Blue Engineering is an international and innovative workshop-style course provided by TU Berlin which focuses on ecological and social responsibility. The course facilitates creative, interdisciplinary and sometimes heated debates on the issues posed by technology in society and in nature.
Within the Blue Engineering course, the participants actively engage in unveiling the complex interdependencies of their social, political, ecological and economic surroundings. Thus, the participants learn to reflect on and consider the different values, interests and needs from a global perspective as well as within one class(room). Through this analysis they start to grasp their responsibility - on the personal as well as the collective level - and learn to act accordingly. Participants even co-create the course by developing their own teaching/learning units.
In times of digital learning, the course enables the students to network beyond their university and even beyond national borders while exchanging ideas and getting ready to act.
The course was originally developed for future engineers wanting to think outside the box. However, students of any background are encouraged to enroll as a diverse student body adds new dimensions to the discussion. Students anywhere in the world interested in the intersection of technology, society and ecological responsibility are welcome to join the TU Berlin international course. The course is credited with 6 ECTS points. Lecturers and staff who want to get an idea of the concept are also invited to join!
A ‘Starter Kit’ explains the course design in detail to ensure easy adaptation of the course to other universities.
Students, as well as members of faculty, are invited to make use of the Starter Kit at their universities. The Blue Engineering group offers support from at least one tutor and one member of the faculty to run a launch workshop and help throughout the implementation process.
The Blue Engineering initiative was founded by a group of students from a broad range of study programmes at TU Berlin in 2009. Today, the network spans across 15 universities with 20 members of faculty, over 30 student tutors and around 350 course participants each semester which form a network of over 3,000 alumni.
The student-led team is a finalist in our Competition Best Idea 2021 and will present to our high-level conference and will be available to discuss during a virtual exhibition on 14 October.