Engineering education and concept of ‘Bildung’

Since a couple of decades many engineering education programs focus on engineering capabilities and on how knowledge will be used rather than on engineering knowledge per se. Communication, leadership and ethics are among these capabilities. Bildung the ability to integrate humanistic aspects and points of view is not. The Royal Institute of Technology is now considering the introduction of Bildung into the engineering education. What is Bildung and what is it expected to bring to bring to engineering education? This paper uses a pragmatic method and tries to define Bildung by giving examples from situations where Bildung comes into expression. Some of its implications are discussed. One conclusion is that knowledge building in humanities adds new and pregnant perspectives to technical knowledge. Students who are able to apply wide general knowledge („Bildung‟) to engineering problems and situations are able to bring new aspects to their critical thinking. One argument is that engineering students should be exposed to Bildung in order to strengthen their integrity, independent thinking and responsibility.