Intradisciplinary Growth of Sustainability-Minded Engineers through Conservation Technology

BackgroundThe need for sustainability-minded engineers prepared to address complex societal challenges has grown exponentially in recent years. Frameworks like the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have begun to drive structural changes in engineering education, including new ABET accreditation focused on sustainability. The new field of conservation technology allows engineers to develop sustainability competencies and identities as conservationists and environmentalists. PurposeThis manuscript describes an assessment of student identity development in conservation and environmentalism in the GaTech4Wildlife Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) course at Georgia Tech. The course uses the principles of Human-Centered Design along with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and project-based learning to solve conservation-oriented, real-world problems and develop sustainability-minded engineers. Design/MethodUndergraduate students participated in the course and utilizing both in-person interviews and post-course assessment, students were assessed for course themes and identities. The sample consisted of students from the College of Engineering and the College of Computing. ResultsSince 2019, over 50 students have participated in this Tech4Wildlife course. Based on surveys and interviews of nearly 20 of the most recent students, students transitioned from identifying as engineers and coders with no sustainability knowledge to nearly doubling their identity measures as conservationists and environmentalists after only one semester. ConclusionsTo teach the next generation of sustainability-minded engineers, interdisciplinary, project-based courses grounded in Sustainable Development Goals may offer a meaningful pathway for students to develop both technical skills and conservationist identities.