Engineering design and appropriate technology

Abstract

A new type of engineering degree course, entitled Engineering Design and Appropriate Technology (EDAT), at the University of Warwick, is described. After explaining the term ‘appropriate technology’ and its relationship to ‘alternative and intermediate technology', the need for a new approach to teaching engineering design is developed. The reasons why present engineering undergraduates receive an education ill-suited to work in appropriate technology are examined. Implicit assumptions underlying all the teaching are claimed to produce graduates unfitted for work in many important fields, such as small firms, job creation, and overseas development. A new set of assumptions to underlie the teaching of appropriate technology are put forward and the resulting implications for the engineering design curriculum are examined. The development of the ED AT course is then described, and finally the course structure and teaching methods are outlined.