Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Embedding Ethics into Bioengineering Education" with Brit Shields, PhD

Embedding Ethics into Bioengineering Education
 

Brit Shields, PhD

Senior Lecturer, Department of Bioengineering, 
School of Engineering and Applied Science
University of Pennsylvania
 

This talk will foster a discussion on pedagogical strategies for developing ethics curricula tailored to bioengineering students.  It will highlight the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Bioengineering’s Engineering Ethics Initiative, which aims to embed ethics into core technical courses.  This initiative is designed to prepare graduates for responsible leadership in industry and engineering practice by equipping them with the tools to identify and address societal concerns effectively.  Within the context of their technical training, students gain discipline-specific knowledge and skills, including principles of bioethics, proactive ethical design frameworks, regulatory and legal considerations, funding structures, and awareness of unintended consequences, among others.  The initiative is a collaboration involving interdisciplinary faculty and Engineering Ethics Fellows with expertise spanning Bioengineering, History and Sociology of Technology, and Legal Studies.

Professor Shields is a historian and sociologist of science, mathematics and technology. She researches and writes about the cultural history of scientific communities, institutions and ideas. Her work focuses on the profound reciprocal relationship between, on the one hand, science, mathematics and technology, and on the other hand, our society and cultural norms. 

More detail to follow.

Lunch provided. Streaming available via Zoom.