Engineering Sustainable Change

1. Engineering Sustainable Change Prof Sally Heslop Department of Civil Engineering 1 March 2012

2. The challenge … What are the most effective ways to inspire and enable our future leaders to create systemsthat are reasonably sustainable in the context of complex and accelerating global change?

3. Engineering*Sustainable Change? • The discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, systems and processes. Skilful manoeuvring; calculated manipulation or direction of behaviour; contriving to bring about. • Creating, designing, building, • making things happen, influencing … *Latin ingenium – skill, ability, talent, genius

4. EngineeringSustainableChange? Can continue or endure over longer time-scales, so is: • adaptable(resilient, flexible) • balanced (eg, 3 pillars, 5 capitals, ....) • embedded(in cultures, organisations, Earth, ....) • affordable • efficient

5. Engineering SustainableChange? • System? • - Person, organisation, infrastructure, ecosystem • Spatial scale? • - Individual, organisational, local, regional, global • Time scale? • - Political, cultural, human life, civilisations, geological yrs

6. My contribution? Engineering education for sustainability Applied knowledge Generating and applying knowledge to deliver the sustainable solutions. • Inspiring • individuals Enabling sustainable infrastructure • Changing • organisational • culture • Leading • teaching • & learning • Designing • the curriculum People Educating people to lead integrated teams to find sustainable solutions to complex global problems.

7. … working within the University… Change Other faculties Engineering High-calibre students UoB Research intensive Broad subject base High-calibre staff Knowledge People

8. … and in wider partnership. Change Global industry Global higher education Global engineering research & professional communities UK funders Society UK professional institutions UoB UK universities Engineering Local & regional communities

9. My journey – 1a, 1970s Girls’ school Fluid flow Maths & physics Higher Education UG Maths

10. Early years – modelling fluid systems

11. My journey – 1b, 1980-1983 Aero engineering Girls’ school Industry Civil & environmental engineering Fluid flow Maths & physics Higher Education UG Maths

12. Early years – modelling fluid systems

13. My journey – 1c, 1984-1991 Aero engineering Girls’ school Industry Civil & environmental engineering Fluid flow Environmental science & management Maths & physics Research Higher Education UG Maths

14. Early years – modelling fluid systems

15. My journey – 2, 1992-now, UoB Aero engineering Girls’ school Civil & environmental engineering Industry Fluid flow Environmental science & management Maths & physics Research Higher Education UG Maths Continuing Education Civil engineering Teaching & scholarship Leadership Sustainability Change mgt Systems

16. Teaching & scholarship …to inspire and enable our future leaders to create systems that are …. sustainable in the context of complex and accelerating global change. Engineering education for sustainability • Inspiring • individuals Enabling sustainable infrastructure • Changing • organisational • culture • Leading • teaching • & learning • Designing • the curriculum

17. An early project Albania – in 1994 the EU funded the development and teaching of a new undergraduate course in Environmental Engineering to provide capacity to rebuild failing infrastructure .... University of Tirana, ... in particular, water systems, roads and the means of energy production. UoBagreed to contribute to the water & environmental speciality by: • teaching in Albania • organising UK placements for students We decided to fund field trips while in Albania

18. Albania 1995

19. Sustainable intervention? • Embedded ? Adaptable/resilient? • Not really, due to the lack of internal investment, the very unstable political, economic and cultural context, and the chaotic nature of the organisations (including the university). • Balance - drivers were economic and social but clear desire to protect elements of their environment for “sustainable tourism”. • Affordable - not short-term. Albania was the poorest country in Europe in 1995, with GDP at developing country levels. • Efficient -no, relied on expensive imported expertise. We were not able to return to Albania in 1996 to continue our teaching, due to the political instability.

20. UK Civil Engineer’s education Nature of study + 3-4 Doctoral progsPhD, EngD In-depth, original research, adding to knowledge and/or innovation. Time (yrs , full- time) MSc - intensive acquisition of advanced knowledge, often specialised. 4 PG Masters Advanced design project 2 years of learning more advanced stuff & applying accumulated knowledge . Research & design projects MEng “Integrated Masters”, 4-year first degree. 2 years of learning basic engineering science. BEng 0

21. My teaching profile Activities Level Postgraduate Industrial Doctorate Centre Doctoral -EngD, PhD Continuing Professional Development Engineering Management Partnership (EMP) Short courses Masters Undergraduate Community Projects Bachelors Short courses

22. 2000- our undergraduate Civil Engineering programmes Future Leader Innovation Managing risk Project management Ethics & law Business environment Sustainability Designing & Managing Systems Teamwork Geotechnics Systems Thinking Materials Water Structures My input Information Technology 1999 – radical redesign of our UG publicity, with mention of “more sustainable future” in the introduction. Entrant Mathematics

23. Provide an enabling framework .. Teaching philosophy? .. via team projects Academic skills Professional skills Draw on internal & external resources Bright ideas Leadership Critical evaluation of options Get on and do stuff! Complete to time & budget Develop in-depth specialist knowledge Work with other people

24. Bright ideas & creativity Research Design – a “core thread”, running through our programmes, which integrates and applies knowledge and skills, and can involve considerable research.

25. Team project 1 UG 3rd/4th year Water Resources Design Project Water supply for a proposed new town in mid-Wales. Dam the Upper Irfon valley in mid-Wales?

26. Irfon Valley, mid-Wales Environmental & social impact assessments Geological site investigations.

27. Llyn Brianne dam in next valley Staff team working ....... Outcome: a detailed feasibility report with outline scheme design

28. Team project 2 2005. Green Park Station, Bath – a showcase for sustainability? UG 4th year Advanced group design project – capstone of UG work.

29. The outline brief in October 2005 “The Bath-based charity Envolve holds a 50-year lease on the building and wishes to develop it into a regional showcase for sustainability. The aim ... is to work with Envolve to develop some initial designs for a sustainable centre within the listed building structure. You will work closely with the new director of Envolve and with Dr Malcolm McIntosh, who is one of our Strategic Advisory Board members and a Trustee of Envolve. This project will be of interest if you • have an interest in sustainability and community engagement • -want to be involved with a real, "live" scheme in a World Heritage city” The outcome in June 2006 A design which took first prize in the Royal Academy of Engineering poster competition, sustainability category.

30. Internal UoB partnership Working in partnership – resources & people “Sustainable Development” unit, 2005 A cross-Facultyopen unit, taught by a team of tutors drawn from several faculties and open to UG students from all disciplines. Won national Green Gown award, April 2007

31. External partnership

32. Visiting Professors for Sustainable Design, 2002 - 2007 • Problem – lack of expertise within universities • Short-term solution – provide funding to bring in outside experts • Outcome – some very good case studies and guidelines by 2005 • BUT ..... residual problem – unsustainable activity? How to embed the changes without continued funding? A later project under the next initiative on “Integrated Systems Design” produced the “Sustainable Systems” unit (with 3 VPs) – excellent but still the same residual issue ......

33. Industrial Doctorate Centre in Systems, 2006 - present A Centre for Doctoral Training EngD– a 4-yr doctoral programme, with a taught element and a professional focus. The research project originates in the partner company. Learning together

34. Sustainability: an emergent EngDtheme Work carried out by Dr Ollie Pearce, Halcrow, on the development of a comprehensive sustainability assessment framework called HalSTAR. 2007-2011 http://www.halcrow.com/Areas-of-expertise/Sustainable-development/HalSTAR/

35. Work done by Celia Way, BuroHappold, on the sustainability of decentralised water systems. 2007-2012

36. 2012- our undergraduate Civil Engineering programmes Future Leader Managing risk Ethics & law Innovation Business environment Project management Teamwork Geotechnics Designing & Managing SustainableSystems Systems Thinking Materials Water Structures Information Technology My input Entrant Mathematics

37. Final year design project 1. Queen’s Building/Merchant Venturers Building link • Outline brief in October 2011. • “The Faculty of Engineering is based in two buildings currently separated by Woodland Road. As we develop more shared research and teaching, and build Faculty-wide support teams, there is an increasing need to create a physical link between the two buildings in order to: • develop an enhanced sense of community across the Faculty; • enable easier access between the two “hubs”; • provide some much-needed extra space. • Aim .. is to develop a link structure … which not only physically connects the buildings but also acts as a showcase for the Faculty’s work and is an outstanding example of sustainable design.”   Poster presented on 27 Feb 2012

38. Final year design project 2. Temple Gateway – sustainable community regeneration. This is a “local community-based project”, selected from a list developed by the University in summer 2011 to identify possible projects to run with local community partners. This is one of the University’s Public Engagement initiatives. Outline brief in October 2011 “ .. working with Forum for the Future on the redevelopment of Temple Gateway, the area around Temple Meads [railway station]. This provides a unique opportunity for Bristol to present a clear statement of intent to become the UK’s Green Capital. The creation of a sustainable Enterprise Zone for the media and creative sectors alongside an integrated transport hub will regenerate this neglected land into a vibrant gateway to the city.”

39. Poster presented on 27 Feb 2012

41. UoB ESD Strategy 2012 - 2016 Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at University of Bristol

42. Leadership .... is a process that creates change by • establishing direction; • motivating and inspiring; • aligning people. • (after Kotter)

43. A student-ledcharity http://www.ewb-uk.org/ “We are an international development organisation that removes barriers to development through engineering. Our programmes provide opportunities for young people to learn about technology's role in tackling poverty. Supported by the EWB-UK community, our members can work on projects around the globe.” Holistic Engineering Active Partnerships People Participation Small Footprint Appropriate Technology Academic trustee, 2009-2011 Advisory Board, 2011- now

44. Educational leadership at UoB Academic Director of Graduate Studies Head of Graduate School & Faculty Graduate Education Director Programme Director (PG & UG)

45. The 8-stage process of creating change (after Kotter) Establish sense of urgency Create guiding coalition Develop vision & strategy Communicate vision Generate short-term wins Empower broad-basedaction Consolidate gains Anchor new approaches in culture

46. Success factors Rest of world Pull through 3. Building external teams University Staff PGs UGs 2. Building internal teams D C H G E B F A 1. Building peer cohorts

47. Engineering Sustainable Change - Progress ? …to inspire and enable our future leaders to create systems that are …. sustainable in the context of complex and accelerating global change. Engineering education Change Sustainability