Learning the "systems language": the current challenge for engineering education

Purpose Present-day engineering education is in dire need to expose would-be engineers to a systemic view of the world. Society's problems are getting increasingly complex "wicked" problems, and they require inter and transdisciplinary approaches to understand and "dissolve" them (that is to solve them systemically). In this context, the purpose of this paper is to invite engineering educators to reflect on the need to teach systems thinking and spark their interest on finding appropriate methods to do so. This paper aims to describe an actual intervention at Universidad de Ibague (UNIBAGUE), Colombia, where the methodology of teaching systems thinking as a foreign language has been on trial for one year. Design/methodology/approach Starting with a simple model of teaching systems thinking, and using an action-research methodology, the teaching model is gradually evolved to a model for teaching systems thinking as a foreign language. Findings The authors only have preliminary qualitative results with this systems-thinking teaching model. Although these results are encouraging (the authors think basic systems concepts are better apprehended by the students), further research is needed. One objective of the present paper is precisely to invite engineering educators to experiment with this teaching model. Originality/value The idea of teaching systems thinking as a foreign language has not been widely explored. Furthermore, we feel that inasmuch as systems thinking is more of a skill or competency, than a technique or theory, then the model of teaching which emerges from this case study might be more appropriate than models of teaching based in the old educational paradigm.