The Construction of Innovation Group and the Sustainable Development of Innovation Ability for Engineering Students

Purpose Considering the requirements of sustainable development regarding professionals training and the challenges evidenced during Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, this study aims to contribute to the debates regarding the need to insert sustainability into engineering education in the current context. Design/methodology/approach For this, the literature about sustainability in engineering education was considered, and the need for sustainability insertion in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic was debated. It is important to emphasize that this debate was based on the authors’ experience regarding sustainability research and teaching. Findings The current moment unveiled companies’ financial management problems, constantly evidenced by media. In this sense, the interest of engineering students in business management may lead them to believe that companies’ survival depends only on financial aspects, neglecting environmental and social aspects. This study is characterized as a reminder to academic staff in the field of engineering to continue valuing the principles of sustainable development with their students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value The need to make engineering students understand the importance of social projects in the current period is emphasized. The training of professionals to consider all the sustainability aspects even during crisis moments is evidenced now and should be used as a learning lesson for the future.

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The Effect of Incremental Innovation and Disruptive Innovation on the Sustainable Development of Manufacturing in China

SAGE Open ◽

10.1177/2158244019832700 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 215824401983270

Author(s):

Bingqiang Li ◽

Lei Huang

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Manufacturing Industry ◽

National Level ◽

Disruptive Innovation ◽

Incremental Innovation ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Medium Development ◽

Innovation Ability ◽

Governmental Intervention ◽

Underdeveloped Region

Innovation is an important driver for the promotion of manufacturing, and governmental intervention could significantly affect the development of innovation and manufacturing in China. The purpose of this article was to reveal different modes of innovation regarding the development of manufacturing in China. A theoretical model was used to analyze the effects of incremental innovation and disruptive innovation on the sustainable development of the manufacturing industry from the aspect of the industry’s ability to survive under governmental intervention; a corresponding empirical analysis was performed from perspectives of the whole nation and various regions using a panel data model. The results demonstrated that the promotion of the incremental innovation ability was not beneficial to enhance the ability to survive and that the effect of disruptive innovation was the opposite from the aspect of national level. The influencing directions of various innovation modes in the developed region and the underdeveloped region coincided generally with those at the national level but achieved larger effects individually, with stronger effects occurring in the underdeveloped region compared with those in the developed region, while opposite effects occurring in the region with medium development.

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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a Basis for Innovation Skills for Engineers in the Industry 4.0 Context

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12166622 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (16) ◽

pp. 6622

Author(s):

Felipe Muñoz-La Rivera ◽

Pamela Hermosilla ◽

Jean Delgadillo ◽

Dayan Echeverría

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Industry 4.0 ◽

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

Engineering Students ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Professional Performance ◽

Performance Context ◽

Education Innovation ◽

Development Goals ◽

And Performance

Teaching methods for calculation and project development, focusing on theoretical principles and the reproduction of validated procedures, has been the traditional focus of engineering education. Innovation has been present in universities, mainly in the creation of processes and technologies for the development of products, services, or companies, based on entrepreneurship. Training in innovation has been limited to interested students, and not encouraged for all students, despite how relevant it is for current and future global development. According to the literature research and the opinion of the experts, this research identifies the characteristics of innovation that engineering students should acquire, in response to the challenges of engineering in the 21st century, considering as a basis the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in the context of the increasingly demanding requirements of industry 4.0. The identification of the relevant aspects in innovation were categorized according to the expertise and academic performance of the authors. In addition to this, the investigation of the representative elements of Industry 4.0, and the incorporation of Sustainable Development Goals, establish the basis of this study to guide the development of innovation skills in the process of engineering student education. Furthermore, in order to integrate innovation skills, elements of Industry 4.0 and aspects of Sustainable Development Goals, the concept of competence is introduced, with a conceptual structure that considers knowledge, attitude and performance context, thus this research provides a conceptual framework for those interested in constructing innovation skills in engineering, oriented towards the development of an innovation culture and mentality, as part of the expected professional performance.

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Education for sustainable development in Japan and Malaysia: a comparative study among engineering undergraduates

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education ◽

10.1108/ijshe-08-2020-0301 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Balamuralithara Balakrishnan ◽

Fumihiko Tochinai ◽

Hidekazu Kanemitsu ◽

Ali Al-Talbe

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Environmental Issues ◽

Education For Sustainable Development ◽

Content Type ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Attitudes And Perceptions ◽

Insight Into ◽

Engineering Undergraduates

Purpose This study aims to examine the impacts of education for sustainable development subject(s) offered at University A, Japan and University B, Malaysia on the attitude and perception toward environment, social and economic issues of sustainability among the engineering undergraduates of the institutions from different countries. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was administered to 108 engineering students at University A, Japan and 117 engineering students at University B, Malaysia to measure their attitudes and perceptions toward sustainability. Findings The findings suggested that the sustainable development courses offered at University A, Japan, have developed positive attitudes and perceptions on environmental and social sustainability issues. The subjects on sustainable development offered at University B, Malaysia have developed positive attitudes and perceptions on the environmental issues of sustainability. Respondents from both universities, Japan and Malaysia, have not properly developed positive attitudes and perceptions toward economic sustainability issues. The findings also revealed that geographical boundaries have no influence toward the development of the attitude and perception toward sustainability issues. Originality/value This study provides insight into the attitude and perception toward the three pillars – environment, social and economic – of sustainability among engineering undergraduates from two different institutions of two different countries that apply different pedagogic strategies in education for sustainable development in educating undergraduates on sustainable development.

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The Sustainability Matrix: A Tool for Integrating and Assessing Sustainability in the Bachelor and Master Theses of Engineering Degrees

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12145755 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (14) ◽

pp. 5755

Author(s):

Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo ◽

David López ◽

Carme Martín ◽

Eva Vidal ◽

Jose Cabré ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Good Tool ◽

Beneficial Result ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Sustainable Products ◽

First Results ◽

Development Goals ◽

Sustainable Services ◽

Sustainable Projects

It is vital that subjects such as the circular economy, sustainable design, green computing or environmental engineering be included in the engineering curriculum. Education for sustainable development will enable engineers to develop sustainable products and provide sustainable services, thereby leading to a beneficial result for society and making an indispensable contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals achievement. As the last stage for students in academia, Degree Theses (Bachelor’s and Master’s) provide a good tool for reviewing the sustainability competencies developed during the degree, as well as being an opportunity for applying these competencies in a holistic way. In their Degree Theses, students should be able to demonstrate that they are aware of the need to introduce and assess sustainability in their future engineering projects. This paper presents a guide aimed at helping engineering students to design and develop sustainable projects, and analyzes the first results of its use in two schools of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya—BarcelonaTech. The proposal is based on a tool referred to as “the Sustainability Matrix”, in which cells contain questions that engineering students should take into account when undertaking their Degree Theses. The questions are related to the project development, the project exploitation and the possible risks involved, three aspects in accordance with the sustainability dimensions (economic, environmental and social). The Sustainability Matrix helps students to develop sustainable projects when they graduate, and teachers to assess how sustainability is incorporated across the curriculum in the subjects they teach and in the students’ Degree Theses.

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Psychological Work on the Sustainable Development Goals

Zeitschrift für Psychologie ◽

10.1027/2151-2604/a000371 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 227 (2) ◽

pp. 160-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rainer K. Silbereisen

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Development Goals

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Time to revise the Sustainable Development Goals

Nature ◽

10.1038/d41586-020-02002-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 583 (7816) ◽

pp. 331-332 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Development Goals

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Challenges of the Crisis: How to Measure Sustainable Development?

Voprosy Ekonomiki ◽

10.32609/0042-8736-2015-1-147-160 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 147-160 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

S. Bobylev ◽

N. Zubarevich ◽

S. Solovyeva

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

World Bank ◽

Environmental Indicators ◽

Calculation Methods ◽

Basic Principles ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Development Index ◽

Development Indicators ◽

Sustainable Development Indicators ◽

Adjusted Net Savings

The article emphasizes the fact that traditional socio-economic indicators do not reflect the challenges of sustainable development adequately, and this is particularly true for the widely-used GDP indicator. In this connection the elaboration of sustainable development indicators is needed, taking into account economic, social and environmental factors. For Russia, adaptation and use of concepts and basic principles of calculation methods for adjusted net savings index (World Bank) and human development index (UNDP) as integral indicators can be promising. The authors have developed the sustainable development index for Russia, which aggregates and allows taking into account balanced economic, social and environmental indicators.

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