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Against a backdrop of the carbon net zero challenge and heated debates on issues such as diversity and inclusion, the scale of engineerings environmental and societal impact has never been more apparent.

And for ethical engineering charity Engineers Without Borders head of engineering Emma Crichton, engineering ethics must be at the heart of every project, from design to construction and beyond.

Crichton explains that the concept of engineering ethics revolves around the impact that engineers can have through their work and their responsibility to enact positive change globally.

Engineers Without Borders helps universities deliver ethically-led project based modules

The things that we do and the things that we produce change peoples lives and they have an impact. It is a positive impact, but also a negative impact. It is that moral duty when you have the responsibility of designing something that could impact lots of people, Crichton says.

The consideration of ethics in engineering is not a new concept, but Crichton insists that our view of ethics is shifting to reflect todays varying challenges.

In recent times, were seeing the evolution of ethics and looking at what that means in the 21st century when we have the digital capabilities that we have across the planet and the ability to connect with one another, but also when were looking at the social and environmental challenges that were facing today, and how they differ from the morals or duty that we had in the past, she says.

When were looking at what engineering ethics needs to be today, it needs to look at what is our current state of play in terms of the world. What is the impact of engineering? But also broadening that out to consider what is the responsibility of engineers or people working in the engineering community.

Crichton says that the societal disruption and uncertainty experienced in the last year, primarily due to the coronavirus pandemic, is also an important factor. What is the responsibility of engineers in that space? Thats what Im interested in, in terms of exploring what does ethics look like today and what are the values that we should be trying to instil within professionals in our profession, she adds.

For Engineers Without Borders, helping to define and instil ethical responsibility into every aspect of engineering is the organisations raison dtre. The charity was established in the early 2000s by a group of university students who had become increasingly frustrated that their curriculums failed to reflect real world challenges.

They were learning theoretical concepts but couldnt see how that could be applied to make a meaningful difference in the real world, adds Crichton.

The things that we do and the things that we produce change peoples lives and they have an impact

The curriculum for educating engineers has to an extent been stuck in the 1970s or 1980s even though the world has changed dramatically since then weve had the digital revolution, weve had greater understanding of our global challenges, etcetera.

Crichton is adamant that the education system must evolve to meet the needs of todays society and believes her organisation is ideally placed to help drive that transition.

Engineers Without Borders has grown rapidly from a student movement to a staff-led organisation, with a strong academic presence. It has established two education programmes within the curriculums of 43 universities.

Engineering students come into university and they do a module that has one of our real world design challenges in it. That basically allows the students to practice globally responsible engineering, thinking about the social and environmental aspects but also asks how you actually do that in a real world context, Crichton explains. This isnt just about the buildings and the bridges, this is about changing peoples lives and the responsibility [engineers] have there.

The project-based modules have reached 50,000 students around the world over the last decade. They are currently available at universities in the UK, South Africa and the United States.

But Crichton insists that the organisation is not solely focused on the future generation of people going into engineering.

This is about our profession at large responding to the need to do engineering differently and the different mindsets and skillsets that will be required to do that and, actually, the urgency required there, she says.

Engineers Without Borders aim is to provide support for engineers who are trying to drive positive change but who perhaps lack access to the tools and resources to make it happen.

According to Crichton, there is a significant gap in the industrys capacity to upskill professionals and help them to grapple with the complex challenges affecting many people and communities around the world.

Our role is very much about pointing at the need for global responsibility and providing space for people to explore that and being able to join the dots effectively acrossthat space. Its not saying that we have all the answers, its just that we have noticed that this is a need here, she says.

Can we invite conversation or inputs from others who think differently about something?

By joining the dots to help tackle some of the key issues facing society from the climate emergency to social inequality Crichton emphasises the importance of having the openness to challenge or explore new concepts and encourages engineers to consider whether there is an opportunity to engage people with varying perspectives throughout a projects decision-making process.

Rather than just saying well have the engineers or the experts can we actually broaden that out?

Can we invite conversation or inputs from others who, whether its local communities or groups, think differently about something? she asks.

The magnitude of todays challenges, including meeting net zero targets and embedding social value in infrastructure, undoubtedly requires a cultural shift across the industry.

Unfortunately, its not a tweak that we need, its quite a fundamental change, Crichton says. [The industry needs] cultural change around sharing stories and lessons learned, and opening up and being vulnerable about the fact that quite a lot of us in engineering will have to go on a learning journey. And thats not necessarily easy.

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Interview | Emma Crichton on helping engineers with the ethics of their work - New Civil Engineer