The empathetic engineer: Strategies to enhance social competence in engineering for wicked problem solving
| dc.contributor.author | Wilson, Eric | |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | Mukhopadhyaya, Phalguni | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-09-04T20:06:58Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-09-04T20:06:58Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.degree.department | Department of Civil Engineering | |
| dc.degree.level | Doctor of Philosophy PhD | |
| dc.description.abstract | Is engineering design education in North America adequately preparing students to tackle the major issues of our time? In today's political and social climate, engineers are essential members of multi-disciplinary teams addressing complex problems like poverty, climate change, the housing affordability crisis, resource depletion, and water shortages. These problems are "wicked"—complex, dynamic, and interconnected. To effectively address issues at the intersection of technology and society, engineers must have a deep understanding of both technical skills and human factors, including empathy. Given today’s challenges, incorporating social competencies and emotional intelligence (EI) into engineering education and practice is more crucial than ever, particularly in engineering design. However, literature indicates that some efforts to cultivate more empathetic engineers have backfired, causing cognitive dissonance and rejection of these essential concepts. The definitions of "engineering design" by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) have evolved over the years. However, the exclusion of non-technical competencies—such as empathy, communication, innovation, and creativity—remains a significant gap in engineering education and practice, hindering engineers' ability to address complex issues effectively. The engineering industry has noted deficiencies in the social competencies of engineering graduates, particularly in EI. This dissertation aims to explore how the social competencies of engineering students can be enhanced to better prepare them for addressing the 'wicked' challenges they will encounter as industry professionals. This was done by integrating design thinking and systems thinking frameworks into a participatory learning environment to enhance EI among fourth-year engineering students at the University of Victoria. The intervention, a course titled "Infrastructure Design with Indigenous Communities," was carefully re-designed based on theories of identity formation and best practices from educational psychology to avoid some of the pitfalls noted in the literature. The EQi2.0 inventory was used as the qualitative instrument to track changes in students’ EI. The EQi2.0 measures emotional intelligence on a scale from 60 points to 140 points. A low range is defined as having a score of less than 90 points. A mid-range is defined as a score between 90 points and 120 points, and a high range is 120 to 140 points. Statistical analysis of pre- and post-semester EI data from 17 students revealed statistically significant increases in overall EI. Results indicated an average overall EI increase of 5.4 points, with a calculated t-value of 3.105 and a p-value of 0.0034, thus rejecting the null hypothesis that the course had no effect on students' EI. Qualitative data from self-reflective papers supported the hypothesis that the course positively impacted students’ EI. Students attributed their positive changes to experiences such as cultural acumen training, experiential learning activities, and direct engagement with partner First Nation communities. Future research should include a control group to quantitatively validate that the intervention led to the increase in EI. Additionally, further examination of the EQi2.0 inventory is necessary to ensure its reliability in measuring EI, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of such interventions on engineering education. Despite acknowledged limitations, this study suggests that carefully integrating design thinking and systems thinking into engineering curricula, along with cultivating engineering professional identity development, holds promise for elevating EI in students. This approach may better equip engineers to engage with contemporary engineering challenges. | |
| dc.description.embargo | 2025-12-12 | |
| dc.description.scholarlevel | Graduate | |
| dc.identifier.bibliographicCitation | Wilson, E., & Mukhopadhyaya, P. (2022). Role of empathy in engineering education and practice in North America.”. Education Sciences, 12(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12060420 | |
| dc.identifier.bibliographicCitation | Wilson, E., Dunne, D., Bergen, T., & Mukhopadhyaya, P. (2024). Reframing engineering design: integrating design thinking and systems thinking in engineering education and practice to address wicked problems. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 1 - 14 dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjce-2023-0433 | |
| dc.identifier.bibliographicCitation | Wilson,E., Dunne,D. Bergen, T., & Mukhopadhyaya,P.(2025) Emotional Intelligence in Engineering Education Exploring the Influence of Empathetic Design Approaches in a Fourth-year Engineering Class. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 52(6): 1204-1224 https://doi.org/10.1139/cjce-2024-0292 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/22716 | |
| dc.language | English | eng |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.rights | Available to the World Wide Web | |
| dc.subject | Engineering | |
| dc.subject | Engineering Education | |
| dc.subject | Education | |
| dc.subject | Design Thinking | |
| dc.subject | Systems Thinking | |
| dc.subject | Design | |
| dc.subject | Engineering Design | |
| dc.subject | Emotional Intelligence | |
| dc.subject | Empathy | |
| dc.subject | Housing | |
| dc.subject | Indigenous Housing | |
| dc.title | The empathetic engineer: Strategies to enhance social competence in engineering for wicked problem solving | |
| dc.type | Thesis |