Building Climate Adaptation Capacity: A Pedagogical Model for Training Civil Engineers

Civil engineers play a central role in climate change adaptation, as they are responsible for designing and managing infrastructure that supports societal resilience. However, professional education has not kept pace with the growing demand for sustainability competencies. This paper proposes a pedagogical model for capacity building that equips engineers with the skills needed to integrate climate adaptation into their daily practice. Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders across Canada identified four pedagogical pillars of effective training: appreciation of climate risks, reflective practice, project-based learning, and design thinking. These were synthesized into the Model for Climate Change Adaptation through Appreciation and Engagement, which emphasizes both technical proficiency and transversal competencies such as collaboration, critical reflection, and ethical responsibility. By grounding climate knowledge in authentic, workplace-based contexts, the model bridges sustainability learning and engineering practice through a scalable training framework. It supports the advancement of Quality Education (SDG 4), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11) and Climate Action (SDG 13), while offering practical guidance to universities, professional associations, and policymakers seeking to accelerate climate adaptation in engineering education.