perceptions of 205 engineering teachers of Brazilian higher education institutions, centered on significant teaching competences necessary for teachers of engineering courses and how to develop them in the active learning context. The results show that essential competences identified by the participants are (I) teamwork (teachers’ cooperation); (II) teacher–student relationships (empathy); (III) feedback about students’ performance throughout the learning process; (IV) information and communication technology (ICT) competences; (V) selecting and adapting the teaching-learning methodologies to the class context; and (VI) creativity. A complementary logistic regression model suggested that female Ph.D. full-time teachers are more likely to employ active learning. Differences in active learning adoption among Brazilian regions were also captured by the model. The identified competences are essential for the sustainability of the innovation of teaching practices in the context of active learning, which may be used to inform more effective professional training of engineering teachers in the current globalized scenario. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies and Applications for Sustainable Engineering Education)
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Article
Students’ Preference Analysis on Online Learning Attributes in Industrial Engineering Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Conjoint Analysis Approach for Sustainable Industrial Engineers
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8339; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158339 - 26 Jul 2021
Viewed by 497
Abstract
The decline of enrollees for industrial engineering during the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing demand for professional industrial engineers should be explored. The purpose of this study was to determine the preference of industrial engineering students of different educational levels on online learning [...] Read more.
The decline of enrollees for industrial engineering during the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing demand for professional industrial engineers should be explored. The purpose of this study was to determine the preference of industrial engineering students of different educational levels on online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this study utilized conjoint analysis with orthogonal design considering seven attributes: delivery type, layout, term style, final requirements, Coursera requirements, seatwork and practice sets, and platforms. Among the attributes, 20 stimuli were created through SPSS and were answered voluntarily by 126 respondents utilizing a 7-point Likert Scale. The respondents were comprised of 79 undergraduate, 30 fully online master’s degree, and 17 master’s and doctorate degree students collected through purposive sampling. One university from the two available universities that offer all educational levels of IE in the Philippines was considered. The results showed that undergraduate students considered the final requirements with multiple-choice as the highest preference, followed by non-modular term style, and no seatwork and practice sets. In addition, fully online master’s degree students considered delivery type with the mix as the highest preference, followed by layout, and no seatwork and practice sets. Finally, master’s and doctorate degree students considered final requirements with publication as the highest preference, followed by no seatwork and practice sets, and mix delivery type. The students are technologically inclined, want to learn at their own pace, know where and how to get additional online learning materials, but still need the guidance of teachers/professors. The results would help contribute to the theoretical foundation for further students’ preference segmentation, specifically on online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Moreover, the design created could be utilized for other courses in measuring students’ preference for online learning even after the COVID-19 pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies and Applications for Sustainable Engineering Education)
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