Creating the Societal Citizen…or Else?

Ten years ago, when we established the theme of “Creating the Societal Engineer,” we aimed to prepare the next generation of students by complementing the skills of the engineer with other attributes that enable individuals to embrace lifelong learning and impact society regardless of where their careers might lead. The concept quickly caught on and is now imbued in the student experience and our graduates.

Our students are embracing a multidisciplinary approach to problem solving. They recognize that engineers bring essential skills to the table, but also need to work with professionals from a wide array of disciplines, backgrounds and cultures to implement solutions to society’s challenges. This has been immensely gratifying and you can read about some examples in this issue’s cover story.

As we embark on the second decade—and as I see the emergence of substantial threats to our future—we should consider expanding this idea to students in non-STEM fields. We need higher education in general to commit to Creating the Societal Citizen.

So many universities proudly emphasize their dedication to offering a liberal arts degree to their non-STEM students. This begs the question as to how many universities require non-STEM majors to take more than a cursory math and science course. I question whether there are many programs that provide all students with adequate exposure to the scientific method and a baseline appreciation for quantitative analysis.

The potential consequences of having no such exposure have become starkly evident in recent years. For example, I wonder if people who have not been exposed to the scientific method are considerably more likely to claim climate change is a hoax or that childhood vaccinations are dangerous. They do this despite overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary. Why? Perhaps they want to believe this and/or there are politicians and those with cynical business self-interests (who also rarely have STEM backgrounds) who push this narrative. I suspect that an individual who does not understand the scientific method or quantitative analysis can more easily dismiss compelling data in favor of personal opinion.

At Boston University, the College of Engineering, and in many colleges and universities nationally, there is an understanding of the enormous impact data science is playing in virtually every field of human endeavor. In our college, we now require all engineering students to take a data science course that includes exposure to machine learning. Looking forward, there is an opportunity, perhaps a societal obligation, to ensure that all students in non-STEM disciplines are meaningfully exposed to the scientific method and taught to appreciate and respect the use of data in reasoning and problem solving. This is essential education if we are to prepare students for the digital economy. The pathway there is not easy, but it is achievable if university leaders believe in the benefit to all.

The world needs to continue, of course, to create people who pursue liberal arts education. Our ability to create and appreciate the humanities—art, music, theater, philosophy, sociology and other fields—makes humans unique, as does our ability to use the scientific method to derive a data-driven understanding of nature and how technology impacts our lives and planet. We cannot stay comfortable producing large segments of the population with only cursory exposure to math and science. Nothing short of the Earth itself may be at stake. Nor should we create engineers who do not appreciate the essential role humanities play in ensuring a fulfilling life.

Higher education can commit to Creating the Societal Citizen who can pursue any liberal arts or STEM major, but who also internalizes enough understanding of the scientific method so as to objectively assess issues that threaten our existence or quality of life. The Societal Citizen does not need to have the technical expertise of an engineer or the deep domain knowledge of a scientist. Similarly, the STEM major need not be an expert in the liberal arts. Rather, the Societal Citizen is trained to see the big picture and understand how numerous disciplines, quantitative information and the scientific method all play roles in leading a fulfilling life and solving society’s multifaceted challenges. The Societal Citizen should emerge from all possible disciplines taught at our institutions of higher learning.

After 10 years of exposing our students to disciplines outside of engineering, we think we got the concept of Creating the Societal Engineer right. In the coming decade we need to take the next step and make sure liberal arts students are prepared to be Societal Citizens.

This essay originally appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of ENGineer magazine.