Ethics and environmental issues in engineering education

In order to prepare the future engineer, the Engineering College of the University Centre of Lusiada (UNILUS) has developed a new engineering programme, which features a new approach to teaching that includes some extra courses of social and human sciences in the curriculum. To enrich the programme, a course in sociology was added in an effort to increase the general knowledge of the students so that they can develop a larger perception of the world that surrounds them. The goals are: to provide the future engineers with the skills to develop their creativity; to teach them how to use the information to improve their work; and above all to adopt a strong sense of ethics as well as a commitment to the environment. This programme has shown good results, which are shown in the questionnaire that is applied every year. It has also contributed to the way of seeing engineering as an agent of science and technology development for the welfare of humanity.