This paper presents three tools developed within the framework of the project EDINSOST2-SDG, aimed at embedding and assessing the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Engineering curricula. ESD is promoted through the introduction into engineering curricula of learning outcomes related to sustainability and, specifically, to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The first tool, the “Engineering Sustainability Map”, contains ESD-related learning outcomes that any engineering student should have acquired upon completion of their studies. These learning outcomes are described according to four sustainability competencies: (1) Critical contextualization of knowledge, (2) Sustainable use of resources, (3) Participation in community processes, and (4) Application of ethical principles. The second tool, the “Sustainability Presence Map” of a degree, shows the percentage of the presence in the curriculum of each sustainability competency. The calculation of the presence of each competency is based on the effective integration of the related learning outcomes into a specific curriculum. Respective data are provided by teachers responsible for the coordination of the different subjects of the degree, collected by means of a questionnaire. The third tool presented is a questionnaire aimed at measuring the level of ESD that students perceive they have acquired through each competency. The comparison of data resulting from the Sustainability Presence Map with the data from the student questionnaire is the first step that allows the effectiveness of embedding ESD in a degree to be determined, a proper learning assessment will confirm such effectiveness. The three tools presented in this work have undergone a validation process and are currently being used in a set of engineering degrees related to the EDINSOST2-SDG project. The results of the application of these tools are part of the future research work of the authors.

It is vital that subjects such as the circular economy, sustainable design, green computing or environmental engineering be included in the engineering curriculum. Education for sustainable development will enable engineers to develop sustainable products and provide sustainable services, thereby leading to a beneficial result for society and making an indispensable contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals achievement. As the last stage for students in academia, Degree Theses (Bachelor’s and Master’s) provide a good tool for reviewing the sustainability competencies developed during the degree, as well as being an opportunity for applying these competencies in a holistic way. In their Degree Theses, students should be able to demonstrate that they are aware of the need to introduce and assess sustainability in their future engineering projects. This paper presents a guide aimed at helping engineering students to design and develop sustainable projects, and analyzes the first results of its use in two schools of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya—BarcelonaTech. The proposal is based on a tool referred to as “the Sustainability Matrix”, in which cells contain questions that engineering students should take into account when undertaking their Degree Theses. The questions are related to the project development, the project exploitation and the possible risks involved, three aspects in accordance with the sustainability dimensions (economic, environmental and social). The Sustainability Matrix helps students to develop sustainable projects when they graduate, and teachers to assess how sustainability is incorporated across the curriculum in the subjects they teach and in the students’ Degree Theses.

Among their educational objectives, Computer Science courses do not usually aim at developing skills such as the gathering of information, oral and written communication, or teamwork; nor do they seek to heighten students' awareness in terms of solidarity, the environment, justice or progress. In the subject "PC Architecture" at the Facultat d'informatica de Barcelona (Spain), the aforementioned items are indeed included in the educational objectives, but without any additional effort to the student. The teaching strategies include the following: (i) students are organized into groups, which prepare a project on a topic related to the objectives of the course, (ii) students are required to make a public presentation of their project and answer questions from their colleagues, and (iii) the lab work is done in collaboration with an NGO. It consists of repairing PCs provided by donars. Once repaired, PCs are destined for projects in solidarity with developing countries. Over the last two years, we have evaluated four courses by means of student surveys, whose results have been very positive. As instructors, we have observed a remarkable improvement in the quality of the presentations throughout the course. Furthermore, some students continue their collaboration with the NGO beyond the end of the course.

Sustainability plays a key role in engineering education. Engineering students must learn to think long-term and understand that, in order to achieve a better world, they must situate their future professional activities within the framework of sustainable solutions. To this end, future engineers must be aware of the complexities of the social environment in which they are developing their work, and of the need to harmonize short-term improvements with sustainable development based on the long term. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in engineering is essential for the training of agents of change and transformation that can promote policies, strategies, and methods that enable a more sustainable future to be built. This Special Issue gathers six original research papers in the field of ESD in engineering, ranging from general issues such as formulating key issues required for any course in EDS, to the experience of introducing sustainability into very specific subjects. Therefore, this Special Issue is of particular value for both academic researchers and lecturers interested in introducing sustainability into their own teaching subjects.

This research-to-practice work in progress paper is focused on creating a categorization of lecturers in order to define quality in their education practice. The reason for this work is that we found that our faculty perceived the time devoted to teaching as something that had no real impact on the progress of their academic careers, whereas the real impact consists of papers published and grants obtained. Our lecturers require from the university an institutional policy that defines strategies and guidelines to favour a quality education, which in turn requires the definition of a teaching evaluation system. However, a single evaluation system cannot be implemented for all teachers. Different teaching profiles must be defined and the lecturers must be evaluated in accordance with the profiles to which they belong. In this paper, a categorization of four lecturer profiles is presented.