Practical empathy for the 21st Century engineer

Abstract

Background Engineering education research has increasingly been interested in how empathy can be integrated within engineering. Empathy is defined as being able to “step into another’s shoes”. Those who possess empathy as a skill can communicate well with others, create deeper interpersonal relationships, and can lead to more effective problem-solving. However, research has suggested graduates of engineering programs are entering industry with low levels of empathy, contradicting the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and falling short of 21st Century Skills. The ABET code of ethics and student outcomes explicitly outlines that engineers must consider the public when providing engineering design solutions. Other disciplines, such as design, readily equip their students with empathy-based design processes to create solutions for human-centered needs. The purpose of this thesis is to explore how design practices can inform engineering education on how to integrate empathy into engineering.

Methods A qualitative method of ethnography through observation and informal interviews was used to gain a better understanding of design and engineering disciplines. A case study methodology was used to explore cultural phenomena within the design and engineering disciplines. Specifically, I focus on Iowa State University’s undergraduate programs in Industrial Design and Electrical Engineering. I compare how their curriculums, learning environments, and design processes contribute to the cultivation of empathy within students.

Results The Industrial Design curriculum includes courses from a wide range of disciplines, including but not limited to art, history, technology, design research, and engineering. The Industrial Design curriculum also requires their students to take a design studio every year to bridge the gap between academia and industry with a focus on human-centered design processes. The Electrical Engineering curriculum includes mainly technical courses heavy in computation and laboratory environments. In addition, electrical engineering students are only required to take one design course during their final year.

Conclusions I suggest a reimagining of the Electrical Engineering curriculum by adapting a design studio approach for every year of the program. This reimagined curriculum reframes existing Electrical Engineering courses as studios, allows for collaborations between designers and engineers, and the importance of combining technical processes with creative processes for a more holistic engineering design solution to human-centered needs.