The Peace and Conflict Studies department is pleased to be offering a new PACS 301 Special Topics course called "Engineering and Peace." This course has been built around the idea that Peace and Conflict Studies has an important contribution to make to the practice of engineering, and that engineers have an important role to play in advancing peace.
The course will be taught by Dr. Paul Heidebrecht, the Director of the MSCU Centre for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College. Paul is a graduate of the University of Waterloo (Mech '94) and received his Ph.D from Marquette University with a focus of ethics and technology. Paul has worked as an engineer for more than five years, and has served in a leadership role with an international peacebuilding organization.
This special topics course will provide students with a new approach towards analyzing and solving problems with empathy and evaluation skills. Students will be able to apply their expertise and passions to make a meaningful social impact.
Sample weekly topics covered in the course are:
- Design Labs in which students work together in teams to solve assigned problems
- How engineers can contribute to building sustainable peace
- How to make a meaningful social impact by identifying opportunities to do so