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We need to be willing to engage emotionally with the ways in which our fields contribute to the inadequacies and human and environmental exploitation to create positive and transformational change.

Kai Zhuang – engineer, educator, comic artist, and Professor of Engineering and Computer Science, York University

This year’s biennial Forum on Philosophy, Engineering, and Technology (fPET 2023) was hosted by Delft University of Technology, Netherlands. The conference brought together engineers and philosophers to address the challenges of engineering in a changing world, with opportunities to discuss research on the intersection of engineering and philosophy, within the broader theme of technology and engineering in a changing world.

‘UnWorkshop’: educating a Whole New Engineer

I was invited to facilitate a 90-minute ‘un-workshop’* on the education of engineers and technologists, with the emphasis on ‘co-contraries’, one of four advances in understanding core educational change processes. Sometimes called polarities, co-contraries are essentially opposites that need each other; examples we discussed in relation to educational change included freedom and structure, knowing and not knowing, listening and speaking. As part of this session, I shared our own processes and learning through the FEIT MIDAS movement to graduate more innovative, design-abled students through studio-based learning, also known as ecosystem education (something else to cogitate as part of our shared language).

Participants in our workshop were from Cornell University NYC, the University of Milan, TUDelft in the Netherlands, Lassonde School of Engineering, Toronto, Israel Institute of Technology, Guelph Uni, Ontario, and Colorado University, to name a few. Participants included research scientists, civil engineers, technical leads, computer scientists, sociologists, philosophers, academics and industry representatives.

Connecting ideas across countries and disciplines

The forum underlined the importance of considering the ethical implications and societal responsibilities associated with technological development, from artificial intelligence to geoengineering and bioengineering. There was a smorgasbord of research topics, presentations, poster talks, discussions and even debates. I gained broader perspectives and was heartened to emphasise the continued significance of interdisciplinary collaborations in my role.

My resounding take-away? Important emotional, cultural and philosophical shifts can and do take place through pairwise conversations and storytelling, even among global colleagues on the other side of the world. Our workshop participants took the co-contraries tool to unexpected levels and unique topics which demonstrated the power of this one change process. Insights from feedback underlined the potential here, and an appetite for ‘more time and to go deeper’; one participant noting that ‘highlighting imbalances through co-contraries was transformational’.

Understanding the values and impact of our designs

Less than 2% of websites, globally, comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines such as standard screen reading software.

(ISE ICT 2020)

Design is always affected by values, even if we don’t think about them. We communicate what we value by what we build in engineering and technology.  Technology can both enhance and challenge societal values, which is why it is so important that we critically evaluate impacts to ensure they align with desirable outcomes.

Based on my experiences at fPET23, I’d like to hear more students have conversations through the lens of value change, and to continue the emphasis on interdisciplinary collaborations with regular events and seminars. I’d also like students to reflect on how present and future advancements can influence and shape societal values, beliefs and behaviours and help nurture a deeper understanding of the ethical and philosophical aspects intricately bound to (yet perhaps missing from) design decisions. 

*The un- version of a conference, workshop, or poster session is one that provides a facilitated experience for participants to explore and create knowledge through collaborative shifts in perspective.

Further reading and references

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