P ac ice Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Ma in, L. (2025). Re lec ing On Values in Technological
Inno a ion Th ough Science Fic ion Na a i e Mapping. 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.17631271.
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.
Re lec ing on alues in echnological inno a ion h ough science
ic ion na a i e mapping
L. Ma in a,
1
a TU Del , Values, Technology and Inno a ion
Del , The Ne he lands
ORCID: h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-8283-947X
Con e ence Key A eas: Enginee ing e hics educa ion; Enginee as a social deba e
– new skills needed?
Keywo ds: science ic ion, na a i e imagina ion, alues, enginee ing e hics,
an icipa ion wo kshop
ABSTRACT
This p ac ice pape explains how educa o s can use Sci-Fi na a i e mapping o
os e e hical e lec ion abou alues in echnological inno a ions. The pape
p oposes Sci-Fi na a i e mapping as a no el educa ional me hod combining
embodied app oaches wi h c ea i e w i ing and g oup wo k. The pape explains how
o deploy his me hod in an enginee ing e hics class oom and illus a es how his
me hod was applied in wo dis inc i e wo kshops – one wi h s uden s and one wi h
educa o s – and discusses he ou comes o he wo wo kshops. The pape ackles
he educa ional goals o his me hod, he heo e ical backg ound on which i elies,
he limi a ions expe ienced hus a , he lessons lea ned om he wo wo kshops,
and possible ex ensions o o he humanis ic-in o med cou ses in enginee ing
educa ion.
1
Co esponding Au ho
L. Ma in
l.ma in@ udel .nl
1
“You’ e no a eal explo e un il you’ e los you way.” –
To e Jansson, A Come in Moominland (1951)
1 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 How o os e e hical e lec ion conce ning u u e echnological
inno a ions
Decisions abou wha echnologies should be de eloped in he nea u u e a e
iddled wi h unacknowledged mo al alue choices and poli ical conside a ions
(Winne , 1990). Fo example, o ackle he allou om clima e change, should
humani y de elop ligh s o Ma s o unde g ound bunke s o shield us om sola
adia ion? Bo h op ions a e echnical solu ions o a socie al p oblem, ye bo h ha e
di e en alue choices embedded in hem by he implici selec ion o s akeholde s
whose needs a e o be p io i ised. Rega dless o whe he he echnological
inno a ion is pa o a go e nmen al s a egy o i i eme ges om a ne wo k o
comme cial ac o s compe ing, enginee s will be pa and pa cel o ha decision
p ocess. While enginee s a e o en asked o weigh in on he e iciency and easibili y
o a solu ion h ough hei echnical ad ice, enginee s should also ha e in o med
opinion abou he socie al desi abili y o he echnical inno a ion and i s e hical
implica ions ( an de Poel & Royakke s, 2011). This means ha e hics educa o s
need o os e and ocus on hose e hical skills ha will help u u e enginee s no only
decide on cu en mo al p oblems, bu also on he u u e di ec ions a s ake when
de eloping a new echnology. E hics schola ship has been a guing o se e al
decades now ha enginee ing educa ion needs o con ain e hical aining a i s co e
(Buccia elli, 2008), o p epa e u u e enginee s o hese kinds o decision-making
momen s in which hey can play an essen ial ole. Howe e , he cu en e hics
educa ion in enginee ing cu icula is p edominan ly ocused on analysing exis ing
echnologies and pas disas e cases (Ma in e al., 2021; Yo k and Conley, 2020, p.
2989).
To handle he p oblem o deciding which u u e inno a ions a socie y should pu sue,
enginee ing e hics educa ion also needs o p epa e s uden s wi h he skills o alue
de ec ion, such as iden i ying alue choices and ade-o s when a no el echnology
is s ill in he planning phase and ye o be de eloped. E hical skills a ge ing
an icipa ion and u u e scena ios a e no clea ly os e ed in he e hics class ooms
( an G uns en e al., 2023), ye hese u u e-o ien ed e hical analysis skills would be
mos aluable o p epa e s uden s o he unce ain y inhe en in he u u e, as
poin ed ou by (Yo k and Conley, 2020, p. 2986). Such skills would enable and
“p o oke conside a ion o how c i ical unce ain ies may a ec he u u e, and
he eby b oaden pe spec i es, challenge assump ions, and highligh hidden dange s
and oppo uni ies” (Biggs e al., 2010, p.268). Hence he ques ion ha his pape
aims o answe h ough a p ac ical exe cise: Which pedagogical app oaches would
be sui ed o ain s uden s in en isioning alues conce ning u u e echnologies?
Analysing how e hical and socie al alues eme ge o a e sub e ed in a
echnological a e ac has been success ully achie ed h ough me hods such as
Value Sensi i e Design (F iedman e al., 2001) o Design o alues ( an den Ho en
2
e al., 2015) in enginee ing and echnical educa ion. These me hods a e
pedagogically sound and can e ec i ely help s uden s e lec on he alues
embedded in a echnology (Gammon e al., 2024). Howe e , when i comes o he
inno a ion s age o a possible echnology, he e is no me hod in enginee ing e hics
educa ion because i is mo e challenging o analyse possible alues in echnological
inno a ion's planning and en isioning phase when no ac ual design is in sigh (Yo k
and Conley, 2020). Re lec ing on alues in he en isioning phase o echnological
inno a ion, we a e me ely dealing wi h possible scena ios. Ye e lec ion on e hical
and socie al alues is impo an a his s age o inno a ion, and i ma e s whe he
he enginee s called o inno a e a e ained in spo ing he alues a s ake in u u e
and imagina y scena ios. T aining o hese skills equi es he de elopmen o mo al
imagina ion and mo al sensi i i y, sys ema ically de eloped in educa ion
(Coeckelbe gh, 2010; F ey, 2015; Umb ello, 2020; Ma in e al., 2021).
1.2 The ole o na a i e imagina ion in os e ing mo al imagina ion abou
u u e inno a ions
The aim o his pape is o explo e he po en ial o a pedagogical me hod ha allows
ins uc o s o os e he mo al imagina ion and mo al sensi i i y o enginee ing
s uden s in ela ion o mo al alues in conce ning a u u e echnology. Mo al
imagina ion has been de ined as “ou capaci y o empa hically unde s and and eel
wi h o he s and ou abili y o imagine how expe ience would play ou unde he
shaping influence o a ious alues and choices” (Johnson, 2016). While we all ha e
he capaci y o imagine expe iences and eelings, some o us ha e his abili y mo e
de eloped han o he s, o example, a is s. Hence engaging wi h wo ks o a should
expand ou imagina ion in he long e m, as Ma ha Nussbaum hypo hesised.
Nussbaum coined he e m “na a i e imagina ion” o designa e he human capaci y
o unde s and “wha i migh be like in he shoes o a pe son di e en om onesel , o
be an in elligen eade o ha pe son’s s o y, and o unde s and he emo ions and
wishes and desi es ha someone so placed migh ha e” (Nussbaum, 1998, pp. 10–
11). Bo h Johnson and Nussbaum ocus on imagina ion as an ac o indi idual
p ojec ion and es ima ion o possible emo ions and easons. Ye his kind o
indi idual ocused imagina ion is no o much use in echnological inno a ion since
inno a o s need o imagine possible u u e scena ios unleashed by echnology and
how hese would play ou a a socie al le el. Fo he mo al imagina ion en ailed in
echnological inno a ion, we need bo h na a i e skills and mo al sensi i i y abou
alues, wi h a p ima ily socie al ocus. Hence, we need o each hose skills ha
enable s uden s o imagine how socie ies migh eel and eac o u u e echnological
scena ios.
This pape desc ibes he deploymen o a pedagogical exe cise in ended o os e
mo al imagina ion in ela ion o echnological inno a ion by using na a i e
echniques. In designing his exe cise, I d ew inspi a ion on how o use science
ic ion na a i es in enginee ing educa ion om he p e ious wo k o Mille and
Benne (2008), who used science ic ion scena ios in echnological assessmen wi h
he goal o imp o ing pa icipan s’ imagina ion. While in Nussbaum’s wo k, na a i e
imagina ion is os e ed by eading a wo k o ic ion, he e he a emp was o engage
s uden s’ na a i e imagina ion in a c ea i e mode, h ough science- ic ion scena io
mapping. Howe e , he na a i e imagina ion is no s i ed alone by he ac o w i ing
o planning a sci- i scena io bu a he by he p ocess o discussing his scena io wi h
3
o he people. In dialogical engagemen wi h o he s, one is con on ed wi h he
limi a ions and biases o one’s imagina ion and hen becomes awa e o o he s'
pe spec i es. The main hypo hesis in de eloping he exe cise was ha os e ing
na a i e imagina ion h ough a collec i e scena io mapping exe cise will expand
s uden s’ mo al imagina ion ega ding echnological inno a ion. This hypo hesis can
be b oken down in o se e al sub-hypo heses:
a) ha de eloping sci- i scena ios abou a echnology elies hea ily on deploying
mo al imagina ion;
b) ha deba ing in a small g oup he scena io wi h one’s eam-ma es should e ine
one’s mo al imagina ion by con on ing one wi h ano he ’s pe spec i e abou alues
and mo ali y;
c) ha designing he s o yline by using embodied pedagogy echniques ( an
G uns en e al., 2024), such as isual s o y-line mapping, dialogue, and d awing
ca ds wi h ins uc ions h oughou he exe cise, will c ea e obs acles and challenges
o he pa icipan s, making hem ocus p ima ily on he s o y a he han he alues
a s ake, hus hoping ha he s o y will eme ge wi h i s alue e lec ions embedded
o ganically in i , a he han ha ing he alues planned om he s a .
Wi h hese hypo heses in mind, he pedagogical exe cise was de eloped and
deployed in wo sepa a e wo kshops, which will be desc ibed in he nex sec ion.
2 CONTEXT AND PRACTICAL WORK
2.1 Aims o he exe cise and lea ning goals
The pedagogical goal baked in o he exe cise was o os e e lec ion on
echnological inno a ion and he socie al impac o echnology, including he socie al
and e hical alues o a pa icula echnology. By asking s uden s o ocus on
de eloping a sci- i scena io, conce ns abou easibili y and p uden ial isks a e
bypassed, hus mo ing in o he specula i e ealm o wha could be, hence in o an
e hics o he possible. The lea ning goals o he ac i i y we e: a) os e ing e hical
e lec ion abou alues in echnological inno a ion, b) iden i ica ion o e hical alues
in specula i e scena ios, c) os e ing eamwo k and communica ion skills h ough
collabo a i e eamwo k, and, d) showcasing mo al imagina ion abou echnology
h ough he de elopmen o a ic ional s o yline ha is no el.
Figu e 1 In e disciplina y ques ions and concep s ha in o med he design o he exe cise
The exe cise was se up in an in e disciplina y way, d awing om h ee disciplines –
as shown in Figu e 1: philosophy o echnology (including e hics, alue-sensi i e
design, esponsible esea ch and inno a ion), c ea i e w i ing (li e a y s udies), and
4
c i ical media s udies (using p e ious knowledge abou science ic ion as a gen e
and i s cons ain s). In addi ion, he educa ional se -up was in o med by embodied
educa ion app oaches in enginee ing e hics educa ion ( an G uns en e al., 2024).
2.2 Exe cise design and i s wo kshop se -up
The sci- i s o yline mapping exe cise was designed as a hands-on g oup-based
ac i i y las ing app oxima ely 90 minu es. All he s uden s (in his case, 19 s uden s
in o al) a e di ided in o small g oups (3-4 pe sons) and asked o d a he plo o a
science ic ion s o y h ough a guided s ep-by-s ep ac i i y. The s uden s a e no
asked o w i e he ex o he s o y as such, only he main plo poin s ha one could
use la e , o w i e he whole s o y.
The exe cise was deployed in wo sepa a e wo kshops wi h di e en pa icipan s: he
i s wo kshop was deployed in a u o ial, as pa o an elec i e cou se, o mas e ’s
le el s uden s a a echnological uni e si y, and he second wo kshop used he same
exe cise wi h enginee ing educa o s while adap ing some elemen s o he
educa o ’s needs. The exe cise will be b ie ly desc ibed below as i has al eady been
published on an open educa ion esou ces po al
1
; he open-sou ce published
exe cise explains in de ail s ep by s ep he exe cise se -up and can be used by any
educa o i in hei classes wi hou any p io knowledge abou c ea i e w i ing o sci- i
na a i es needed. The exe cise s eps a e explained he e in a way ha does no ely
on he ex e nal esou ce ci ed abo e.
S ep 1: S uden s a e in oduced o he wo kshop aims and a e asked o di ide in o
small g oups (3-4 pe sons) and si a ables. On each able, he g oup has a big
shee o pape o d aw on, ma ke s, and Pos -i s. They will wo k on a la ge shee o
pape o diag am hei s o yline (in class, we used wo A3 shee s glued oge he o
make a la ge A2 o ma ).
S ep 2: A ep esen a i e o each g oup is asked o d aw a ca d om a deck o ca ds
wi h inci ing inciden s. In Table 1 a e some examples o he ca ds d awn om he
deck (all he ca ds a e lis ed in he linked exe cise):
Table 1 Inci ing inciden ca ds samples (a o al o 10 ca ds we e p o ided)
“As we opened he ha ch o ou shu le
pod, we ealized ha he plane had
oxygen a mosphe e. Behind a ock, we
saw some hing s a le and mo e”
“Las nigh , he sola panels we e hi by
a me eo showe . As we woke up, we
no iced ha he ba e y pack was almos
deple ed. We had 3 hou s be o e we
los all powe o ou shu le en ou e o
Plu o.”
“Fi s con ac wi h an alien species was
ne e in ou aining. Ye he e we we e,
acing a species ha had 10 senses and
17 ways o exp essing emo ions. We
had o ind a way o make hem
unde s and us.”
“I ’s been 10 yea s, 2 mon hs and 5
days since all elec ical g ids on Ea h
comple ely ied up. In spi e o all
a emp s o es o e elec ici y, nobody
had managed o e-c ea e an elec ical
spa k, ha is un il oday.”
S ep 3: The g oups a e asked o use he ca d hey d ew o map he main e en s in
hei sci- i s o y, s a ing om his inci ing inciden . Each g oup wo ks on a di e en
s o yline, s a ing om a di e en inci ing inciden ca d.
1
h ps://edusou ces.nl/ma e ials/eee79e8a-5456-403d-9e5d- ba2 9686 72
5
Nex s eps: As he g oups wo k on hei s o yline, a key momen s, he ins uc o
asks hem o d aw addi ional ca ds om wo o he decks: a deck wi h ca ds lis ing
emo ions and a deck wi h ca ds lis ing alues. The g oups a e asked o embed ha
speci ic emo ion and alue in o hei s o yline. Then, each g oup mus come up wi h
h ee dis inc i e endings o hei s o yline: a desi able ending, an undesi able
ending, and a plausible one – whe e he desi abili y o he ending should be ela ed
o he alue hey had o embed in he s o y.
Plena y deb ie ing: A e he g oups ha e inished wo king on hei s o ylines, hey
a e asked o p esen hei s o y in on o he class. The ins uc o leads a e lec i e
discussion wi h he en i e class oom abou he echnology in he scena io de eloped,
wha coun s as desi able alue, wha we can an icipa e and he limi s o ou
an icipa ion.
3 RESULTS AND INSIGHTS
3.1 Fi s wo kshop ou comes ( he s uden wo kshop)
In he i s i e a ion, he exe cise was wo kshopped du ing one u o ial session in a
mas e ’s le el elec i e cou se. The cou se was a ee elec i e aken by s uden s
ac oss a ious acul ies a Technical Uni e si y o Del . The acul ies s uden s came
om included Compu e Science, Indus ial Design, Managemen o Technology,
Mechanical Enginee ing, and Ae ospace enginee ing. The elec i e cou se was
dedica ed o using science ic ion as a ool o e lec ing on echnology; he cou se
was aken by s uden s who we e in e es ed in w i ing hei own sci- i sho s o y and
in eading sci- i na a i es. The elec i e was a humani ies cou se combining he
philosophy o echnology, c i ical media s udies, esponsible inno a ion and c ea i e
w i ing, and i did no ely on any pa icula knowledge o enginee ing since all
s uden s we e enginee ing s uden s, i was assumed ha hey a e qui e amilia wi h
echnological inno a ion. An example o how a s o yline map looks like can be seen
in Figu e 2 below – one should no ice he a ows om one momen in he s o y o
ano he one.
Fig. 2. Sample o a s o yline map c ea ed in he i s
wo kshop
Fig. 3. Ensemble iew o he ou
s o yline maps c ea ed in he second
wo kshop
The u o ial wi h he s o yline mapping exe cise ook place in he second be o e las
week o he cou se, a e he s uden s had al eady s a ed d a ing hei own s o ies
and a e hey we e al eady amilia wi h w i ing echniques. The exe cise was
assessed in wo ways: immedia ely a e he u o ial, using he deb ie ing a he end
6
o he wo kshop, and la e , in a su ey h ee weeks a e he exe cise was deployed.
The pu pose o he su ey was o see he long- e m e ec s o he exe cise, o
example, i s uden s used he insigh s in hei own s o ies o i hey emembe ed he
exe cise.
In he immedia e assessmen by he ins uc o leading he wo kshop, se e al
indings we e mos salien when he s uden g oups discussed he s o ylines hey
had d a ed. Fi s , he no ion o a desi able ending conce ning he alue a hand was
mainly misunde s ood, as mos g oups d a ed happy endings o all he cha ac e s
in ol ed in hei s o ies. Fo he nex i e a ions, he no ion o a desi able ending
needs o be explained mo e clea ly. Simila ly, he undesi able ending was p ima ily
abou he cha ac e s in he s o y – hey all die – and i did no in ol e he alue as
was in ended. The alues we e embedded in he s o ylines in some key momen s
bu no in he h ee endings. Some imes, he meaning o he alues on he ca ds was
misunde s ood; o example, one g oup hough ha human well-being is wellness
(as in going o a spa kind o wellness). Hence, he nex ime he exe cise is
deployed, he alue ca ds should also b ie ly de ine he alue a s ake. The s o ies
d a ed in his i s wo kshop we e in e es ing and showcased ha s uden s
unde s ood wha a plo wis is, hey ook some ime o ca e ully d a he cha ac e s
in he s o y, ul ima ely showcasing a w i e ly app oach. Howe e , because he ca ds
wi h he alue and he emo ion dis up ed hei hinking p ocess, he s o ies d a ed
we e no as con inuous as i he g oups we e asked o d a hem wi hou
in e up ions. The ca d d awing was mean o dis up hei hinking and in oduce
e hical conside a ions. Howe e , i also dis up ed he s o ylines, as he s uden s
w o e he nex ac ion in hei s o y as including he emo ion o he alue selec ed.
Simply pu , he alue was no deeply embedded in he s o yline; i appea ed a a key
momen bu was hen o go en. A lesson lea ned o be applied o he nex i e a ion
is ha he alue ca d and he emo ion ca d should be d awn a he same ime as he
inci ing inciden ca d. Ha ing all h ee ca ds in on o hem om he beginning, he
s uden g oups can d a he s o y wi hou in e up ions and p obably embed he
alue and emo ion mo e o ganically. Howe e , i his al e na ion o he exe cise will
happen in he subsequen i e a ions, hen he exe cise designe needs o ind o he
ways o making he exe cise embodied and in e ac i e.
Longe e m assessmen . In he s uden su ey h ee weeks a e he cou se ended,
only one s uden explici ly men ioned his exe cise and o e ed ideas o u u e
i e a ions: he s uden commen ed on he se -up o he exe cise as o e ing oo much
in o ma ion o he s uden s, ha ing oo many s eps, hence oo many decisions o
ake, while no gi ing enough ime o e lec on he s o y hey we e c a ing. This
insigh also e lec s he a mosphe e in he class oom du ing he u o ial wi h he
wo kshop: somewha chao ic, wi h many hings going on in di e en g oups
simul aneously. Conside ing he s uden s’ obse a ions in he su ey and he
ins uc o s’ obse a ions, o e ing ewe ins uc ions and all he ca ds a he
beginning should help he s uden g oups s ay in he w i ing low longe . The
exe cise was by design kep ou side he assessmen pa o he cou se, o make he
pa icipan s eel ee in hei imagina i e endea ou s. The exe cise was assessed
holis ically, in he con ex o he en i e cou se, assuming an ecological cogni ion
app oach o os e ing skills (Coppola e al., 2024).
7
3.2 Second wo kshop ou comes (educa o s’ wo kshop)
A mon h la e , he same exe cise was deployed in a wo kshop held wi h educa o s
and ins uc o s. The wo kshop's heme was “Educa ion 2050”, and he p ima y aim
was o os e isions and e lec ions abou he u u e o educa ion. Hence, he
pa icipan s in his wo kshop we e un amilia wi h he c ea i e w i ing echniques,
and hei knowledge o he sci- i gen e was also no some hing ha could be used.
To modi y he exe cise o his g oup o pa icipan s and o he di e en lea ning
ou comes, he inci ing inciden p omp ca ds we e modi ied, and some examples o
p omp ca ds a e men ioned in Table 2 below.
Table 2 Inci ing inciden ca ds o he educa o 's wo kshop
I is 2050 and hal o he Ne he lands is
unde cons an looding, making people
mo e up Eas . A eam o socie al and
enginee ing s akeholde s ga he s o ind a
long- e m plan o echnical educa ion in
his unce ain wo ld.
I is 2050 and mos cogni i e wo k has
been delega ed o AI and LLMs (such as
coding, da a analysis, p oduc design,
modeling o p oblems). A g oup o socie al
s akeholde s ga he s o decide wha
should be augh a he 4 echnical
uni e si ies in he Ne he lands such ha
he educa ion will no be ende ed
obsole e by u u e AI de elopmen s.
I is 2025, he uni e si ies ha e become he
example in he Ne he lands as socially sa e
and human iendly en i onmen s. Wha
o he kinds o hings happen he e?
I is 2050 and he uni e si ies a e he
cen e s o inno a ion and de elopmen
ully suppo ed by he go e nmen , 100%
in eg a ed wi h indus y and go e nmen
wi h he knowledge agenda. Wha o he
kinds o hings happen he e?
Excep o he p omp ca ds, he s eps o he exe cise we e he same. The wo kshop
leade concluded ha he s o ies d a ed by he ou g oups o pa icipan s we e
highly o iginal and cohe en (see Figu e 3 o samples). The alues embedded in he
s o ylines we e also e ec i ely embedded in he h ee possible endings. O e all, he
wo kshop was expe ienced as success ul by e e yone in ol ed, as i os e ed a ich
collec i e e lec ion abou he u u e o educa ion and he alues we wan o secu e
in his u u e. In his collec i e e lec i e discussion a e he wo kshop, he echoes o
he s o ies we e isible in he discussion, leading o a p elimina y conclusion ha
p iming one’s na a i e imagina ion be o e he ac ual deba e does lead o ich
discussions and mo e explo a i e. To explain why his wo kshop was mo e
success ul han he s uden wo kshop, one hypo hesis o he wo kshop con eno
was he pa icipan s' le el o ma u i y and expe ience. All pa icipan s we e educa o s
and ins uc o s wi h some expe ience in enginee ing educa ion, and he ques ions
and si ua ions on he p omp ca ds we e qui e ele an o hei own wo k.
4 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
4.1 Adap abili y and impac
As shown by he second deploymen o he exe cise in he educa o s’ wo kshop, his
exe cise is highly adap able o o he educa ional con ex s i he inci ing inciden
