Integrating a global perspective into education and research: Engineering international sustainable development

Solutions to global environmental and development problems require engineers to design and construct ecologically and socially just systems, within the carrying capacity of nature and society, without compromising the welfare of future generations. Engineers must also have international perspectives if the discipline is to take a leadership role in improving the lives of the global community. This manuscript provides details of, and the motivation behind, an engineering program that allows environmental (and civil) engineering graduate students to obtain Master of Science degrees while serving as engineers in the U.S. Peace Corps. Drivers of this educational initiative are the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, the direct link of sustainable development to public health and protection of ecosystems and natural resources, and the need for engineering educators to better integrate societal and economic issues with environmental science. Examples are provided on how these issues are incorporated into a student's education and research requirements. Interviews of incoming Master's International students who do not have a first degree in civil or environmental engineering clearly indicate they are seeking a connection between their professional training and problems of our society. A perceived disconnection between engineering and societal problems is suggested as one reason why women do not go into engineering. To date, the Master's International program has had an enrollment of 39 graduate students. Approximately 40% of the students have been female and 8% have been underrepresented minorities. The program has allowed students to frame their graduate education and research within the context of the environmental, societal, and economic limitations of the developing world.