Sustainable Decision-Making Module: Application to Public Procurement
Publication: Journal of Civil Engineering Education
Volume 146, Issue 3
Abstract
Universities are preparing future professionals to face real problems. Sustainable development is a challenge that requires particular attention from educational programs. In their profession, civil engineers address many decisions that can compromise the sustainability of infrastructure. This paper proposes a sustainable decision-making module to promote student competencies relevant to solving real engineering decision-making problems while meeting sustainability criteria. The module is tested in a project management course for a master’s in Planning and Management in Civil Engineering program. Students were placed in a procurement process scenario with the objective of designing a sustainable decision-making layout for selecting the best construction company to construct a highway. The assessment of the student performance revealed that most students acquired higher-order cognitive skills, and the perception survey showed that this learning method has been widely accepted for developing competencies related to both decision-making and sustainable thinking. This study could serve as an example for engineering education to promote sustainable practices through the active exploration of decision-making in real professional situations.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Valencian Regional Government (Project No. GV/2018//085) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, along with European Regional Development Fund (Project No. BIA2017-85098-R).
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Published In
Journal of Civil Engineering Education
Volume 146 • Issue 3 • July 2020
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©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 19, 2018
Accepted: Jan 7, 2020
Published online: Apr 8, 2020
Published in print: Jul 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Sep 8, 2020
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