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Introducing Sustainability in a Robotic Engineering Degree: A Case Study

Author

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  • Francisco A. Pujol

    (Department of Computer Technology, University of Alicante, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig-Alicante, Spain)

  • David Tomás

    (Department of Software and Computing Systems, University of Alicante, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig-Alicante, Spain)

Abstract

This paper describes a group activity concerning the topic of climate change, designed to introduce the concepts of sustainable development into a Robotic Engineering degree. The purpose of this activity was to make students reflect about the impact of their work on the planet as future engineers by asking them to design an environmentally friendly robot that also integrated social and economic aspects, covering the three dimensions of sustainability in this way. Students were surveyed in order to study different aspects of their commitment, attitudes, practices, and motivation towards sustainability. In addition to the overall analysis of the survey, three specific studies were carried out with the aim of comparing the responses of different population groups: (i) Students who completed the proposed assignment and students who did not, (ii) female and male students, and (iii) roles played in the assignment. The results of the analysis revealed the high commitment of the students with respect to sustainability, but also a lack of active participation and awareness of their impact as future engineers. The activity was not only a way to introduce sustainability concepts, but in many cases, it also became a motivation for the participants, especially for the female students.

Suggested Citation

  • Francisco A. Pujol & David Tomás, 2020. "Introducing Sustainability in a Robotic Engineering Degree: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-24, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:14:p:5574-:d:382875
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Susana Romero & Marian Aláez & Daniel Amo & David Fonseca, 2020. "Systematic Review of How Engineering Schools around the World Are Deploying the 2030 Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-22, June.
    2. Jiawen Wang & Minghui Yang & Petra Maresova, 2020. "Sustainable Development at Higher Education in China: A Comparative Study of Students’ Perception in Public and Private Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-19, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Leire Guerenabarrena-Cortazar & Jon Olaskoaga-Larrauri & Ernesto Cilleruelo-Carrasco, 2021. "Integration of Sustainability in Engineering and Architectural Studies in Spanish Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-14, July.
    2. Fei Chao & Gan Lin & Ling Zheng & Xiang Chang & Chih-Min Lin & Longzhi Yang & Changjing Shang, 2020. "An LSTM Based Generative Adversarial Architecture for Robotic Calligraphy Learning System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-11, October.

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