Globalization Of Engineering Ethics Education

Borderless ethics and the attempt to develop a global engineering code of ethics have formulated significant driving forces behind trends in engineering ethics education. This is because engineering is no longer limited by borders and therefore the differences in culture and values from one country to another become a significant factor in the outcome of an engineering project, product, or undertaking. There are many sides to the issue of ethics globalization. As educators in this field continuous attempts are made to look at these issues systematically and assess the required modifications for our ethics education to produce engineers that are globally successful. Endeavors by the authors to “internationalize” instruction in engineering ethics include the solicitation of input from engineering and technology students at Lake Superior State University with regard to changes in the ethics component of the engineering curriculum. This past year third-year students were given a survey soliciting their views on what ethical values are “universal” and what values are specific to a given national and/or cultural setting. Additionally, students were asked to suggest contributions that the American engineering professional community can make to the development of a comprehensive international engineering ethics code, and what Americans in turn can learn about ethics and values from their foreign counterparts. This paper includes a discussion of the results of this survey; views differed widely from student to student, as expected, but certain common threads of thought were found throughout the entire surveyed group. The discussion is carried out in light of professional level surveys’ results that were published recently by professional societies of engineers.