Exploring Ethical Concerns in Electronic and IT Engineering Education

Security and privacy have been identified as core ethical concerns for information technology and computer science (Brey, 2007), which should be incorporated in the IT and Electronic Engineering curriculum (IEE, 2018). The seminar brings together the expertise of representatives of the private sector and pedagogues, with the ultimate aim of developing teaching instruments and collaborations that target the inclusion of pressing ethical concerns in the curriculum of Electronic and IT Engineering programmes.

This event is supported by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, and is organised by the School of Multidisciplinary Technologies and CREATE – Centre for Research in Engineering and Technology Education, TU Dublin.

For any questions or comments, please contact the organiser Diana Adela Martin: dianaadela.martin@tudublin.ie

Exploring Ethical Concerns in Electronic and IT Engineering Education

12.30 Opening of the event: Damien Owens (Engineers Ireland)

12.45-14.30 Session 1 with industry representatives and policy experts: Chair Shannon Chance (TU Dublin)

Patrice Chazerand (Digital Europe, Belgium)

Joe Fitzpatrick (IBM, Ireland)

Laura Nolan (ex-Google, whistleblower Project Maven, Ireland)

Philipe Reinisch (SilkRoad 4.0, Austria)

Questions from the audience

14.30-14.40 BREAK

14.40-16.00 Session 2 with engineering educators: Chair Eddie Conlon (TU Dublin)

Michael C. Loui (University of Illinois, USA)

Diana Adela Martin (TU Dublin, Ireland / SEFI SIG Ethics)

Gunter Bombaerts (TU Eindhoven, The Netherlands / SEFI SIG Ethics)

Roland Tormey (EPFL, Switzerland/SEFI SIG Ethics)

Questions from the audience

16.00-16.10 BREAK

16.10-17.10 Session 3 Breakout working sessions Working in groups on proposals for developing teaching exercises or collaborations focused on the inclusion of ethical considerations in IT and Electronic Engineering programmes.

17.10-17.30 Closing remarks and plans for future action

Exploring Ethical Concerns in Electronic and IT Engineering Education: LEARNING GOALS

– to gain industry perspective on ethical issues arising in practice in the IT engineering sector

-to align instructional strategies in IT and Electronic Engineering Education with the realities encountered in professional practice

– to share best examples of the inclusion of ethical concerns related to privacy and security in the curriculum of IT and Electronic Engineering Programmes

– to develop new teaching instruments and initiatives incorporating ethical concerns for IT and Electronic Engineering education

– to foster cooperation between Engineering programmes and the private sector through the development of educational initiatives that incorporate ethical considerations

MEET OUR SPEAKERS:

Prof. MICHAEL C. LOUI is now retired and held the Dale and Suzi Gallagher Professorship in Engineering Education at Purdue University from 2014 to 2019. He was previously Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and University Distinguished Teacher-Scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has conducted research in computational complexity theory, in professional ethics, and in engineering education. He is a Carnegie Scholar, a Fellow of the IEEE, and a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education. Professor Loui was the editor of the Journal of Engineering Education from 2012 to 2017 and the executive editor of College Teaching from 2006 to 2012. He also served on the Advisory Board for the Online Ethics Center at the U.S. National Academy of Engineering for many years. He was Associate Dean of the Graduate College at Illinois from 1996 to 2000. He directed the theory of computing program at the U.S. National Science Foundation from 1990 to 1991. He earned the Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980 and the B.S. at Yale University in 1975.

PATRICE CHAZERAND is a director at DIGITALEUROPE and former Secretary-General of the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE), the trade body of PC and videogames publishers operating in Europe between 2002 and 2009. He established PEGI, the pan-European system of harmonised rating of digital content dealing with topics including: internet content, protection of minors, privacy, freedom of expression, intellectual property, competition law, and net neutrality. In 1999, Patrice set up the Brussels office of Viacom which he ran as Vice President, European Affairs until 2002. From 1989 to 1995, he was Director, Public Affairs, at AT&T France, and subsequently Managing Director from 1995 to 1999. Patrice spent the first fifteen years of his career with the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, seven of which were at the Embassy of France in Washington DC. He holds an MBA from HEC, France’s top business school, and a degree from Sciences Po Paris.

LAURA NOLAN is a software engineer with two decades of experience, with a focus on reliability in distributed systems. In 2018, Laura left Google after being asked to contribute to Project Maven, a US DoD initiative to work with industry on automating analysis of drone surveillance video. Laura volunteers with the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots and is completing an MA in Ethics at DCU. You can read more about her protest against Project Maven at https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/15/ex-google-worker-fears-killer-robots-cause-mass-atrocities

Dr. PHILIPE REINISCH is an internationally known project management specialist, focusing on managing large-scale IT transformational programs and emerging technology greenfield projects. His extensive consortia lead experience include flagship projects that he ran for the Federation of Austrian Industries or for large corporates in the retail and insurance sector. At the moment he coordinates the Austrian flagship project https://iot4cps.at/. Philipe is also the founder of https://www.silkroad40.com/, a nomadic incubator network that connects the thought leaders and technology experts of the future along the digital Silk Road.

JOE FITZPATRICK is a Operations Manager for IBM Watson Health Government Analytics. Joe graduated with a BE in Mechanical Engineering from University College Dublin (UCD) in 1982. In 1987 Joe joined Lotus Development where he developed tools for translating software and managed the development of extensions to standard products to support Eastern European and Bidirectional languages. After IBM acquired Lotus, Joe managed the localisation of multiple IBM products into 25 languages. In 2003 Joe took on a change management project to migrate localisation work to another site, and transition the Dublin operation into a formal Software Development lab. Since then he has managed a range of development teams working on projects from eLearning through Portal based Self Service Solutions. Between 2010 and 2016 Joe was Program Director for Smarter Cities products and Solutions in Dublin. He recruited and built a large team of engineers focused on development and test of IBM Intelligent City, Transportation and Water offerings. In 2017 Joe joined the Watson Health, Government Health & Human Services Analytics development organisation

Dr. ROLAND TORMEY is the head of the Teaching Support Centre in the Ecole Polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), where he also teaches and researches in learning sciences. A sociologist by training, he worked in teacher education and curriculum development two decades. In that context his roles included being head of teacher education in the University of Limerick, and playing a central role in the development of Ireland’s award winning Intercultural education guidelines for primary and post-primary schools, and in the development of the senior secondary cycle Politics and Society programme. Since 2011 he has worked in engineering education in EPFL where his research focuses both on the transition from high school to engineering education, and on the development of professional engineering skills (i.e., the skills engineers need to work in diverse teams to solve ill-defined and complex problems which involve technical, ethical, financial, and environmental issues).

Prof. SHANNON CHANCE is Lecturer and Programme Chair (Honours BSc in Digital Construction) at Technological University Dublin. She is also a Visiting Professor at University College London, Chair of the Research in Engineering Education Network (REEN), Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Education, and is currently guest editing her third special focus journal issue–this one for AJEE on ethics in engineering education and practice. In the past, Shannon has served as Professor of Architecture in the USA, Fulbright Fellow to Ireland, and Marie Curie Research Fellow to both Ireland and the UK.

Mr. EDDIE CONLON is a lecturer in the School of Multidisciplinary Technology at the Technological University Dublin. He is generally interested in the sociology of work, but in recent years has published work on engineering ethics and the integration of sustainability in engineering education. His teaching is focused on engineering and society. He is the coordinator of a general entry programme for engineering technologists in the College of Engineering & Built Environment at Technological University Dublin – City Campus.

This event will be hosted online, and a link will be provided in the days prior to the start of the event. For any questions, please contact the organiser Diana Adela Martin (dianaadela.martin@tudublin.ie)