IEC: Becoming an Engineer

In this episode, we explore the BambaSonke Design Challenge, a collaborative initiative developed with Engineers Without Borders South Africa that brings real community challenges into engineering classrooms. Joined by Robyn Clark, Nicky Wolmarans, Bronwyn Swartz, and Disa Mogashana, we hear how the challenge has been adapted across three South African universities to develop students’ technical knowledge, professional competencies, and understanding of engineering’s social responsibility. From ethical community engagement and authentic problem-solving to the practical challenges of implementing large-scale learning experiences, the conversation explores how collaboration between institutions can help prepare engineers to design with people and communities in mind.

Links:
BambaSonke Design Challenge
Research paper: Decolonising Engineering Education through Locally Relevant Problem-Based Learning
Engineers Without Borders South Africa: Engineering for People Design Challenge

In this episode, we speak with Prof. Schalk Els, whose nearly three decades with the University of Pretoria’s Baja team have shown that building a vehicle can be about much more than engineering design. Schalk reflects on creating student-led environments where aspiring engineers are trusted with real responsibility, learn from one another, take managed risks, and discover what they are capable of. From developing confidence and leadership to preparing graduates for industry, the conversation explores what can happen when educators step back from simply teaching technical knowledge and instead create spaces where students can truly become engineers.

Links:
Baja Team Instagram: Instagram
Baja Team TikTok: TuksBaja | UP Baja SAE (@tuksbaja) | TikTok
Baja Team Facebook: TuksBaja | Facebook
Baja Team LinkedIn: https://za.linkedin.com/company/tuksbaja 
Baja Team YouTube: TuksBaja | University Of Pretoria Baja SAE - YouTube 
TuksBaja Vehicle Team | University Of Pretoria
SEA International: https://www.sae.org/events/student/about/baja
Schalk UP Staff Profile: https://www.up.ac.za/mechanical-and-aeronautical-engineering/staff-profiles/schalk-els
Schalk Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=5krU7wIAAAAJ&hl=en
UP Vehicle Dynamics Group: https://www.up.ac.za/vehicle-dynamics-group

In this special episode, our hosts Prof. Lelanie Smith and Dr. Reuben Govender turn the conversation towards themselves, sharing the personal and professional journeys that brought them from mechanical engineering into engineering education. They reflect on teaching, mentorship, curriculum design, and the experiences that shifted their understanding of engineering from a primarily technical discipline towards one centred equally on people and their development. Along the way, they explore the complexities of educating engineers in the South African context, the value of community and collaboration, and the experiences that ultimately led to the IEC and this podcast. It is a conversation about their own ongoing journeys of becoming, as engineers, educators, researchers, and colleagues, and an invitation for others to join the conversation.
Links:
Innovative Engineering Curriculum (IEC)

Meet the IEC team

IEC Podcast Series

South African Society for Engineering Education — SASEE

Master Classes for Engineering Educators

UCL Integrated Engineering Programme

Royal Academy of Engineering case study on the South African IEC project

Vertically Integrated Projects Consortium

Baja SAE

#FeesMustFall: Max Price's book Statues and Storms:  Leading through change

#FeesMustFall: Review by Prof Robert Morrell from Prof Adam Habib's Book

In this episode, we speak with Prof. Corrinne Shaw, whose work bridges engineering management, systems thinking, and engineering education. Drawing on her research and experiences in South Africa, Corrinne explores how systems shape the way we teach, learn, and practise engineering, challenging us to question assumptions about power, transformation, and responsibility. Together, we discuss what it means to prepare engineers who can navigate complexity, think critically about the systems they work within, and contribute to more just and socially responsible futures.
Links:
⁠Prof CS LinkedIn⁠
Engineering as a Captive Discourse paper: Johnston, S., Lee, A., & McGregor, H. (1996). Engineering as captive discourse. Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology (originally published as Philosophy and Technology), 1(3–4), 128–136.
Paper with Prof. Bruce Kloot (podcast Ep01): Shaw, C. B., & Kloot, B. (2025). Engineering under oppressive regimes: Exploring the role of engineers during apartheid South Africa. European Journal of Engineering Education, 50(3), 493–511. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2024.2419399
#FeesMustFall movement: Mbembe, A. (2016). Decolonizing the university: New directions. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 15(1), 29‑45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474022215618513
Shaw, C., & le Roux, K. (2017). From Practitioner to Researcher: Designing the Dissertation Process for Part Time Coursework Masters Students. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 30, 433–446. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-016-9402-7
Mingers, J. (2014). Systems thinking, critical realism and philosophy: A confluence of ideas. Routledge.
“Languages and literacies in and for decoloniality in research and practice in undergraduate STEM education,” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (2025):  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09518398.2025.2601559
Le Roux, K., Ngoepe, M., Shaw, C., & Collier-Reed, B. I. (2022). “Language and disciplinary literacies for accessing, learning and communicating meaning: students’ experiences of the transition from school to first-year undergraduate engineering.” European Journal of Engineering Education, 47(6), 1144–1163.
Ngoepe, M. N., le Roux, K., Shaw, C. B., & Collier-Reed, B. (2022). Conceptual tools to inform course design and teaching for ethical engineering engagement for diverse student populations. Science and Engineering Ethics, 28(2), 20 pages. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-022-00367-4
Winberg, C., Engel-Hills, P., Garraway, J., & Jacobs, C. (2013). Professionals' knowledge and practice in engineering and engineering education. Higher Education, 66(2), 143–155.

In this episode, we speak with Prof. Zach Simpson, whose work explores the evolving nature of engineering education, academic development, and the everyday complexities of curriculum practice. Drawing on a journey that began in educational linguistics, Zach reflects on questions of identity, belonging, and the often invisible work involved in supporting engineering academics through change. Together, we discuss how conventional teaching practices shape student participation, what it means to prepare graduates for complex workplaces, and why engineering education must continually rethink not only what is taught, but how and why it is taught.
Links:
⁠Prof ZS LinkedIn⁠
⁠SoTL in the South journal and conference