From Words to Action: Designing Meaningful Engineering Oaths with Tangible Objects and a Digital Support

Invited Workshop Recommended citation: Rossi, V., & Kranjc Horvat, A. (2025). From Words to Action: Designing Meaningful Engineering Oaths with Tangible Objects and a Digital Support. In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Järvinen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI 53rd Annual Conference. European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI), Tampere, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17632088. This Conference Paper is brought to you for open access by the 53rd Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI) at Tampere University in Tampere, Finland. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License. FROM WORDS TO ACTION: DESIGNING MEANINGFUL ENGINEERING OATHS WITH TANGIBLE OBJECTS AND CLEER V. Rossia, 1 , A. Kranjc Horvatb a Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, 0009-0004-0837-9550 b Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, 0000-0002-2584-4715 Conference Key Areas: Dialogue between engineering and society – effects on education, Sustainability and society in engineering Keywords: Aspirational Oaths, Archimedean Oath, Engineering Ethics Education, Sustainability ABSTRACT This workshop examines the role of oaths in engineering education, focusing on aspirational codes known for promoting integrity, responsibility, and social responsibility. These codes may be ineffective without being designed for the context in which they are used and supported with pedagogical activities (on ethics and sustainability) throughout the engineering curriculum. Using the Archimedean Oath case study from EPFL, this interactive workshop explores strategies for integrating aspirational oaths into engineering curricula. Two approaches will be presented to the participants, who will be using tangible objects for embodied learning, and leveraging the CLEER platform for research. Participants, including educators, university administrators, and professionals, will analyse the case study and conduct a short search via a curated database. These complementary approaches support participants in the design of an aspirational oath suited to their own contexts fostering ethical and sustainable engineering practices. 1 Corresponding Author: V. Rossi Valentina.ross[email protected] 1 THE ROLE OF OATHS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION 1.1 Codes and Oaths: what is the difference? Van de Poel & Royakkers (2023) classify oaths in three types based on their function. Disciplinary codes are prescriptive and enforceable, they outline clear conduct rules and the related sanctions (e.g., plagiarism, cheating on exams, falsifying data). Advisory codes offer interpretive or principled guidance for navigating ethical dilemmas in complex contexts (e.g., deciding whether to approve a cost-saving measure that may marginally affect safety). Aspirational codes are motivational, promoting ideals like social responsibility and sustainability that extend beyond legal requirements and consequently are not legally binding. Concretely, these higher level goals become particularly relevant for the engineering profession in case of conflict, as a reminder that the engineer’s obligation lies first in the aspirations of the profession (Brown et al., 2025). 1.2 Aspirational codes The two most largely used aspirational codes or oaths in engineering education (EE) are The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer in Canada and The Order of the Engineer in the United States (Wedel, 2023). Both include an accreditation ceremony, usually at the end of the engineering degree, where individuals who agree to uphold the pledge receive a ring (Wedel, 2023). Another example is the Archimedean Oath, a professional ethical pledge taken by engineers, particularly in European contexts, to uphold high standards of integrity, responsibility, and social contribution (Clerget, 2024; Rossi et al., 2024). While it is not a formalized and universally recognized ethical code in engineering, it is widely acknowledged in the professional engineering community. In this workshop, we will bring as a case study the Archimedean Oath from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne (EPFL). Born in the context of social unrest of the 1990s and updated in 2023 to fit the rapid technological advancements and the consequences of climate change, the oath was entirely designed and updated by students and students’ associations. The current practice at EPFL is to mention it during the diploma ceremony (Rossi et al., 2024). Without supporting students to develop ethical and sustainability competencies throughout their studies, presenting the oath only at the end of their academic path could render it ineffective, and even unsuitable for its intended purpose. 1.3 What strategies to integrate oaths in Ethics Engineering Education? While the relevance and impact of implementing aspirational codes of conduct within engineering is widely accepted as beneficial to increase ethical awareness and responsibility (Brown et al., 2025), the question of how we can integrate the moral reflections associated with oaths in the engineering curriculum is still an ongoing discussion. Section 4 of the International Handbook for Engineering Education (Chance et al., 2025) provides a comprehensive overview of teaching methods in ethics engineering education (EEE). Nonetheless, pedagogical approaches for the integration of aspirational tools, such as oaths as tools for reflection, represent a gap to be explored. EE teachers and practitioners are collecting these strategies through working groups and networks (e.g., Archimedean Oath Working Group). In additions to these efforts, there is the need for a more streamlined approach to both design and implement aspirational oaths in EE and more specifically EEE. 2 WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES 2.1 Target audience This workshop is designed for engineering educators, higher education administrators in charge of university policies, as well as professionals who see the need of hiring engineers who can include sustainability and ethical issues in their day-to-day job. As one of the activities proposed during the workshop can also be facilitated in university courses, undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to participate and take part in the reflections. 2.2 Expected learning outcomes By the end of the workshop, participants will: • Analyse a case study version of aspirational oath using tangibles • Research resources related to the design and implementation of aspirational oaths • Transfer the process of analysis, reflection and research of an aspirational oath to their own specific contexts 3 WORKSHOP DESIGN 3.1 Two complementary approaches In this workshop we will present two complementary approaches to design and pedagogically support the implementation of an aspirational oath in the participants’ context. The first approach uses tangibles, while the second one a digital search database. Tangibles objects: As suggested by theories of embodied cognition (Macrine & Fugate, 2022), visualization and manipulation of physical objects has proven to help individuals grasp abstract concepts by linking cognitive processes with bodily and environmental interactions. Human cognition is deeply connected to the physical world, meaning that hands-on engagement can improve both knowledge integration and retrieval (Isaac & de Lima, 2024). Using tangible objects in low-stakes environments also encourages iterative experimentation, allowing participants to explore and refine concepts through trial and error (Jalali et al., 2023; Stigliani & Ravasi, 2012). This approach promotes active learning and enhances understanding in a risk-free setting. Search database: CLEER (CLearinghouse of Engineering Education Resources) is a curated, searchable database of engineering education resources that is designed to streamline the process of discovering and evaluating relevant literature. The tool was developed at EPFL in Switzerland with the support of EuroTeQ Engineering University. CLEER primarily serves early-career researchers exploring the field of engineering education research, experienced engineering educators seeking to deepen their practice, and pedagogical advisors supporting pedagogical development. By offering an intuitive search interface, CLEER helps users efficiently identify relevant publications, reducing the time and effort required to find high-quality resources. 3.2 Time plan The workshop will begin with a brief introduction and icebreaker, after which we will explain the framework used (tangibles and CLEER) and the learning objectives. We will then create groups and facilitate an experiential activity. Participants will have to represent, together as a group and with LEGO bricks, 2-3 statements that they deem the most relevant from the Archimedean Oath. They will be also asked to represent what they think is missing. This first activity will conclude with a guided reflection on their experience. The second part of the workshop will give participants the opportunity to test CLEER to look for curated sources in the domain of EEE. The session will wrapup by highlighting the learning objectives, ensuring that participants leave with key takeaways. Table 1. Outline of the workshop Time Activity Setting 6 min Introduction and icebreaker Plenary 4 min Setting the framework, learning goals and principles of the workshop Plenary 20 min Experiential activity with LEGO bricks: • Reading of the case study • Representation with tangibles • Presentation of the models in plenary (1min/group) Small groups (4max depending on the number of participants) 10 min Guided reflection Plenary 15 min Experiential activity using CLEER • Individual search • Debrief with peer In pairs 5min Conclusion and takeaways Plenary 4 WORKSHOP OUTCOME The workshop was designed to provide participants with scientifically grounded methodologies to understand the importance of aspirational oaths in engineering education. In addition, it aimed at sharing with them the resources to implement these oaths in their respective institutions. During the workshop, participants critically engaged with the Archimedean Oath guided by a facilitated experiential activity with tangibles (LEGO bricks). This approach facilitated reflective inquiry, which was further enriched by participants’ ability to access and consult resources via the CLEER platform, thereby grounding their reflections in evidence-based materials. While the activities effectively supported the attainment of the workshop’s pedagogical objectives, they also enabled the facilitators to collect constructive feedback, which will inform the ongoing development and refinement of the curated database. Following the workshop, participants provided contextual insights to the facilitators, which led to individualized follow-up discussions and relationship-building. REFERENCES Brown, J. R., Long, L., Mitchell, T., & Rodrigues, R. B. (2025). Professional organizations and codes of ethics. In The Routledge International Handbook of Engineering Ethics Education. Routledge. 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