Rhoda Trimingham

Integrating the global dimension in engineering education : experiences from a collaborative project

The ‘Global Dimension in Engineering Education’ (GDEE) network is an initiative that aims to increase the awareness, critical understanding and attitudinal values of undergraduates and postgraduates students in technical universities across Europe related to Sustainable Human Development (SHD) and its relationship with technology. This is being dealt with by integrating SHD as a cross-cutting issue in teaching activities by improving the competences of academics and through engaging both staff and students in initiatives related to SHD. The GDEE started as a collaborative project between a consortium of European Universities and NGOs. The chapter presents a common understanding of how best to establish effective education for global development, and presents a pedagogical approach to facilitate the connection between theoretical knowledge (lecturers and students from universities) with practice (through NGOs). It discusses this approach through the analysis of case studies of best practice from those already working in this area within higher education across Europe. It concludes with the presentation of a continued professional development (CPD) approach for academics that uses a series of online training courses, with support from a series of contextual case studies written by NGOs to support teaching human development within engineering courses.

Competitiveness experiences of Botswana SMEs in the leather industry and their perceptions of sustainability and product service systems

As competition increases and becomes even more globalised, manufacturing companies continue to search for new value creation business strategies. Traditional value creation approaches often disconnect producers from customers at the point of sale. Design innovation has the capacity to encompass product and service contexts of offerings increasing the opportunity to sell, promoting sustainability and long term relationships with customers and other stakeholders. This paper explores factors affecting SMEs competitiveness and their perceptions of sustainability and product service systems. Findings from interviews with eighteen SMEs in the leather industry in Botswana show that with a lack of design innovation there is a culture of copying among SMEs who continue to fail to sell in a small domestic market infiltrated by an influx of cheap imports. Following SMEs positive perceptions of design, PSS and sustainability, opportunities to engage SMEs are identified mainly driven by SMEs need for financial benefits. The paper concludes by recommendations from some best practice exemplars, proposing further research for driving competitiveness through design capabilities and sustainable PSS.