Social Dimensions of Engineering Design: Observations from Mudd Design Workshop III

This paper reports on the Mudd Design Workshop III held at Harvey Mudd College (HMC) in May 2001 to provide a forum for engineers and social scientists acting as designers, researchers, and educators, to explore social and societal issues in and for engineering design education. Sessions were devoted to social and systems issues and themes in design; collaboration in design; and pedagogical and institutional issues in design education. Major emergent themes included the need for dialogue about the social dimensions of engineering design to extend across entire college and university faculties, the use of design to enhance the study of values and ethics in undergraduate curricula, the importance of the framing of design problems, and the pedagogical choices made in design courses. Before leaving, participants made commitments to work toward change at least in their own environments.