2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Global responsibility is an increasingly important topic in engineering design education. As we confront a range of complex global issues, such as access to clean water, sustainable energy, resilient infrastructure, and equitable technology, there is a heightened awareness of the need for action. These complex issues reach beyond the scope of traditional engineering approaches, encouraging a shift in values focused on ethical awareness, adaptive approaches, and international expertise. Many institutions incorporate learning programs to foster a sense of global responsibility, such as immersive programs and experience-based projects. One such program is the Engineers Without Borders-Australia (EWB-A) Design Summit, a 5-week international design education experience for undergraduate students in Australia and New Zealand. Our work sought to investigate global responsibility in the context of this immersive educational experience, and we asked the question: How do students’ perspectives on global responsibility evolve during an immersive design experience, and what factors contribute to these changes?

In collaboration with EWB-A, we investigated a recent Summit that took place in Cambodia. Using ethnographic methods, we collected data in three ways to triangulate our findings: surveys, interviews, and observations/field notes. The lead author conducted pre-summit and post-summit semi-structured interviews with students, asking about prior experience in socially engaged engineering, and perception of global engineering. She then attended the Summit as a facilitator while also gathering data through daily field notes documenting daily activities as well as observations and conversations with the participants.

Using established qualitative content analysis methods, we identified key themes related to how engineering students’ perceptions on global responsibility evolved over the course of the immersive design experience. Our results will be presented across three primary themes: motivations, perceived impactful moments, and levels of immersion. Ultimately, we will provide insight into what factors contributed to individual perceptions of global responsibility, providing recommendations for engineering educators to support the development of globally conscious and socially engaged engineers.