SEFI Regional Event 2026 – Education For Sustainable Development

On 18 and 19 of June, the Universidade de Aveiro hosted the 𝗦𝗘𝗙𝗜 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, gathering engineering educators and researchers to explore Education For Sustainable Development and the pedagogical and curricular transformations needed to address present and future global challenges.

The event was organised within the scope of the exploratory project “eee4SD – empathic engineering education for sustainable development”, doi: 10.54499/2023.13074.PEX – funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).

The opening session was delivered by Inês Direito, Project’s Principal Investigator, on behalf of the project team Bárbara Coelho Gabriel, Carla Ferreira & Robertt Valente, and Sebastião Feyo de Azevedo, setting the stage for two days dedicated to rethinking how Engineering Education can respond to sustainability imperatives.

The programme featured national and international invited speakers whose work spans sustainability, empathy, and (more than) human‑centred approaches in engineering:

🇩🇰 Aida Guerra, Aalborg UNESCO PBL Centre, and Co-chair of the SEFI SIG Sustainability

🇵🇹 Bárbara Coelho Gabriel, Robertt Valente, & Carla Ferreira, Universidade de Aveiro

🇧🇪 Jan Van Maele, Katrien Mertens, & Veerle Bloemen, KU Leuven, UC Leuven-Limburg

🇺🇲 Aristides P. Carrillo-Fernandez, Ph.D., Purdue University

These sessions offered diverse perspectives on integrating sustainability competencies and empathy in engineering education, enriching the dialogue across institutions and countries.

The research team presented preliminary findings from the project, followed by a discussion on international perspectives and emerging directions in sustainable engineering education.

🌟 The final day featured two inspiring keynote lectures:

Diana Bairaktarova, Virginia Tech and The Fulbright Program 2025/2026 U.S. Scholar to Bulgaria , focusing on the Art of Empathy in Engineering Education

Emanuela Tilley, UCL Centre for Engineering Education and SEFI – European Society for Engineering Education President, addressing Transformative Leadership for Emotions & Sustainability in Engineering Education

Both keynotes offered a powerful reminder that engineering education must integrate socio‑emotional learning, care ethics, and a collective commitment to responsible innovation. Meaningful change happens when identity, emotion, ethics, and systemic transformation are understood as inseparable from engineering practice. Shaping the future of engineering is a community effort, and it requires leadership, empathy, and the courage to rethink how we educate and who we become as engineers, educators and researchers.

The Universidade de Aveiro and the entire project team express their sincere gratitude to SEFI – European Society for Engineering Education for supporting the organisation of this event and for strengthening the international community committed to advancing the future of engineering education.