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Work in Progress: Measuring Interdisciplinary Teams´ Sustainable Design with an SDG lense – Case Study

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Design in Engineering Education Division (DEED) Technical Session 13

Tagged Division

Design in Engineering Education Division (DEED)

Page Count

19

DOI

10.18260/1-2--44313

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/44313

Download Count

323

Paper Authors

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Holbeein Josué Velásquez

biography

Miguel Andres Guerra Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-7496-3753

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MiguelAndres is an Assistant Professor in the Polytechnic College of Science and Engineering at Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from USFQ, a M.Sc. in Civil Engineering in Construction Engineering and Project Management from Iowa State University, a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with emphasis in Sustainable Construction from Virginia Tech, and two Graduate Certificates from Virginia Tech in Engineering Education and Future Professoriate and from USFQ in Structures for Construction Professionals. MiguelAndres’s research includes Architectural and Civil Engineering Project Management, Sustainable and Resilient Urban Infrastructure, and the development of engineers who not only have strong technical and practical knowledge but the social awareness and agency to address global humanitarian, environmental, and social justice challenges. For him, social justice is a concept that should always be involved in discussions on infrastructure. Related to STEM education, Miguel Andres develops disruptive pedagogies for STEM courses as a tool for innovation, and assessing engineering students’ agency to address climate change. Currently, MiguelAndres is working on a framework to support and conduct undergraduate research.

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Milagros Izel Jimenez

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Abstract

Current world challenges require complex solutions from multifaceted and interdisciplinary developments. There is significant research that supports the idea that the contemporary world stands on the interaction of different fields of knowledge. Similarly, the higher impact on solutions and developments is directly related to the level of interdisciplinarity of the developing team. In this paper we look at current interdisciplinary practices in engineering education through a successful case study. Specifically, we investigated an interdisciplinary team that participated in a worldwide concrete contest. The members of such teams came from different majors and levels of knowledge. We took a particular approach to assess the sustainability of the proposed design by using an SDG lens. This study uses a mixed-method approach to understand better the role of interdisciplinarity in sustainable solutions that fit the SDGs approach. First, we analyzed the characteristics of the solutions presented and the feedback provided by contest judges. Then, the authors conducted interviews with each team member and focus group to confirm the interdisciplinarity approach. The results suggest rethinking interdisciplinarity design methodologies and approaches to maximize efficient solutions. The authors reflect on the avenue’s academia could take to form new pedagogical approaches that include interdisciplinarity in engineering schools. Implications for research and practice are provided.

Velásquez, H. J., & Guerra, M. A., & Jimenez, M. I. (2023, June), Work in Progress: Measuring Interdisciplinary Teams´ Sustainable Design with an SDG lense – Case Study Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--44313

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