Title: Teaching engineering ethics: a necessary measure for engineering capacity building in Arab countries

Authors: Mohamed Mahmoud Nasef, Waleed Fekry Faris

Addresses: Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor, Malaysia. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kulliyyah of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Gombak, 53100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract: Interest in engineering ethics education has developed significant momentum in most of advanced countries unlike Arab countries, which have not yet paid enough attention to such critical issue. As engineering work becomes more complex and diverse an understanding of engineering ethics becomes as important to the proper education of engineers as their technical knowledge. This means that engineering students have to learn about their ethical obligations towards society, their employers, and themselves. This paper discusses the needs and reasons for integrating ethics into the education of undergraduate engineering students in Arab countries. Goals of teaching engineering ethics and various approaches for achieving these goals are also illustrated.

Keywords: engineering ethics; professional ethics; Arab countries; engineering education; engineering capacity building; undergraduate students; higher education.

DOI: 10.1504/IJACMSD.2010.037142

International Journal of Arab Culture, Management and Sustainable Development, 2010 Vol.1 No.4, pp.318 - 325

Published online: 26 Nov 2010 *

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