Monday 1 July 2019

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How can we better prepare Engineers to meet the needs of society in this rapidly changing world? What skills will engineers need to help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how can our higher educational institutions develop programmes to enhance those skills within engineering students? These were some of the questions posed by academics from TU Dublin last week at an employer focus group hosted by Engineers Ireland as part of the A-STEP 2030 Erasmus + project. The project which aims to address the lack of diversity in engineering programmes in Europe has three activities, which include focus groups with students, academics and employers in four European countries, work around the values and motivations of young people and adult learners and culminating in the roll-out of a learning and teaching activity which will be hosted in TU Dublin in 2021. The team which won the Erasmus+ funding in 2018 comprises academic members from ENSTA Bretagne, TU Dublin, Aalborg University, Metropolia University and Universum, SEFI and the student engineering representative group BEST. As an associate partner, Engineers Ireland hosted the employer focus group which drew on the expertise of engineering consultants, contractors and state bodies. The focus group gathered information on the awareness and implementation of the SDGs into engineering education and the skills required of engineers in the future. For more information please refer to the project website: https://www.astep2030.eu/en or contact una.beagon@dit.ie.