Browsing by Author "Vehmaa, Anu"

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Building a more sustainable society? A case study on the role of sustainable development in the education and early career of water and environmental engineers
(2018-07-25) Vehmaa, Anu; Karvinen, Meeri; Keskinen, Marko
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
Engineering education is critical for sustainability, given the key role that engineers have in shaping the development of our society. Yet, engineering studies have traditionally not been driven by sustainability-related knowledge and skills, but focused more on general computational skills and technical problem-solving. This has also been the case in our case study, which focuses on recent water and environmental engineering graduates in Finland. We studied the role that sustainable development has had in their education and early career through an extensive questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The analysis was done in two ways: indirectly by comparing how well the key working life knowledge and skills recognized by the respondents correspond with sustainability-related skills, and directly by studying the graduates' views towards the sustainable development and their possibilities to advance it in their work. The results show that although sustainability was not at the core of respondents' studies, their key competencies correspond well with sustainability-related working life skills. The respondents also see that sustainable development has a central role in water and environmental engineering, although it is typically more visible at a strategic rather than a practical level. However, the results also indicate that several early-career engineers have deficient knowledge of sustainable development, and are therefore lacking the ability to fully connect the principles of sustainable development into their own expertise. Overall, the findings suggest that water and environmental engineers with their wide set of competencies have the potential to take on a larger role in building a more sustainable society. To ensure this, engineering education should emphasize the connection between the field and sustainable development and clearly link engineers' core competencies with the skills required to promote sustainability.
Muuttuvien työelämätaitojen sisällyttäminen tekniikan alan koulutukseen : tapaustutkimus Aalto-yliopiston vesi- ja ympäristötekniikan maisteriohjelmasta
(2019) Karvinen, Meeri; Vehmaa, Anu; Keskinen, Marko
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
Digitalisaatio ja kestävän kehityksen haasteet muuttavat työelämää ennennäkemättömällä vauhdilla. Työn muutokset heijastuvat myös korkeakouluihin, joissa pohditaan, millaisia valmiuksia tulevien ammattilaisten tulisi hallita pärjätäkseen uudenlaisessa työelämässä ja pystyäkseen ratkomaan aiempaa moniulotteisempia haasteita. Nämä muutokset näkyvät erityisen hyvin vesi- ja ympäristötekniikan alalla, jolla globaalitason haasteiden ratkaiseminen yhdistyy hyvinvoinnin turvaamiseen sekä liiketoimintaan. Tässä artikkelissa pohdimme, miten korkeakoulut voivat samanaikaisesti taata opiskelijoilleen tarvittavat työelämätaidot ja vahvistaa opiskelijoiden kykyä kehittää koko opetettavaa alaa. Tapaustutkimuksemme kohteena on diplomi-insinöörejä kouluttava uusi vesi- ja ympäristötekniikan maisteriohjelma Aalto-yliopistossa. Tutkimusaineisto on kerätty kyselyillä ohjelman alumneilta, opettajilta ja opiskelijoilta. Kyselyt keskittyivät ohjelman osaamistavoitteisiin ja niiden tarjoamiin työelämätaitoihin. Tuloksissa nousevat esiin erityisesti kognitiivisten ja persoonallisten valmiuksien erilainen rooli uran eri vaiheissa sekä opetusmenetelmien ja opetuksen työelämäyhteyksien vaikutus opiskelijan valmiuksiin suunnitella tulevaisuuttaan. Samalla korostuu vuoropuhelun merkitys; yksikään toimija ei voi ilman yhteistyötä määritellä tulevaisuuden osaamistarpeita. Sen sijaan yliopistojen, opiskelijoiden ja työelämätoimijoiden tulee miettiä tulevaisuuden työelämätaitoja yhdessä ja jatkuvassa vuorovaikutuksessa.
Working life of water and environmental engineers: a case study of career paths, core competencies and the role of sustainable development
(2018-05-14) Vehmaa, Anu
Insinööritieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis
This Thesis study covers career development, core working life competencies, and the role of sustainable development in the early careers of water and environmental engineers. The study was conducted to support the implementation and development of the new Master’s Programme in Water and Environmental Engineering at Aalto University to meet the requirements of working life. Data was collected using an online questionnaire that was sent to engineers who have graduated during the past ten years (2007-2016), and complementary semi-structured theme interviews. According to this case study, water and environmental engineers in Finland have safe employment situation, and their expertise is required in several societal sectors and in various duties. Modern working life with complex tasks and new challenges demand for a wide array of skills and knowledge. In addition to traditional engineering skills such as problem solving, present work life requires also time-management and prioritization skills, as well as people skills. Furthermore, engineers need to be able to take initiative and be self-directional, be up-to-date by actively searching for information and learning, and be able to make decision and taking responsibility. The aim of the Aalto University is to integrate responsibility and sustainable development into all teaching, and to build a sustainable society driven by innovation. According to this study, several early-career engineers working in the field have deficient knowledge of sustainable development, which hampers their capability to connect their job with the sustainable development concept and to act according to the sustainability principles. Some are also presenting criticism towards sustainable development and see it as a separate theory with little application to engineering work. Majority nonetheless see it being built-in in the field and also an essential societal theme. Integrating sustainable development into engineering education requires understanding of wider concept and using systemic thinking. The same competencies are also central in the modern working life. The structure and the content of the new Master’s Programme is responding to this demand. At the moment, developing sustainable world is mentioned in strategies and visions of organizations, but it is not reflected fully in everyday tasks. Water and environmental engineers with their wide set of competencies and variety of roles in the society could be in the vanguard of progress in building a more sustainable society.