Course syllabus adopted 2025-02-17 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).
Overview
- Swedish nameHållbar utveckling, etik och ingenjörens ansvar
- CodeTEK336
- Credits7.5 Credits
- OwnerTIEPL
- Education cycleFirst-cycle
- Main field of studyEnergy and Environmental Systems and Technology
- ThemeEnvironment 7.5 c
- DepartmentSPACE, EARTH AND ENVIRONMENT
- GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail
Course round 1
- Teaching language Swedish
- Application code 68123
- Maximum participants70
- Open for exchange studentsNo
- Only students with the course round in the programme overview.
Credit distribution
Module | Sp1 | Sp2 | Sp3 | Sp4 | Summer | Not Sp | Examination dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0117 Examination 2.5 c Grading: TH | 2.5 c | ||||||
| 0217 Project 5 c Grading: UG | 5 c |
In programmes
Examiner
Ulrika Lundqvist- Professor, Physical Resource Theory, Space, Earth and Environment
Eligibility
General entry requirements for bachelor's level (first cycle)Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.
Specific entry requirements
The same as for the programme that owns the course.Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.
Course specific prerequisites
-Aim
The aim of the course is to inspire and stimulate the student to reflect over how he/she can contribute to a sustainable development, both in his/her everyday life and in his/her profession. Doing so requires a basic understanding of the concept of sustainable development, knowledge about environmental and social challenges facing current production systems, as well as insights in to the ethical aspects of these challenges. The objective of the course is therefore both to generate a strong interest in sustainability and ethical issues and to provide the student with knowledge and tools for tackling complex sustainability problems and ethical dilemmas in their future professional life.Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)
Knowledge and understanding:
- account for the meaning of sustainable development in its three principal dimensions (ecological, economic and social), and explain differences in the interpretation of the concept between actors.
- account for different ethical frameworks (ethics of consequences, duty and virtue).
- account for concepts that describe the interaction between technology and society.
- critically identify and analyze current sustainability issues including its challenges and possible solutions.
- identify, analyze and make assessments of ethical issues, including aspects of gender equality, equal treatment and diversity.
- collect and critically examine information that is relevant to the topic of the course, and communicate this information both in speech and writing.
- reflect on different views on professional ethics and the engineers responsibility for e.g. sustainability, as well as account for his/her own views on these issues.
Content
The course content is divided into three blocks. The first two contain a theoretical foundation for sustainable development and ethics. In the third block, the students apply the theoretical knowledge they have acquired in a project focused on solutions to sustainability problems, linked to their future professional role. Below a brief specification of the content of each block is given:I. Perspectives on sustainable development:
- history and understanding of the concept of sustainable development and its three dimensions: ecological, social, and economic sustainability.
- key concepts such as substitutability, weak vs. strong sustainability, intra- and intergenerational justice and how these relate to the ethical dimensions of sustainable development.
- wicked problems, as well as the role of technology and the engineer in sustainable development.
II. Ethics and the engineer's responsibility:
- ethical frameworks (consequential, duty and virtue ethics)
- moral reasoning, common fallacies and methods for analyzing ethical dilemmas
- how society affects, and is affected by, technical development, as well as ethics of technology
- engineering ethics, the difference between private and professional ethics, and the responsibilities of the engineer
- materials systems in society
- the energy and transportation systems in society
- the use of land and sea in society
- life cycle assessment
- and a project that ties together all parts of the course, where students collect information about a company and a product, among other things, by interviewing one of the company's engineers
Organisation
The first two blocks consist of lessons and a hand-in assignment that will support the learning of each block. The third block consists of a project in which an industry, company and type of product will be analysed based on ethics, sustainability problems and possible solutions. The students themselves get to collect information by, among other things, interviewing an engineer at the company they are studying. The content of the lessons in this block will support the work and learning of the project.Literature
- Sven-Ove-Hansson, Teknik och etik (available online)
- Fredrik Hedenus, Martin Persson and Frances Sprei, Hållbar utveckling - nyanser & tolkningar. Studentlitteratur, 2022 (second edition).
- Fredrik Ståhl, Moralfilosofi & argumentation (available from course page)
- A selection of texts that are available through the course homepage.
Examination including compulsory elements
The first two blocks are examined, each with a blank that is given during the course. The third block is examined with a report and oral presentation. The two assignments in the first two blocks and the project can give bonus points that can be used for a higher final grade on the entire course compared to the grade on the exams.
Compulsory parts of the course are:
- the two assignments for the first two blocks, which includes a mandatory presentation session for each assignment,
- the project in block three, which includes: submission of a project plan, a report and peer feedback as well as a supervision session, a lecture on life cycle assessment and a presentation session with opposition.
The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers about disability study support.