New technologies, communication methods, travel, ideas and education have provided many opportunities and also created numerous challenges to be faced on a global level.  The role of science, engineering and technology as an enabler of globalisation has been significant.  Many of the grand challenges facing the global community have been created, directly or otherwise, by technology and engineering, and they have a key role to play in addressing them.  The process of globalisation has also created a new context within which engineers and technologists must practice and operate.

This course will start by examining globalisation and the role of engineering and technology in it, and the impacts it has had on engineering practice and the engineering enterprise.  Broader skills required of engineering will be identified and examined, such as global design, cross-cultural communication, community engagement, and utilising virtual environments.  External influences on engineering practice will be examined, including design strategies, standards, regulation, legislation, governance and international development.  How a systems engineering view and approach can be used to approach large complex problems and grand challenges will be examined and emphasised.  The role of technology and engineering in overcoming these grand challenges will also be examined utilising case studies of engineering while students reflect on their own experiences and understanding of engineering and practice.

On satisfactory completion of this course, the student should be able to:

• identify skills required to operate within a global engineering practice and environment.
• demonstrate the application of standards, policies and procedures, including quality standards, legislation and codes of practice, on engineering practice.
• explain the role of systems engineering and its application to global challenges, problem definition and solving, and engineering achievement.
• analyse how engineering principles, strategies and techniques such as Design for X and life-cycle analysis, can be applied to global challenges within an engineering context.
• reflect on the role of engineering and technology for global challenges and within engineering practice.

Assignment 1:  identification and discussion of a global challenge and the role of engineering and technology in both its development and potential solution, relevant to your or  practice, employment or company, including the skills required to approach the challenge.  Include a skills identification and mapping evaluation (using an e-portfolio)  20%

Assignment 2:  complete a comparison of regulation in two different countries and the impact and influence on engineering practice and application, in pairs (from different locations, cultural, discipline backgrounds using a virtual environment)  20%

Assignment 3:  an assessment of a common product or service for its environment impact and sustainability, focusing on flows (material and energy), and how it could be made more sustainable by changing system boundaries, applying a different design strategy, or a combination of the two  40%

Assignment 4:  reflect on role of engineering and technology on society.  Consider if your viewed changed during the course, did you identified additional skills for your practice, prepare a CIR/CER for a new skill you have ‘acquired’ during the course  10%

Online Class Participation  10%

Specific workload depends on program and delivery mechanisms, but the course will consist of:

• self-direct reading and learning
• synchronous peer discussions
• facilitied group discussions
• theory, case studies and worked examples

Entry to MEM or MEP program.

Previous engineering work or specialised study.

Selected extracts from the following texts and references will be utilised within GCiE:

Acosta, Carlos, Conrad, Charles, Jorge Leon, V., and Malave, Cesar O., 2010, Global Engineering - Design, Decision Making, and Communication, CRC Press, Boca Raton

Baillie, Caroline, and Catalano, George, 2009, Engineering and Society - Working Towards Social Justice, Morgan & Claypool Publishers

McDonough, William, and Braungart, Michael, 2002, Cradle-to-Cradle - Remaking the Way We Make Things, North Point Press, New York

Mulder, Karel, 2006, Sustainable Development for Engineers - A Handbook and Resource Guide, Greenleaf Publishing, UK

Parkinson, Alan, 2009, The Rationale for Developing Global Competence, Online Journal for Global Engineering Education, 4 (2)

Reader, John, 2006, Globalization, Engineering, and Creativity, Morgan and Claypool

Stasinopoulos, Peter, Smith, Michael H., Hargroves, Karlson, and Desha, Cheryl, 2009, Whole System Design - An Integrated Approach to Sustainable Engineering, earthscan, London, UK

The Royal Academy of Engineering, 2005, Engineering for Sustainable Development: Guiding Principles

Yates, J. K., 2007, Global Engineering and Construction, John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey

Course outline: https://cecs.anu.edu.au/studentdb/courses/students/csg_student.cgi?Course_Code=ENGN8110