Theme: Interdisciplinary Learning and Transformation of Engineering Education
Guest Editor Team
Karolina Doulougeri, TU Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Anette Kolmos, Aalborg University, Denmark
Amitava ‘Babi’ Mitra, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Henrik Worm Routhe, Aalborg University, Denmark
Jan van der Veen, TU Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Planned Submission Process
Deadline for extended abstracts ..................................... 15 January 2024
Notification of invitation for full paper submission ...... 20 February 2024
Full paper submission due date ....................................... 15 September 2024
Theme
As the world faces increasingly complex challenges, there is a pressing need to educate engineers
who can contribute to possible solutions. Many universities have responded to the need for
transforming engineering education by establishing interdisciplinary programs, interdisciplinary
courses, or interdisciplinary projects across existing programs.
There are many examples of scholarly works on integrating interdisciplinary work in engineering
curricula (Roy 2021). There are studies on scaffolding of projects and teams indicating models to
improve learning (Beddoes 2020, MacLeod and van der Veen 2020, Routhe et al. 2022), interdisciplinary
competences (Beagon et al. 2023; Borrego and Newswander 2010, Lattuca, Knight et
al. 2013), curricula models for interdisciplinary learning (Fortuin et al. 2023; Knight, Lattuca et
al. 2013, Tripp and Shortlidge 2019) and on the understanding of interdisciplinary learning
(Klein 2010, Akkerman and Bakker 2011).
However, interdisciplinary learning is not always easy to implement as universities are often organized
along disciplinary boundaries. This implies different cultures, languages and educational
traditions, as well as administrative borders and classifications. At the institutional level, many
universities have declared themselves as mission-driven universities aiming at educating more
interdisciplinary graduates (e.g., Hailes et al., 2021; Lavi et al., 2021). However, even when such
top-management intentions exist, they will need to be reflected and responded to by the academic
staff. Academic staff have many competing tasks and might lack motivation or incentives
for creating interdisciplinary tracks in the curriculum (Högfeldt et al. 2023). Most university education
programs already suffer from an overloaded curriculum. While interdisciplinary education
can motivate students to find solutions to climate change and promote sustainable development
in society, it can also pose challenges for them. Further, interdisciplinary education requires
space and resources so as to accommodate and coach student teams appropriately.
Aims and scope
In this special issue we are looking for the state-of-the-art research on interdisciplinary learning
in engineering education. We welcome evidence-informed research (both qualitative and quantitative)
on the following topics:
1. How do we educate engineering students to help solve critical societal challenges and
what are the learning gains?
2. How do faculty staff engage with interdisciplinary education, including their beliefs, attitudes,
identity and collaborative practices, rewards and recognition?
3. How is interdisciplinary learning linked with engineering practice and industry stakeholders?
Submissions should demonstrate a clear focus on advancing the conceptualization and practice of
interdisciplinarity in engineering education, in the context of programmatic and institutional
transformation. We are particularly interested in research that presents novel methodologies, results,
understandings, pedagogical strategies, or successful interventions which can contribute to
the transformation of engineering education.
Instructions for authors
Extended abstracts should be anonymized and limited to 800-1000 words, plus references. The
abstract should be a summary of the article and include:
- Aims or research questions
- Contextualization in literature
- Methodology
- Findings
- Perspectives
Submission is free-format and manuscripts are formatted to journal style upon publication.
Extended abstracts are submitted here: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ceee
Instructions for preparing the full paper manuscript:
http://tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?journalCode=ceee20&page=instructions
References
Akkerman, S. F. and A. Bakker. 2011. “Boundary Crossing and Boundary Objects.” Review of Educational
Research 81 (2). American Educational Research Association: 132–169.
doi:10.3102/0034654311404435.
Beagon, U., K. Kövesi, B. Tabas, B. Nørgaard, R. Lehtinen, B. Bowe, C. Gillet, and C. Monrad Spliid.
2023. “Preparing Engineering Students for the Challenges of the SDGs: What Competences Are
Required?” European Journal of Engineering Education 48 (1). Taylor & Francis: 1–23.
doi:10.1080/03043797.2022.2033955.
Beddoes, K. 2020. “Interdisciplinary Teamwork Artefacts and Practices: A Typology for Promoting Successful
Teamwork in Engineering Education.” Australasian Journal of Engineering Education 25
(2). Taylor & Francis: 133–141. doi:10.1080/22054952.2020.1836753.
Borrego, M. and L. K. Newswander. 2010. “Definitions of Interdisciplinary Research: Toward Graduate-
Level Interdisciplinary Learning Outcomes.” Review of Higher Education: Journal of the Association
for the Study of Higher Education 34 (1). US: Johns Hopkins University Press: 61–84.
doi:10.1353/rhe.2010.0006.
Fortuin, K. P. J., J. T. M. Gulikers, N. C. Post Uiterweer, C.a Oonk, and C. W. S. Tho. 2023. “Developing
a Boundary Crossing Learning Trajectory: Supporting Engineering Students to Collaborate and Co-
Create across Disciplinary, Cultural and Professional Practices.” European Journal of Engineering
Education, June. Taylor & Francis. doi:10.1080/03043797.2023.2219234.
Hailes, S., L. Jones, M. Micheletti, J. E. Mitchell, A. Nyamapfene, K. Roach, E. Tilley, and F. Truscott,
2021. “The UCL Integrated Engineering Programme.” Advances in Engineering Education 9 (3).
American Society for Engineering Education. https://advances.asee.org/the-ucl-integrated-engineering-
programme/.
Högfeldt, A-K., L. Gumaelius, P. Berglund, L. Kari, A. Pears, and V. Kann. 2023. “Leadership, Support
and Organisation for Academics’ Participation in Engineering Education Change for Sustainable
Development.” European Journal of Engineering Education 48 (2). Taylor & Francis: 240–266.
doi:10.1080/03043797.2022.2106824.
Klein, Julie Thompson. 2010. “A Taxonomy of Interdisciplinarity.” https://philpapers.org/rec/KLEATO-
2.
Knight, D.B., L. R. Lattuca, E. W. Kimball, and R. D. Reason. 2013. “Understanding Interdisciplinarity:
Curricular and Organizational Features of Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Programs.” Innovative
Higher Education 38 (2): 143–158. doi:10.1007/s10755-012-9232-1.
Lattuca, L.R., D. B. Knight, and I. M. Bergom. 2012. “Developing a Measure of Interdisciplinary Competence
for Engineers.” In , 25.415.1-25.415.19. https://peer.asee.org/developing-a-measure-of-interdisciplinary-
competence-for-engineers.
Lavi, R., M. Bathe, A. Hosoi, A. Mitra, and E. F. Crawley, 2021. “The NEET Ways of Thinking: Implementing
Them at MIT and Assessing Their Efficacy.” Advances in Engineering Education. American
Society for Engineering Education. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1316272.
MacLeod, M. and J. T. van der Veen. 2020. “Scaffolding Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning: A
Case Study.” European Journal of Engineering Education 45 (3). Taylor & Francis: 363–377.
doi:10.1080/03043797.2019.1646210.
Routhe, H., M. Winther, J. Holgaard, and A. Kolmos. 2022. “Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Projects
for First-Year Engineering Students: 129th ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition: Excellence
Through Diversity, ASEE 2022.” ASEE 2022 Anual Conference, ASEE Annual Conference and
Exposition, Conference Proceedings, , August. American Society for Engineering Education.
http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138280862&partnerID=8YFLogxK.
Tripp, B. and E. E. Shortlidge. 2019. “A Framework to Guide Undergraduate Education in Interdisciplinary
Science.” CBE—Life Sciences Education 18 (2). American Society for Cell Biology (lse).
doi:10.1187/cbe.18-11-0226.
About the journal
European Journal of Engineering Education is the official
journal of SEFI (www.sefi.be). It invites relevant
contributions that combine scholarliness with usefulness for
improving engineering education.
§ Usefulness implies that papers should be useful to readers
outside the context where the work was made. Usefulness
can take many forms, to readers who can be educators,
researchers, specialists, leaders, or other stakeholders of
engineering education.
§ Scholarliness refers to the significance and novelty of the
contribution, consistency and soundness of the research
approach, connection to relevant literature, coherence and
readability of the paper, as well as credibility and quality
of the ideas and insights generated.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
K. Edström - KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, ejee.editor@gmail.com
DEPUTY EDITORS
J. Bernhard - Linköping University, Sweden S. Chance – TU Dublin, Ireland
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
E. Alpay - University of Surrey, UK
U. Beagon - TU Dublin, Ireland
M. van den Bogaard - University of Texas at El Paso, USA
R. Broadbent - Aston University, UK
J. Buckley - Technological University of the Shannon:
Midlands Midwest, Ireland
J. Case - Virginia Tech, USA
S. Daniel - University of Technology Sydney, Australia
X. Du - Aalborg University, Denmark
A. Kolmos - Aalborg University, Denmark
G. Langie - KU Leuven, Belgium
D. Martin - Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
S. Nikolic - University of Wollongong, Australia
J. Power - University of Limerick, Ireland
K. Roach - UCL, UK
F. Saunders - Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
R. Tormey - EPFL, Switzerland
B. Williams - CEG-IST, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
• Journal issues are published six times a year in electronic edition.
• All papers published in this journal have undergone a rigorous peer review process, based on
initial editor screening and anonymous double-blind reviewing by independent scholars.
• No publication fee.
• Papers are abstracted and indexed in a number of databases, among them Scopus, Educational
Research Abstracts, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts.
• Journal Impact Factor: 2,3.
Journal home page: www.tandfonline.com/CEEE