Symposium: Ethics in Engineering Education

On December 7, 2026, 4TU+.Centre for Engineering Education and 4TU_Ethics will host a mini symposium on Ethics in Engineering Education. The symposium will be followed by the PhD Defense Ceremony of Thijs Loonstra (WUR), Paradigms and Ethics in Environmental Education, which is a 4TU+.CEE-funded PhD project. The preliminary programme includes contributions by Gert Biesta and Gunter Bombaerts, providing a valuable opportunity for discussion and engagement.   

Location: Impulse, Wageningen University  

Registration is free but required.

Symposium: Ethics in Engineering Education - From Research to Educational Practice

How can we prepare future engineers to navigate complex ethical challenges? What role do diversity of perspectives, values, and non-cognitive dimensions of ethics play in engineering education? And how can educators meaningfully integrate these aspects into their own courses and programmes?

We warmly invite educators, researchers, educational developers, programme leaders, and students to join us for an interactive symposium on Ethics in Engineering Education. The symposium combines cutting-edge research, inspiring educational practices, and hands-on workshops aimed at strengthening ethics education across engineering programmes.

A special highlight of the day is the opportunity to engage with the work of Dr. Thijs Loonstra, whose recent PhD research explores important questions regarding ethics education in engineering.

Programme

11:00 - 11:10 | Welcome and Introduction

Welcome on behalf of Wageningen University & Research (WUR), 4TU+ Centre for Engineering Education (4TU+.CEE), and 4TU.Ethics.

Introduction to the theme and programme of the day.

11:10 - 11:25 | Research Spotlight: Public Lecture by Dr. Thijs Loonstra

An accessible presentation of key findings from Dr. Loonstra's doctoral research on ethics in engineering education.

11:25 - 11:50 | Interactive Discussion: Key Questions for Ethics Education

Building on the presentation, participants will explore two central themes:

1. Plurality in Engineering Ethics Education

• What is the role of plural perspectives, values, and viewpoints in engineering education?
• How can plurality be meaningfully addressed at both course and programme level?

2. Beyond Cognition: The Non-Cognitive Dimensions of Ethics

• Why should we pay attention to emotions, attitudes, identity, and moral development?
• How can these dimensions be integrated into engineering education?

Through structured discussion and audience interaction, participants will share perspectives and generate ideas for future practice.

11:50 - 12:05 | Inspiring Educational Practices (TO BE CONFIRMED)

Two examples from the TU Delft Ethics in Engineering Education Repository will be presented, illustrating practical approaches for fostering:

• plurality and multiple perspectives;
• non-cognitive aspects of ethics learning.

12:05 - 12:20 | From Inspiration to Action

Participants will discuss how insights from the morning sessions can be translated into their own teaching practice, courses, and educational programmes.

12:20 - 13:00 | Networking Lunch

An opportunity to continue conversations and connect with colleagues from across institutions.

13:00 - 14:15 | Interactive Workshops

Participants can choose between two parallel workshop sessions:

Workshop 1: Learning from students - creating a collaborative repository of ethical, social, and professional challenges in student engineering projects. Andrea Gammon and Mar Palmeros Parada (TUD, 4TU_ethics)

 Despite efforts to embed ethics in their curricula, engineering students often find ethics too “abstract” or “disconnected” from their work. At the same time, students participate in internships, study trainings, and interdisciplinary projects during which they encounter real ethical, social, and professional challenges in own in the field. The repository project in development by Mar Palmeros Parada and Andrea Gammon (TU Delft) helps students curate examples of ethical or social issues they’ve encountered in their own experiences, and collects these and reflections and relevant resources in a repository for their peers and for future students. 

Andrea and Mar will give a brief presentation on the aims and progress of the repository, including some example cases. This is an interactive session where others are encouraged to share examples of their own successes or challenges in ethics engineering education that can be informally presented and discussed by all participants.

Workshop 2: Gunter Bombaerts

15:30 | PhD Defence of Dr. Thijs Loonstra

Participants are warmly invited to attend the public PhD defence following the symposium.

Who is it for? 

The symposium is relevant to educators, researchers, curriculum developers, and programme leaders involved in engineering education, and particularly those working on ethics, responsibility, plurality, and students’ moral development. 

What's on offer 

This is a day to engage with recent research and practical examples, share experiences with colleagues across the 4TU community and beyond, and reflect on how ethics education can be strengthened in individual courses and wider programmes. 

We look forward to welcoming you to this inspiring and interactive symposium on the future of ethics in engineering education.