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SEFI Ethics Special Interest Group Newsletter
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The Ethics SIG Newsletter is issued 8 times per year and aims to share information on cutting edge engineering ethics research and practices. If you would like to join the mailing list, you may subscribe directly at the SEFI Ethics website.
If you would like to propose an item for the newsletter, please contact [email protected]
or [email protected].
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The dynamic world of digital ethics |
“Things are changing so fast that there are so many ethics issues emerging in computer science: how data mining is used, AI, cyber security, algorithmic decisions, or privacy. That was the motivation” says Dympna O’Sullivan of TU Dublin, describing the background to the project Ethics4EU. “Getting beyond just ‘professional and legal issues’ and giving students a genuine understanding of ethics”.
The project, funded under the Erasmus+ programme, is an international collaboration led by O’Sullivan in Ireland and involving teams from universities in France, Sweden, Italy as well as Informatics Europe in Switzerland. “Where ethics for ICT is taught at all, it is often taught as a standalone subject with little domain context, often by non-ICT professionals. This can led to disinterest from students. But the ethics issues in ICT are huge and often unanticipated”.
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"We need to think about what goes into the process as well as what goes out, adds Damian Gordon, O’Sullivan’s colleague at TU Dublin. “Take the environmental impact of data. Within the next decade, data centres will consume about 30% of Ireland’s electricity. That is not something that our students are really thinking about”. Helping to raise students’ awareness of the unintended uses and unintended consequences of their work is central to the goals of the project.
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First international meeting of the Ethics4EU project |
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Activities on the project are organised under three themes. First, the team are carrying out a Europe-wide study on ethics provision in computer engineering programmes. A survey has been sent to computer science faculties across the continent with a view to developing a better understanding of what is currently being taught and how. Secondly the team plan to develop a repository for reusable learning objects. One particular focus of these resources is that they will aim to integrate ethics content into technical courses in computer science rather than treating it as a stand-alone topic. A premium will be placed on the use of active learning methods and approaches which allow the student to take the perspective of, and develop empathy for, those affected by their work. Thirdly, the project aims to develop a community of practice in computer science ethics education in Europe. “The ethics issues in computer science are very dynamic at the moment – as technology changes so do the concerns which arise”, says O’Sullivan. “We need to have a strong community to be able to respond in this dynamic environment”.
Further details on the Ethics4EU project can be found on the projects website www.ethics4eu.eu , or using the projects hashtags, ‘#Ethics4EU’ and ‘#CheckYourTech’, or using the project handle ‘@Ethics4EU’ on Twitter.
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Open Calls – Upcoming events |
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SEFI Annual Conference
20-24 September 2020, 4TU Centre for Engineering Education, Enschede, The Netherlands
Call for papers open (extended deadline 15 March 2020)
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Engineering Community Engagement and Service-Learning Workshop
29-31 July 2020, West Lafayette, Virginia, US
Call for papers open (deadline 16 March 2020)
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The annual ICL2020/IGIP 2020 Conference: Educating Engineers for Future Industrial Revolutions
23-25 September 2020, Tallinn, Estonia
Call for papers open (deadline 27 March 2020)
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Seminar with Khalid Kadir “Engineering an Ethical Reboot: Embracing the Social Dimension of Engineering”
12 May 2020, Carlow Institute of Technology, Ireland
Call for registration
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Special issue of The Australasia Journal of Engineering Education on Ethics in Engineering Education and Practice
The special issue is associated with the conference REES 2019, having Shannon Chance (UCL, UK & TU Dublin, Ireland) and Johannes Strobel (University of Missouri, US) as its editors.
Call for papers (deadline for full articles (~5000 words) 1 March 2020)
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Recent articles and publications |
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Socio‐technical thinking of students and practitioners in the context of humanitarian engineering - link
Author(s): Mazzurco, A., Daniel, S.
JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION
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Equity as rebar: Bridging the Micro/Macro divide in engineering ethics education - link
Author(s): Rottmann, C., Reeve, D.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION
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Students exploring power and privilege in engineering design for sustainable community development - link (page 176-184 of the linked proceedings)
Author(s): Xavier, P., Orbaek White, Goves, C.
THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE 7th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE UK AND IRELAND ENGINEERING EDUCATION NETWORK
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A Comprehensive Overview of Approaches to Teaching Ethics in a University Setting - link
Author(s): Safatly, L., Itani, M., Srour, I., El-Hajj, A.
JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING EDUCATION
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SEFI thanks its corporate partners for their support: |
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SEFI aisbl
39, rue des Deux Eglises
1000 Brussels
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