STS in Engineering Education: Contributions From the Engineering, Technology and Society Network

Abstract

Based on the teaching experience of the Engineering, Technology and Society Network, this paper analyzes the contributions made by STS studies to engineering education. This network offers educational perspectives for engineering students in their first semesters of higher education and has added recently a graduate education approach. This article describes how STS scholarship contributed a comprehensive view of technology, interdisciplinarity and development of critical thinking. Finally, it reviews STS education through active teaching and design in context, and describes the emergence of a graduate certificate program under an engineering, technology and society approach. This program combines engineering, social participation, technological assessment and STS thinking.