Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk

Gonzalez R.V.

Rapid global accelerations will impact engineering education, particularly in light of accelerating technological advancements, globalization, and environmental concerns. This essay argues that traditional, slow-to-change models of engineering education must be reformed to prepare engineers for the challenges and opportunities presented by the convergence of technological, economic, environmental, and societal shifts. It highlights the need for engineering education to move beyond technical proficiency and equip students with leadership skills, cultural awareness, and an understanding of the economic, political, and ethical complexities associated with engineering solutions. This essay proposes a future in which universities adapt to a globalized and technology-driven world by incorporating virtual classrooms, AI-assisted learning, and individualized programs tailored to diverse student needs and geographic locations. While optimistic about the transformative potential of AI in education, the essay also acknowledges concerns about plagiarism, academic integrity, and the ethical use of AI tools. Despite the challenges and uncertainties of the future, the essay emphasizes the enduring importance of universities in validating engineering competencies, guiding the educational process, providing mentorship, and fostering a sense of community among engineers—essential functions that remain critical in a rapidly evolving world. Ultimately, the essay serves as a call to action, urging engineering educators to embrace change, anticipate future trends, and equip future engineers with the skills and knowledge necessary to navigate and shape the future of engineering education.

Gonzalez R.V.

A yearlong study within the UK was undertaken to delineate the overarching differences between the UK and US engineering education systems. The study involved visits to almost 30 universities, attendance at various academic conferences, and discussions with over 200 academics and faculty. Despite our shared linguistic and historical ties, findings reveal distinct differences in both countries’ underlying philosophies and methodologies in training the next generation of engineers. This essay, the first in a series of three, presents the fundamental differences observed in the general areas of Program Structure, Students, Academics/Faculty, and External Factors. Two subsequent essays will further discuss student professional development, broadening educational access, and envisioning the future trajectory of engineering education considering these educational system differences. Overall, there is much to discuss, learn, and appreciate from each other’s systems as we continue to develop two of the world's most respected engineering education systems.

Gonzalez R.V.

Engineering education programs must be redesigned to better prepare students for the demands of a global, technical, societal, and human environment. Currently, employers believe that engineering programs are failing to adequately prepare students with the professional skills necessary to meet industry needs and to achieve career success. Engineering programs need to provide more opportunities for students to develop professional skills like leadership, communication, project management, analysis, and problem-solving. Engineering leadership is not merely technical or managerial; instead, it is the leadership that makes a positive impact in the intersection of technology and society. One approach to achieving this goal of integrating professional skills is a spiral curriculum. Along with developing the skills required by industry, universities must also respond to the increasing need for global engineers by helping students develop their identities as engineering leaders, increasing diversity, and removing barriers that restrict access to a university engineering education.

Witmer A.

Contextual Engineering recognizes the value of place-based knowledge and the imperative upon the technology designer to align their own design with the practices, values, capabilities, and constraints of the population for whom it’s intended. Examples emerged throughout The Consilience Project of technical innovations that serve the users but may not align with Western standards of innovation. By observing both the indigenous knowledge holders and the Western visitors during The Consilience Project, truths emerged about how readily we as Western technology scholars trivialize the lessons we can learn from others. Because knowledges don’t align with our own training and expertise, we easily disregard them as unsophisticated, without recognizing they offer a new paradigm for understanding both physical and artistic principles.

Muadie K.

Musical traditions move beyond performance expectations to be formed by the very instruments that are used. While Mende music in Sierra Leone can preserve traditions and express a connection to a heritage, the rhythms and sounds are informed by the unique instruments used…instruments that are as foreign to Western traditions as the horn is to Mende music.

Thulla P.F.

Traditional Sierra Leonean music stresses the importance of physical, spiritual, and social interactions with the natural environment, which contradicts Western engineering principles of scalability and broad application. Sierra Leone knowledge is often passed down through generations to 'designated' people who are thought to have a special link with their ancestors. Recognizing how different societies assess practitioners' qualifications to participate in performance or design may help Westerners understand how to connect with and learn from non-industrialized societies. This chapter looks at Sierra Leone's Indigenous music and engineering as cultural artifacts and examines their relationship to Western music and technology.

Witmer A., Mingee J., Scully B.D.

The Consilience Project was a collaborative investigation among the editors and contributors from diverse disciplines to better understand the impact of Western assumptions of superiority upon the suppression of diversity and knowledge that resides among the world’s marginalized societies. By comparing impacts of broader understanding to Western classical music and technology through consilience, this project explores how to mend the rift of knowledge between Western and non-industrialized worlds.

Mingee J.

The insights generated by The Consilience Project demonstrate processes and impediments to breaking down the barriers between Western and non-industrialized societies. Insights that apply to both music and technology include (1) the power of societal dynamics to blind Western practitioners to the value of non-industrialized knowledge; (2) the reticence toward embracing the unfamiliar as valuable; and (3) the discomfort with going off-script and improvising to find a newer and better solution or sound for the context in which it will be performed. A great need, and a deeply challenging one, is to question the status quo in Western education so that alternative knowledges may be respected and introduced, allowing both musicians and technology designers to diversify their understanding of quality.

Asturizaga C.

A Bolivian maestro has always experienced Indigenous music as a complementary knowledge to his classical training, unlike the Western collaborators with whom he worked on The Consilience Project. Exposure to broadly different musical traditions provides a syncretism of thought that is excluded from Western musical scholarship and performance, limiting the understanding of musicians trained in this tradition from even identifying what may be regarded as music.

Echeverria X.

A Bolivian engineer gained a new understanding of her own country’s traditions by evaluating the attitudes and practices of rural communities populated by Aymara indigenous people on the Altiplano lands. Though cultural identities of each community were the same, the unique behaviors and values of each village highlighted the importance of context in addressing infrastructure needs.

Scully B.

The horn, as an instrument deeply embedded in classical music, serves as a vehicle to explore musical traditions that have been excluded from Western musical education. Confronting institutional and personal biases through travel to indigenous communities in South America and Africa, the broader impact of scholarly exclusion reveals truths about the conditioning Westerners have accepted in viewing world experiences, ranging from racism and cultural homogeneity to baked-in personal beliefs that are difficult to overcome. Overlaying musical experiences with an exploration of technology reinforces the marginalization of non-industrialized societies by Western scholars and technicians.

Urquidi A.

A Bolivian engineering professor draws upon his experience as a musician to better understand the Consilience between appropriateness of design, particularly for societies whose voice is marginalized, and connection to the intended user population.

Timmons A.

Comparing the practices of music and technical design allows a US engineer to think differently about the presumed rigidity of decision-making by looking at technology through The Consilience Project lens of musical performance. The importance of building a relationship and a mode of communication dominates both collaborative music and collaborative infrastructure design, allowing for understanding of the context in which technology should be applied.

Münster S., Apollonio F.I., Bluemel I., Fallavollita F., Foschi R., Grellert M., Ioannides M., Jahn P.H., Kurdiovsky R., Kuroczyński P., Lutteroth J., Messemer H., Schelbert G.

AbstractThis chapter provides a brief overview of the history of digital 3D reconstruction. It shows in which contexts the first research projects were undertaken and how the resulting 3D models were presented to the public. It sheds light on the institutionalization of 3D reconstruction in research at universities, presentations at conferences, and specialization of architectural companies.

Münster S., Apollonio F.I., Bluemel I., Fallavollita F., Foschi R., Grellert M., Ioannides M., Jahn P.H., Kurdiovsky R., Kuroczyński P., Lutteroth J., Messemer H., Schelbert G.

AbstractCurrently, a large variety of infrastructures are targeting 3D models. Recently, several overview reports on extant platforms and repositories [1–5] and 3D visualization frameworks and formats [6] were compiled. Infrastructures differ from services by including tools or services and facilities for operation. Particularly for 3D models, there is a main difference between such as repositories and aggregators for storing, collecting, and preserving 3D data as well as 3D viewers or virtual research environments that allow access to 3D models and research activities with them.