Purpose-driven, shifting higher education epistemology in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa’s economic, political and social challenges are complex, systemic and pervasive. Failing to address these decisively, innovatively and efficiently will significantly and negatively impact the country’s long-term economic sustainability. This study integrated Purpose-driven pedagogy into the engineering curricula through an engineering with a purpose challenge as an intervention method to train students to reflect, ideate, and prototype technology solutions. However, what defines these solutions is that they are framed within a purpose-driven philosophy and epistemology. Twelve 12 students competed in the challenge. However, only 2 completed the challenge. An exit survey found that the students struggled with time management but felt they had learned project management and advanced problemsolving skills to equip them for their future engineering careers. Notably, both finalists were women and academically ‘at-risk’. This demonstrates the potential for the Engineering with a Purpose Challenge to attract more women to study engineering and address academic quality concerns within the engineering curricula