Do we need ethics or sustainability in engineering?
How to decide on this question? 

SEFI Spring School 2024
10 - 12 April 2024

jointly organized by the two
SEFI Special Interest Groups on Ethics and Sustainability

Short Report on the Spring School
Program of the Spring School

Inspiration for the title of the spring school - Children’s Book: Crocodile or Octopus?

The children’s book “Kroko oder Krake? Du musst dich entscheiden!” (“Crocodile or Octopus? You have to decide!”) by Jörg Mühle sets the tone for the spring school. The picture book gives a choice on each page, for instance whether you want to live in a huge mansion or a small house, whether you want to be raised by a serpent or an eagle, whether you want to get lost in the woods or in a crowd and of course if you would rather have a crocodile under your bed or an octopus in your bathtub. In engineering and higher education we are confronted with this every day. However while growing up we tend to reduce arising questions to all or nothing dilemmas that have only one valid answer. With this spring school we want to reflect on who gets to ask the questions and how to answer them as well as who gets to represent the choices and how to choose. And yes, we also want to regain a bit of playfulness in order to find creative solutions for what lies ahead.
 

Do we accept quick technological fixes to complex societal issues? At what cost?

A predominant belief in technological progress is held up through a society wishing for easy technological solutions for complex ecological and social problems. For instance, there is a strong demand for technological innovations as a remedy for ecological destruction as well as a pathway to end hunger and to establish peace. This belief in quick technological fixes is further held up by engineers who reduce the complexity of our local and global societies and their entanglement with nature to mere questions of optimization and efficiency. On a political level, these technological fixes are then presented as if there is no alternative to them which in return calls for their immediate, technocratic and often forceful implementation. Therefore, the question arises if this is still democratic or already authoritarian.
 

Questions and choices that are linked to the spring school

This SEFI Spring School on ethics and sustainability addresses the role of democracy in engineering education: How to decide on what and how to teach in engineering education? - Who gets to teach and learn engineering? - What is the societal role of universities (of technology)? - Should universities educate towards democracy? If yes, how is it done? If no, who else should take care of that? - Should (higher) education be democratic? If yes, what does that entail with regard to critical debate, protest and resistance on campus? - Are there core values in a democracy and how do they relate towards the values of engineering, ethics and sustainability? How to teach, learn and practice these values as (prospective) engineers? - What is the difference between an engineer as a professional and as a citizen with regard to democracy? - What can engineers do to contribute to a democratic and sustainable society? How can they be decision-makers and change agents? - Who should be integrated in decision-making processes on technology and when is it acceptable to leave someone out? - What purpose should technology serve? - Is a democracy better suited to implement sustainable development or should we leave sustainability to a benevolent dictator? - How can we uphold an equal right to freedom for all humans? - Is there a chance for peace without democracy and sustainability? ...

The underlying question "Crocodile or Octopus?" was not properly answered during the SEFI Spring School 2024 on "Democracy in Engineering Education", from 10 to 12 April 2024 at TU Berlin. The two SEFI special interest groups on ethics and sustainability jointly organized the spring school and put a variation of the first question forward “Do we need ethics or sustainability in engineering? How to decide on this question?”. Over three days, 52 participants from 30 institutions located in 14 countries attended the spring school. 47 participants work as academic staff but also 2 students and 3 persons from outside of academia joined us to tackle the questions.

The opening speech of TU Berlin from 1946 set the tone for the entire spring school. This speech was held on the ruins of Nazi Germany by the British general and city commander Eric P. Nares. Throughout the entire speech Nares urges the university to educate towards responsibility, democracy and peace. He strongly called that “all education, technical, humanistic, or what you will, is universal: that is to say it must embrace the whole of man, the whole personality, and its first aim is to produce a whole human being, capable of taking his place responsibly beside his fellows in a community. Its second aim may be to produce a good philologist, a good architect, a good musician or a good engineer.”

Throughout the spring school we as a group learned that addressing the existing power relations within our group is highly uncomfortable and more so to tackle them - but in the end it is worth the effort and highly rewarding. For this we often left pure, comfortable, known scientific territory and challenged ourselves. This allowed us to not only learn the hard skills but also the very hard skills that make us human  (e.g., reaching across the different disciplines; enduring contradictions and discrepancies; bridging areas like body and mind; using art to express feelings and to take care). Thus, we not only discussed engineering as caring from a distance, but we practiced taking care of one another as well as of the entire group for instance by cleaning up the room, preparing food together, washing the dishes etc. As someone wisely put it during our daily reflective circles: “The first step for equality is to see and observe what happens around one and to act accordingly. The second step can be summarized in three words in all their broadness and boldness: sharing is caring.”

In this spirit, the spring school asked the participants to fully share with others their time, interests and experiences. For this, they should not bring their pre-fixed presentations that they always do, but people with similar interests were put together to co-create a coherent session for two hours which engages the participants. In total, four participant run sessions took place with three parallel sessions - each had a distinct focus either on democracy, ethics or sustainability. The topics covered were: Collaboration and Communities, Postnormal Science, Sculpting and Embodying, Just do it, Frameworks and Codes, Mathematics beyond counting, Education beyond the classroom, Diversity matters - Social Justice and Feminism, Responsible Development/Use of Software and AI as well as Wicked Technology and/or Problems?!. In addition to the parallel sessions, one short interactive session on Wednesday evening helped to question and to broaden the term Democracy from a theoretical point of view. While we explored the notion of art within us and on the campus of TU Berlin through the short interactive session on Thursday evening.

In the end, this spring school showed that a high degree of involvement in the co-creation of such an event is possible and that the participants find this an uncomfortable but equally enjoyable learning experience as they were all jointly creating the spring school together. It is the first time that the two SEFI special interest groups on ethics and sustainability held a joint spring school, but this experience clearly showed that coming together across disciplines is worth the effort as it enriches and challenges at the same time.

Going back to the question "Crocodile or Octopus?", “Sustainability or Ethics?”.  The answer is clearly both. We should continue to challenge the “Crocodile and Octopus”, two distinct beings but beings nonetheless, to collaborate and maybe co-create something new and unforeseen. And even though there is uncertainty, there is also space for learning and inspiring others. Thank you to all participants for the three days of openness, and constructive discussions.

TU Berlin
rooms H 2035, 2036, 2037
second floor of the main building
adjacent to the patio

Straße des 17. Juni 135
10623 Berlin
52°30'42.5"N 13°19'37.4"E - exact location on Google Maps

10.00 - Who are we? Where are we (from)? How are we...?
Getting to know each other and what brought us here - Opening Session
Aida Guerra - Aalborg University, Helena Kovacs - EPFL and André Baier - TU Berlin
 

11.00 - The Role of Responsibility, Democracy and Peace in Engineering Education
Opening speech of TU Berlin from 1946 by Eric P. Nares - joint reading and discussion by all participants
Helena Kovacs - EPFL and André Baier - TU Berlin
 

12.00 - Power Relations - What is power in our group? How do we want to deal with it?
Betzavta Pedagogy of Democracy - joint activity with all participants
André Baier - TU Berlin
 

13.00 - Joint Lunch - Yummy in your tummy : )
 

15.00 - Parallel Sessions

• Collaboration and Communities - Democracy
  Khaoula Trigui - Independent, Zane Sarma, Karlis Valtins - Riga Technical University, Thijs Loonstra - Wageningen University
   
• Postnormal Science - Ethics
  Diana Bairaktarova - Virginia Tech, Shannon Chance - TU Dublin, Tom Børsen - Aalborg University, Gaston Mesken - Ghent University, Angel Batalla - TU München, Hendrik Müller - Hochschule Fresenius
   
• Sculpting and embodying towards social and environmental justice - Sustainability
  Melanie Studer - EPFL
   

17.00 - Democracy, Ethics, Sustainability and Higher Education
What are the current problems and how could they be tackled? - background document
Input followed by plenary discussion
Henk Zandvoort - TU Delft

18.00 - Joint Dinner - Gimme Eat - Catch-22 : )
 

10.00 - What has happened? What needs to be said and to happen?
Sharing is caring while sitting in a circle of chairs - joint activity by all participants
Aida Guerra - Aalborg University, Helena Kovacs - EPFL and André Baier - TU Berlin
 

11.00 - Parallel Sessions

• Just do it and Psychology - Democracy
  Ana Voichita Tebeanu - Politehnica Bucharest, Peter Birch, Thomas Lennerfors, Alex Ljung - Uppsala University
   
• Frameworks, Codes of Conduct, Toolkits - Ethics
  Inês Direito - University of Aveiro, Sarah Hitt - Engineering Professors' Council UK, Ester Gimenez-Carbo - Universitat Politècnica de València, Ute Berbuir - Ruhr Universität Bochum, Benjamin Schwarz - Universität zu Lübeck
   
• Mathematics beyond counting - Sustainability
  Adélie Garin - EPFL, Georg Loho - FU Berlin, Matheus de Andrade - UCL
   
• Education beyond the classroom - Online
  Aida Guerra - Aalborg University, Alison Gwynne-Evans - University of Cape Town, Vesna Manojlovic - RIPE NCC, Mariam Makramalla - NewGiza University
   

13.00 - Joint Lunch - Eat smaklig : )
 

15.00 - Parallel Sessions

• Diversity matters - Social Justice and Feminism - Democracy
  Emanuela Tilley, Vivek Ramachandran - UCL, Sahra Dornick - TU Berlin
   
• Responsible Development/Use of Software and AI - Ethics
  Cécile Hardebolle - EPFL, Kristina Khutsishvili - University of Amsterdam, Paula Tomi - Politehnica Bucharest, Cosima Klischat - Hochschule Karlsruhe
   
• Wicked Technology and/or Problems?! - Sustainability
  Malvina Ongaro - Politecnico di Milano, Valentina Rossi, Siara Isaac, Laura Ferrarello - EPFL,  Mircea Tobosaru - Politehnica Bucharest, Miguel Romá - University of Alicante
   

17.00 - Art within us and on the campus of TU Berlin
Aafke Fraaije - TU Delft, Narges Panjalioursangari, Antonia Dönitz, Christina Völlmecke - TU Berlin

18.00 - Joint Dinner - Delicatessen - Caro Jeunet : )
 

10.00 - What has happened? What needs to be said and to happen?
Sharing is caring while sitting in a circle of chairs - joint activity by all participants
Aida Guerra - Aalborg University, Helena Kovacs - EPFL and André Baier - TU Berlin
 

11.00 - Parallel Sessions

• Democracy
  Open Workshop/Future Initiatives
  André Baier - TU Berlin, Henk Zandvoort - TU Delft
   
• Ethics
  Open Workshop/Future Initiatives
  Siara Isaac- EPFL, Alaa Abdalla - TU Eindhoven
   
• Sustainability / Hybrid
  Open Workshop/Future Initiatives
  Aida Guerra - Aalborg University
   

13.00 - Don’t look back in anger - look forward with bliss. Or vice versa.
Closing Session - Wrapping Up - Outlook
Aida Guerra - Aalborg University, Helena Kovacs - EPFL and André Baier - TU Berlin
 

14.00 - Joint Lunch - Eat the rich and what is leftover : )
 

Who should attend? - Heroes, villains and normal people

The SEFI Spring School is a community building event for everyone who is active in engineering education in relation towards democracy, sustainability, ethics and peace. It does not follow traditional formats of academic workshops/conferences but calls for participants who do things a bit or even a lot different and who want to reach out to others beyond any human-made border. Therefore, the spring school is as much about the people who participate as about what and how they do it. Students and staff, academics and professionals, artists and engineers, SEFI members and non-members, rogues and bureaucrats... are equally called to express their interest in presenting their work.
 

What should you present and how to put it up for discussion? - Enganging, provoking, disturbing, enchanting...

Please, show and tell what you do but more importantly let us experience and practice it first hand at the spring school. Thus, interactive and engaging formats are strongly preferred for example as 15 minute-activities, (a bit) longer workshops or short provoking presentations that stimulate discussion. Artistic formats and any other unconventional format is highly encouraged.
 

How to express an interest to attend? When is the deadline and when do you communicate the decision? - Fill in the form below

By the end of the deadline we received 42 proposals for talks/sessions/workshops. Until beginning of February we will play Lego and Tetris in order to create an inspiring program.
In case you missed the deadline and still want to join, please fill in the expression of interest

Do I need to send in a paper? Will there be some written output? - No and yes.

Within the organisational committee we currently discuss if and how there will be some written, academic output of the school which would include a DOI : ) ... However, please be aware that the written exchange is not the primary goal of this spring school but the actual, face-to-face cozyness, collaboration and confrontation.

When and where? - 10 - 12 April 2024 at TU Berlin

The SEFI Spring School 2024 starts on Wednesday, 10 April at 10.00 and finishes on Friday, 12 April at 15.00. There will be a pre-event on Tuesday evening as well as a post-event on Friday afternoon and evening - details will follow. The spring school will take place on the main campus of TU Berlin, close to Ernst-Reuter-Platz.
 

Who organizes the spring school? - We and you. Come on board!

The SEFI Spring School is jointly organized by the SEFI special interest groups on Ethics and Sustainability. Currently, the organization lies in the hands of Aida Guera (Aalborg University), Helena Kovacs (EPFL) and André Baier (TU Berlin). We want to take a collaborative approach so that you are welcome to co-design the programme of the spring school with us. If you have any ideas or want to get involved, please write an email to Spring-School(at)tins-d.org
 

Is this the first spring school or were there several others? It is the third.

The SEFI special interest group on ethics held two previous spring schools. The spring school on Engineering ethics education: Navigating uncertainty was held in 2023 in Brussels, Belgium. The spring school on Engineering ethics education and social justice: synthesis and growth was held in 2022 in Leysin, Switzerland. This year’s edition is the result of an intensified cooperation between the SEFI special interest groups on ethics and sustainability.

How much does it cost? - Free. Please show/take solidarity

Attendance at the SEFI Spring School is free. Coffee, tea, water and light food is served at the spring school. Lunch and dinner are paid individually by the participants. Travel costs and hotel costs can be quite high for some participants especially from low-income countries. Please, let us know if you or your institution is able to fund a lump sum to support the attendance of one participant. Please, also let us know if you need some financial support to attend the spring school.
 

Where to stay? - Hotel contingent at B&B Hotel Tiergarten and many other options

There is a hotel contingent of 20 rooms at B&B Hotel Tiergarten for stays from Tuesday to Friday for 321,50 Euro in total including breakfast. The hotel is less than a 10 minutes walk away from the venue. The hotel costs are to be paid by the participant. In order to reserve a room, please write an email until 27 January 2024 to the hotel with the keyword SEFI - berlin-tiergarten(at)hotelbb.com - reserved rooms can be canceled until the last day. Apart from this hotel, there are many other hotels nearby, please check online.