Fostering Empathy in Engineering Education – Dr Nicola Sochacka, Dr Joachim Walther and Dr Shari Miller

Past research has found that engineering students graduate with less concern for the welfare of the public, and for the social implications of engineering design, than when they begin their studies. To address this issue, researchers from the University of Georgia have developed a theoretical model of empathy in engineering to provide a foundation for systematic research in this area, to inform pedagogical innovation, and to potentially impact the culture of the engineering profession in a way that incorporates a fundamentally different understanding of empathy.