P ac ice Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Sandbe g, C. (2025). The Enginee as a Social and
Poli ical Ac o : In eg a ing Film in o Enginee ing Educa ion. In Kangaslampi, R.,
Langie, G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI 53 d Annual Con e ence.
Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI), Tampe e, Finland. DOI:
10.5281/zenodo.17631253.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
THE ENGINEER AS A SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ACTOR:
HOW FILM AND MEDIA CAN SUPPORT ENGINEERING EDUCATION
C Sandbe g1
Uni e si y o Melbou ne, Pa k ille, 0000-0003-3035-9471
Con e ence Key A eas: Di e si y, equi y and inclusion in ou uni e si ies and in ou
eaching; Enginee ing e hics educa ion
Keywo ds: inclusi e enginee ing educa ion, in e disciplina i y, sc een s udies
ABSTRACT
This pape explo es he use o audio- isual media as a ool o ad ancing an
inclusi e app oach o enginee ing educa ion. In a wo ld ma ked by inc easing
di ision, enginee s mus possess no only echnical skills bu also a c i ical
unde s anding o he b oade social and poli ical con ex s in which hey ope a e.
Issues such as social jus ice, s a egic wa a e, and sys emic powe s uc u es
p o ide e hical p oblems ha a ec enginee ing p ac ice. Wes e n enginee ing
cu icula e ec i ely de elop echnical expe ise, business acumen, and
communica ion skills. Ye , he social, cul u al, and e hical dimensions o he
p o ession emain o en o e looked, aspec s which ha e con ibu ed o gende
imbalance, exclusiona y cul u es, and a declining alen pipeline.
Sc een media o e an inno a i e me hod o add ess hese gaps. D awing on a
uni e si y module designed and augh by he au ho , he pape p esen s h ee
s uc u ed eaching sequences buil a ound ea u e ilms. These in e ac i e sessions
ocus on media po ayals o enginee s, gende asymme ies, and he human-
machine ela ionship. Each sequence includes cu a ed ilm clips, g oup ac i i ies,
guided discussions, and ollow-up assignmen s ha encou age c i ical engagemen .
By in eg a ing ilm in o enginee ing educa ion, he app oach os e s e hical
awa eness and cul u al sensi i i y, enabling s uden s o e lec on hei iden i ies as
u u e enginee s and suppo he de elopmen o mo e inclusi e and socially
esponsi e enginee ing p ac ices. Ul ima ely, his wo k aims o empowe s uden s o
challenge dominan na a i es and become agen s o change in os e ing di e si y
and equi y wi hin hei ield.
1 C Sandbe g
[email p o ec ed]
1 INTRODUCTION
The enginee ing p o ession aces an e e -g ea e se o challenges. A UNESCO
landma k epo on enginee ing and de elopmen ha was published in 2010,
a icula es he i al ole o enginee ing in sol ing p essing economic, ecological and
social conce ns:
‘Fo he u u e o enginee ing, an ob ious goal is he need o ocus speci ically
on he impo an ole enginee ing will play in add essing he UN Millennium
De elopmen Goals, especially po e y educ ion and sus ainable
de elopmen , and he i al ole o enginee ing in clima e change mi iga ion
and adap a ion in he de elopmen o sus ainable, g een, eco-enginee ing and
associa ed design, echnology, p oduc ion and dis ibu ion sys ems and
in as uc u e.’ (UNESCO, 2010)
In ecen yea s, exploi a i e capi alis s uc u es, minimal s a e in e en ion in o
social and economic a ai s and he Co id-19 pandemic ha e con ibu ed o
exace ba e hese issues. Acco ding o UNESCO, enginee s should de elop ‘hands-
on’ o ‘p oblem-sol ing app oaches’. P oduc s and echnologies a e o be designed
wi h iew o he social, cul u al and poli ical en i onmen s in which hey should be
u ilised. A o dable and enewable esou ces should be used, and local expe s and
consul an s be made equal membe s o he eam.
In an e a o unp eceden ed global c ises, echnological inno a ion is only e ec i e
when i esponds o o he ans o ma ion p ocesses, social mo emen s and mobili y
campaigns owa ds mo e equali y and di e si y. Bu decision make s and schola s in
enginee ing acul ies con inue o nu u e he belie ha ‘enginee ing is a pu ely
“ echnical” space and poli ical and cul u al conce ns can – and should – be emo ed
om ha space’ (Cech and She ick, 2015). Tha enginee ing cul u e is s ill s uc u ed
a ound p edominan ly conse a i e, whi e, male and middle-class alues, is
p oblema ic. As Joel Alejand o Mejía e al. no e: ‘[T]he “bou geois no ms” ha mus
be ollowed o achie e success in enginee ing a e ha d wo k, sel -discipline, and
espec o au ho i y’ (Mejía e al., 2020). Mo eo e , Holly J . and Mas a claim ha
he enginee ing wo kplace is se up a ound sys emic biases: ‘Whi eness causes
many o see enginee ing pedagogy as s a ic a he han socially cons uc ed. This
p o ec s he a ogance o belie ing he dominan pa adigm o be op imal, despi e
igno ing di e se epis emologies ha we know exis ’ (Holly and Mas a, 2021).
O e he las decades, na ional and in e na ional enginee ing associa ions,
go e nmen bodies and enginee ing companies ha e launched a my iad o e o s o
owa ds making enginee ing a di e se communi y and inding ways o c ea ing a
espec ul, inclusi e wo kplace cul u e: e.g., in oducing STEAM p ojec s in high
schools, launching schola ships o indigenous s uden s, and de eloping ec ui men
p og ams exclusi ely a ge ed o emale candida es. A key ac o o he success o
decolonising e o s in enginee ing is doing he g oundwo k in he educa ion sec o ,
i.e., in enginee ing schools and depa men s, echnical uni e si ies and colleges.
E in A. Cech and o he s asse ha e ising and e amping enginee ing cu icula
and eaching me hod has he po en ial o ‘o e come a cul u e o disengagemen ’
(Cech, 2014; Holly and Mas a, 2021). S ephen J. Eichho n, in a pape i led ‘How he
Wes was Won: A Decons uc ion o Poli icised Colonial Enginee ing’, sugges s:
“G ea e emphasis mus be placed on achie emen s and in luence o o he coun ies
on he Wes ’s de elopmen , making enginee ing p og ess mo e ele an o all’
(Eichho n, 2020). This in ol es a c i ical engagemen wi h enginee ing his o y in he
wes , o ques ion i s me a na a i es. Enginee ing accomplishmen s ha e o be e-
assessed as o who hey exclude. The e should be enqui ies in o posi i is iews o
echnology, among many o he a eas ha need in es iga ing.
To adequa ely mee hese challenges, enginee ing educa ion has o be decolonised,
i.e. inclusi e and c i ically engaged. The in en o a decolonised enginee ing
educa ion consis s in add essing dynamics o exclusion, ecognising and g adually
disman ling ins i u ional injus ices.
The au ho sugges s ha sc een media o e an inno a i e me hod o add ess hese
gaps. Undoub edly, he use o mo ing images as a eaching ool in enginee ing
classes is unusual. A bes , ilm exce p s ha e been used in an en e aining ashion
as an in oduc ion o a concep o o illus a e how hings wo k, ha is i hey s and
he es o being ‘au hen ic’. A pape deli e ed a he In e na ional Ae onau ics
Con e ence in 2004 s a ed: Wo king wi h ilms can help ec ui ing new s uden s and
space en husias s, as long as hey a e ‘ echnically accu a e and ealis ic’ (Smi h e
al., 2004). Enginee s o m i m pa o he science ic ion an communi y and so i is
no su p ising ha enginee ing schola s epo o ha e used scenes o s ills om
ilms such as Apollo 13 (Howa d, 1995) o Ad As a (G ay, 2019) o demons a e
complexi y o design and unc ionali y o enginee ing p oduc s o explain
undamen al physics concep s (Segall, 2002). Scenes om Ti anic (Came on, 1997),
The Day a e Tomo ow (Emme ich, 2004) o The Li e o Pi (Lee, 2012) a e popula
o c i icise lawed low isualisa ions. Hi and Ta o Lenne o s ind ha ‘ eaching wi h
ilm should be si ua ed wi hin he eme ging li e a u e o bes p ac ices in enginee ing
e hics educa ion’ (2022). Schola s and p ac i ione s also acknowledge ha ilm
suppo de eloping communica ion and decision-making skills. Less a en ion is paid
so a o he po en ial o ea u e ilm o link enginee ing disciplines o social issues o
poli ical agendas.
Fo a ious yea s, he au ho has augh a subjec ha ocusses on science and
enginee ing in popula cul u e. D awing om hese insigh s and expe iences, he
emainde o his pape p esen class oom ac i i ies ha should mo i a e enginee ing
u o s o include social, cul u al and e hical ques ions in in e es ing and e ec i e
manne s. To his end, he au ho in oduces s uc u ed class oom ac i i ies a ound
h ee opics: media ep esen a ion o enginee s, gende asymme ies in enginee ing
and e hics in he human- echnology ela ionship. They a e based on exce p s o he
ea u e ilms Voyage (Schlöndo , 1991), Ghos in he Shell (Oshii, 1995) and
Hidden Figu es (Mel i, 2016). Each sequence has a clea lea ning objec i e, is
designed o enginee ing s uden s ac oss all disciplines, and is app op ia e o bo h
unde g adua e and pos g adua e le els. The sessions a e adap able in leng h.
2. CONTEXT AND PRACTICAL WORK
2.1. Media Rep esen a ion o Enginee s: Voyage
The ea u e ilm Voyage ha un olds in pos -WWII Eu ope, ollows ci il enginee
Wal e Fabe , an emo ionally de ached man whose wo ld iew is challenged when an
encoun e wi h a young woman leads him on a jou ney ac oss con inen s. Fabe is
o ced o con on he limi s o logic and consequences o choices made decades
ea lie . The ilm can be used in he enginee ing class oom o examine how media
o en po ays po ay enginee s as isola ed, hype -logical igu es.
Table 1. Class oom Ac i i y Enginee s on Sc een
Lea ning objec i e
To analyse he po ayal o enginee s in Voyage and
e lec on how media shapes public pe cep ions o he
p o ession, including issues o iden i y in enginee ing.
1. P e-sc eening
Discussion
Which s e eo ypes exis abou enginee s in ilm o TV?
(How) do media po ay enginee s' pe sonali ies, oles,
o wo k en i onmen s?
How do hese ep esen a ions compa e o you own
expe ience o expec a ions as an enginee ing s uden ?
2. View exce p s
Voyage _E e ni y (1:05) h ps:// imeo.com/1086272477
Voyage _ai plane c ash (3:45)
h ps:// imeo.com/1086273364
The clips p esen Fabe ’s a ional wo ld iew, his belie in
echnology and his emo ional de achmen .
3. Small g oup ac i i y
G oup 1: Fabe ’s Cha ac e
How is Wal e Fabe po ayed as an enginee ? Wha
ai s de ine his cha ac e ? A e hese ai s emphasized,
c i iqued o complica ed?
G oup 2: Ideology and Technology
How does he ilm po ay Fabe ’s ela ionship wi h
echnology, logic, and p og ess?
G oup 3: Gende and Iden i y:
How does Fabe in e ac wi h women? How migh his
e lec he ilm’s commen a y on masculini y in
enginee ing?
G oup 4: Enginee ing in Socie y
Wha does he ilm sugges abou he enginee ’s ole in
socie y: is he he o, bu eauc a o ou side ? Is his s ill
ele an oday?
4. Re lec ion and
w ap-up (whole-class
discussion)
Did he ilm challenge you unde s anding o wha i
means o be an enginee ?
How can media ep esen a ions a ec eal-wo ld
di e si y and inclusion in enginee ing?
How would you like o see enginee s po ayed in he
media?
5. Follow-up
assignmen
W i e a sho sc ip o a scene ha depic s an enginee
b eaking common media s e eo ypes; emphasising
collabo a ion, c ea i i y o e hical decision-making.
Fig. 1. Enginee Wal e Fabe . S ill om Voyage .
2.2. Gende Asymme ies: Hidden Figu es
Hidden Figu es emembe s he A ican Ame ican human compu e s Ka he ine
Johnson, Do o hy Vaughan and Ma y Jackson and hei c ucial con ibu ions o
NASA’s space missions. The ilm examines his o ical condi ions o women in a
dominan ly male-o ien ed ield and acial, social and cul u al ba ie s hey aced.
Table 2. Class oom Ac i i y Gende , Ba ie s, and B eak h oughs
Lea ning
objec i es
Unde s and his o ical gende imbalances in enginee ing and
STEM.
Iden i y cul u al and ins i u ional ba ie s aced by women,
especially women o colo .
Re lec on p esen -day gende dynamics in enginee ing
educa ion and ca ee s.
Discuss s a egies o os e ing inclusion and equi y in
enginee ing.
1. Wa m-up and
con ex
Who ge s emembe ed as an enginee , scien is o
inno a o —and why?
Wha s e eo ypes o assump ions exis abou women in
echnical ields?
Wha a e some cu en gende s a is ics in enginee ing
ields?
2. Wa ch exce p s
Hidden Figu es clip collec ion (10:48)
h ps:// imeo.com/1086283469
Ma y’s supe iso mo i a es he o apply o a posi ion in
NASA’s enginee ing aining p og amme.
Ka he ine’s supe iso doub s he ma h abili ies.
Ma y ge s old ha she needs addi ional cou ses as
equi emen o ge in o he aining p og amme.
Ka he ine con on s he colleagues abou ba h oom
seg ega ion and o he disc imina o y ac ions ha impede he
wo k.
Fig. 2. The inquisi i e Ka he ine Johnson cha ac e is
su ounded by male colleagues. S ill om Hidden Figu es.
3. Discuss in small
g oups
G oup 1: Ba ie s
Which sys emic challenges did whi e women/black women
ha e o o e come? How do hese compa e wi h ba ie s
aced by women in STEM oday?
G oup 2: Agency
How did Ka he ine o Ma y esis o o e come he ba ie s
hey aced? Did hey ha e ‘champions’ o suppo hem?
G oup 3: Enginee ing Cul u e Today
How has enginee ing cul u e changed since he 1960s?
Which issues pe sis ?
4. Whole-class
discussion and
e lec ion
Wha su p ised you abou he women’s expe iences?
Wha pa allels do you see be ween pas and p esen in
enginee ing?
How can oday’s enginee ing s uden s and p o essionals
c ea e mo e inclusi e en i onmen s?
Follow-up
assignmen s
1. W i e a sho e lec ion on how he s o y o Hidden Figu es
in luences you unde s anding o inclusion in enginee ing.
Iden i y conc e e s eps you can ake indi idually o wi hin
you communi y o suppo gende equi y in STEM.
2. C ea e a g oup p esen a ion on a emale enginee
(his o ical o cu en ) whose s o y dese es mo e a en ion.
2.3. The Human-Machine-Rela ionship: Ghos in he Shell
The Japanese cybe punk anime Ghos in he Shell explo es humani y’s ela ionship
wi h echnology. Majo Mo oko Kusanagi, a cybe ne ically enhanced go e nmen
agen , hun s a mys e ious hacke known as he Puppe Mas e who in il a es human
minds. In he p ocess, Kusanagi begins o ques ion he na u e o he own iden i y.
The ilm is a sp ingboa d o discuss enginee ing e hics, he social ole o echnology,
and global pe spec i es on obo ics and AI.
Table 3. Class oom Ac i i y Enginee s and he Pos human
Lea ning objec i es
Examine how Ghos in he Shell po ays enginee s’ oles in
shaping human-machine in eg a ion.
Unde s and how cul u al alues shape echnological
de elopmen and accep ance.
Fig. 3. Mo oko Kusanagi e lec s on humanness.
S ill om Ghos in he Shell.
Re lec on he e hical and philosophical implica ions o
cybe ne ic enhancemen s and AI.
Discuss how global science ic ion can expand enginee s’
hinking abou he social impac s o hei wo k.
1. Tu o
p esen a ion
In oduce Ghos in he Shell as ilm se in a u u e o blu ed
human-machine bounda ies. Highligh Japan’s con ex
whe e obo s and AI a e o en iewed posi i ely con as ing
wi h Wes e n anxie ies. Connec he opic o eal-wo ld
ech: neu al implan s, wea able AI, human augmen a ion,
au onomous sys ems.
2. Wa ch exce p s
Ghos in he Shell clip collec ion (8:51)
h ps:// imeo.com/1086296833
Cons uc ion o Kusanagi’s cybe ne ic body
Kusanagi di es in o he sea and e lec s on sel hood
The ci y and socie y o he u u e
3. Small-g oup
discussion
G oup 1: Human-Cen e ed Design
How does he ilm ep esen human-compu e in eg a ion?
Wha would be he enginee ing challenges o designing
echnology ha espec s complex human iden i y (gende ,
memo y, emo ion)?
G oup 2: C oss-Cul u al Enginee ing
In Ghos in he Shell, cybe ne ic enhancemen is
no malized. Wha does his sugges abou how cul u e
in luences ech adop ion? How migh Japanese iews on
obo s di e om Wes e n ea s o AI dominance (e.g. A.I.
o Ex-Machina)?
G oup 4: The Role o Enginee s in he Fu u e
How can enginee s ensu e echnology enhances human
agency, a he han eplacing i ?
4. Class discussion
Can science ic ion help enginee s imagine mo e inclusi e,
e hical, o sus ainable u u es?
Wha e hical amewo ks should guide enginee s as
echnologies like AI, bio ech, and cybe ne ics e ol e?
5. Follow-up
Assignmen
C ea e a p o o ype o a human-machine in e ace. Add ess
he in ended use and cul u al con ex , bene i s and isks
and any e hical conside a ions.
3 RESULTS AND INSIGHTS
RESULTS AND INSIGHTS
The sugges ed class oom sequences a e lexible and can easily be adap ed o
inco po a e s uden con ibu ions. The e a e challenges and oppo uni ies linked o
hese ac i i ies.
• Time cons ain s: The app oach o wo k wi h ilm o e s enginee ing s uden s
an oppo uni y o engage wi h b oade socio- echnical discussions. While
wa ching and analysing an en i e ea u e-leng h ilm may no always be
easible, he p o ided clips con ey key ideas and can be mo e easily
in eg a ed in o ime-cons ained enginee ing cou ses. S uden s can also be
assigned o wa ch ilms in hei own ime, accompanied by guided discussion
ques ions. S uden s a e o en eage o sugges hei a ou i e ex s, ilm clips,
documen a ies, o TV shows. These sugges ions a e aluable, as hey may
in oduce al e na i e ma e ials ha u o s may no be amilia wi h and can
align mo e closely wi h s uden s’ in e es s and pe spec i es.
• A ailabili y o ilm ma e ial: Access o ele an ilm ma e ial is mo e con enien
han e e . Blockbus e ilms a e eadily a ailable on s eaming pla o ms, and
indi idual ilm clips can be ound on si es, such as Clip.ca e. The Dus
YouTube channel hos s hund eds o hough -p o oking science ic ion sho
ilms. Classic and in e na ional ilms a e also accessible online wi h sub i les,
expanding he ange o a ailable con en o class oom use. A no e on
pe mission: Films and ideos can be played in an educa ional en i onmen ,
such as a lec u e o semina , wi hou ha ing o ob ain pe mission.
• Lack o a quali ied u o : The absence o a specialized u o o hese ilm-
based ac i i ies may seem o be a challenge. Howe e , he p o ided ac i i ies
a e su icien ly de ailed and s uc u ed o allow enginee ing s a o wo k wi h
hem com o ably.
• In e disciplina i y: I he oppo uni y a ises, s uden s om o he disciplines
should be b ough in o he con e sa ion. This way, ideas and p oblems a e
explo ed om di e se pe spec i es, which deepens s uden s’ app ecia ion o
ields beyond hei own and lead o hough -p o oking con e sa ions.
4 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
This pape p esen ed ac i i ies o he enginee ing class oom ha a e based on
ele an ea u e ilms. B idging STEM wi h he a s and humani ies, his app oach o
enginee ing educa ion add esses his o ical inequi ies and p omo es inclusion.
The in e ac i e design o hese ac i i ies encou ages high le els o engagemen .
Th ough pa icipa o y eaching, s uden s migh also e ine hei o al communica ion
skills, gain some insigh in o ilm analysis echniques, and expand hei knowledge o
wo ld cinema. The ollow-up assignmen s, including w i ing e lec ions, p oducing
sc ip s, and deli e ing p esen a ions p omise o gene a e dynamic and o iginal ideas.
Ul ima ely, inco po a ing ilm in o enginee ing educa ion is bo h ewa ding and
in ellec ually s imula ing. Whe he h ough ull-leng h sc eenings, selec ed clips, o
s uden -led discussions, ilm o e s a powe ul ool o explo ing social, cul u al and
e hical dimensions o enginee ing.
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B ody, R. (2016, Decembe 12). Hidden Figu es is a Sub le and Powe ul Wo k o
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Cech E. A. (2014). Cul u e o Disengagemen in Enginee ing Educa ion?’. Science,
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