TY - GEN
T1 - Innovation for the communities
T2 - 2023 IEEE IFEES World Engineering Education Forum and Global Engineering Deans Council, WEEF-GEDC 2023
AU - Al-Azri, Nasser
AU - Al-Rawahi, Nabeel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 IEEE.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Recent advancements associated with the third and fourth industrial revolutions have substantial impact on different aspects of the individual's life. Besides the technological advancement, entrepreneurship, startups and economic competitiveness have become more common. Innovation and the fourth industrial revolution are closely intertwined concepts that together are forming the new shape of the current and future landscape of industries, economies, and societies. Moreover, societal challenges like climate change, energy access, healthcare access, and urbanization have galvanized efforts to find innovative solutions, drawing attention and investment to those who can address these pressing issues. The unprecedented accessibility and modularity of technology have made innovative solutions more reachable than ever, which in turn brings about a new ethical dimension in humanitarian engineering and engineering education. However, when examining a significant research-article database, it becomes evident that only a small fraction of research papers on innovation is dedicated to marginalized communities. This underscores the need for proactive measures to raise awareness and promote greater innovation for marginalized communities within academic circles. This paper underscores the necessity for a reevaluation of social responsibility within the realms of engineering ethics and design, particularly in view of the recent progress in design thinking and innovation. Additionally, it outlines the application of this approach and engages in a detailed discourse. Specifically, it establishes a design project for senior engineering students, tasked with exploring the issue of energy challenges within a local community and subsequently generating technically viable and sustainable solutions as part of their brainstorming process.
AB - Recent advancements associated with the third and fourth industrial revolutions have substantial impact on different aspects of the individual's life. Besides the technological advancement, entrepreneurship, startups and economic competitiveness have become more common. Innovation and the fourth industrial revolution are closely intertwined concepts that together are forming the new shape of the current and future landscape of industries, economies, and societies. Moreover, societal challenges like climate change, energy access, healthcare access, and urbanization have galvanized efforts to find innovative solutions, drawing attention and investment to those who can address these pressing issues. The unprecedented accessibility and modularity of technology have made innovative solutions more reachable than ever, which in turn brings about a new ethical dimension in humanitarian engineering and engineering education. However, when examining a significant research-article database, it becomes evident that only a small fraction of research papers on innovation is dedicated to marginalized communities. This underscores the need for proactive measures to raise awareness and promote greater innovation for marginalized communities within academic circles. This paper underscores the necessity for a reevaluation of social responsibility within the realms of engineering ethics and design, particularly in view of the recent progress in design thinking and innovation. Additionally, it outlines the application of this approach and engages in a detailed discourse. Specifically, it establishes a design project for senior engineering students, tasked with exploring the issue of energy challenges within a local community and subsequently generating technically viable and sustainable solutions as part of their brainstorming process.
KW - engineering education
KW - humanitarian engineering
KW - marginalized communities
KW - project-based learning
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85182315778&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85182315778&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/WEEF-GEDC59520.2023.10343872
DO - 10.1109/WEEF-GEDC59520.2023.10343872
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85182315778
T3 - 2023 IEEE IFEES World Engineering Education Forum and Global Engineering Deans Council: Convergence for a Better World: A Call to Action, WEEF-GEDC 2023 - Proceedings
BT - 2023 IEEE IFEES World Engineering Education Forum and Global Engineering Deans Council
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Y2 - 23 October 2023 through 27 October 2023
ER -