2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

In an increasingly interconnected world, engineering education must extend beyond providing technical proficiency to include an understanding of the international affairs that shape technological advancement. Engineers operate within systems influenced by global agreements, economic policies, and ethical standards that have profound implications on innovation and implementation. Thus, the contribution of this paper is a pedagogical initiative, which is a curriculum framework, designed to embed global affairs awareness into engineering programs, in order to cultivate global policy aware and literate engineers, capable of internationalizing their technical expertise. The originality of this work is the operationalization of the curriculum framework through the Global Affairs Informed Engineers (GAIE) Competency Model (GCM) and a three phased integration supported by ready to use policy simulations and backgrounders. The differentiating aspect of this initiative is the utilization of educational resources from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Additionally, resources from global organizations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) are leveraged. These organizations provide educational resources that can help students understand how global systems and decisions influence technology development.

The first phase of the curriculum framework focuses on methods that can be adopted to seamlessly align technical instruction with global affairs literacy in engineering programs. Relationship between policy and technology development in critical sectors such as energy, telecommunications, cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI), supply chain management (SCM), and climate adaptation are explored in the second phase. Students examine how international agreements, trade policies, and global economic trends shape engineering practice and research. Case-based learning modules are utilized to illustrate how global policies influence design decisions, funding priorities, and ethical considerations. In the third phase, students engage in cross border collaborations and discussions that expose students to how to connect local solutions with global challenges, thus fostering global citizenship. This three phased model aligns with the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) mission to produce socially responsible and globally competent engineers. Moreover, this paper contributes to ASEE efforts on disseminating the importance of global awareness and interdisciplinary learning in shaping the next generation of engineers. The initiative also enables the achievement of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) student learning outcome (SLO) 2-7.

The research provides an evidence based curriculum framework for integrating international perspectives into engineering programs so that students are prepared to navigate the socio-political-global dimensions of technical decision making. The research methodology employs a mixed methods approach to assess impact, using pre and post surveys, student reflections, and faculty feedback to evaluate students’ understanding of how policy influences engineering design and innovation. Ultimately, this work seeks to produce Global Affairs Informed Engineers (GAIE). A GAIE is an engineer who can bridge technical competence with international awareness, contribute effectively to solving complex global challenges and take on global leadership positions in the engineering field.