Engineering Management for a Sustainable Future: Reflection Report

This report reflects on the student's learnings from two workshops on engineering management for a sustainable future. The first workshop focused on applying design thinking to electricity supply challenges in Australia, exploring the shift towards renewable energy sources and the need for efficient engineering methodologies to achieve sustainable development. The second workshop delved into the concept of smart cities, addressing urban population growth, and the role of sustainable engineering in creating smart, livable environments. The student draws connections between the workshop content, literature, case studies, and theories, highlighting the importance of engineers in driving sustainable practices and the role of government in supporting these initiatives. The report emphasizes the significance of smart grids, advanced technologies, and renewable energy integration for a sustainable future, using the case study of Bangladesh for support.

Running head: ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Engineering Management for a Sustainable Future
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................2
Reflection on the Workshop One:..............................................................................................2
Reflection on Workshop Two:...................................................................................................5
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................6
References:.................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction:
Engineering is very much important for our future generation as this has assisted the
humans to develop varieties of things which has improved the quality of the human life. The
engineers are able to use the greatest resources of power which can help the humans to
achieve a sustainable future. The word sustainability in the context of engineering it defines
that it is a type of concept that takes the concept of the environmental engineering to another
level by looking at the interaction between the ecological, technical, economic and social
systems and it also eliminates the problem regarding the shifting from one area to another
area. It also implies that sustainability in the context of the engineering is the process of
living good in the with the ecological limits within a finite planet. As per me to achieve
sustainable future engineers must apply the concepts such as the industrial ecology, cycle
thinking and the sustainable systems engineering.
In this report, I will reflect my ideas and the practices about the workshops one and
about the workshop two of my academic lessons which was on the engineering management
to gain a sustainable future. While I will be sharing my ideas and the practices in this report, I
will draw a link of my learnings and experience with the literature, example and theories
which I have learned from the unit course.
Reflection on the Workshop One:
In the first workshop of sustainable engineering the main focus was on the applying
the design thinking in the engineering problems of mine. The problem of the first workshop
regarded with the electricity. Electricity is a very much important resource for almost every
country in the world, and Australia is one of them (Vithayasrichareon, Riesz and MacGill
2015). To generate the electricity power Australia have to reside on some of the common and
conventional sources of energy which includes the coal, natural gases and the fossil fuels.

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Though form these type of sources generation of the electricity is very much easy the
government of Australia is not wanting to implement these type of sources for generating the
energy. From my personal experience, I think Australia has taken that decision for two
reasons. They want to minimize the pollution which occurs due to the burning of these type
of materials when electricity is made, and also Australia is trying the save these type of non-
renewable energy sources for the future generation. These will help Australia to achieve a
sustainable future. For an alternative, the government of Australia is trying to implement
renewable energy sources for generating electric power such as solar power and wind energy
(Aghaei and Alizadeh 2013). From my first workshop on the engineering management for
achieving the sustainable future I have learned that Australian government had no choice
other than opting the non-renewable energy sources because the emission of carbon-di-oxide
due to burning of the fossils fuels and the coal was harming the nature of the Australia which
is a big resistance in achieving the sustainable future as this was leading to the global
warming.
Most of the countries are opting the renewable energy sources for generating
electrical energy, but many of these countries are not able to gather the electrical energy from
the non-renewable energy sources in an efficient way. From my personal view, this area of
need can be improved by implementing perfect engineering methodologies. For that reason,
efficient engineers in the sector of the electricity supply are needed. This will provide an
affordable, reliable and sustainable supply of electricity in Australia (Stigka, Paravantis and
Mihalakakou 2014). The smart grid development will help to use the renewable source of
energy and will help to conserve the energy. Also, implementing the advanced technology
will produce low emission of the CO2 that will essential for sustainable development within
all the countries including Australia also.

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From the first workshop, I was able to understand why improvement in the electricity
department of Australia is needed to achieve sustainable development. To conduct these
changes successfully design thinking is very much important that must be implemented that I
have also learned from my unit workshop one. This design thinking can help to solve the
problems regarding the engineering which is needed for sustainable development (Johansson‐
Sköldberg, Woodilla and Çetinkaya 2013). To achieve the perfect sustainability, it is very
much important to implement new and some advanced technologies that are able to promote
global sustainability. I think in the implementation process of these new and advanced
technologies the most important role is played by the engineers itself. As most of the role is
played by the engineers, it is also very much important for them to aware about various
environmental issues which they might face during the implementation of these type of
sustainable engineering (Yearley 2014). The process of the design thinking is able to help the
engineers to achieve the green technologies. According to me these process of the design
thinking is very much helpful for the engineers as this is one of the most efficient ways of
developing the design concepts by using the cognitive, practical and strategic processes. I
believe if the government of Australia wants to achieve the sustainable future they must start
working from the present and the first step that they can take by improving the sector of the
electricity in Australia.
Considering the case study of Bangladesh which I have studied in the practice of the
workshop one I think that the theory of sustainable engineering is related well with the case
study. The main reason behind this thought of me is that currently, Bangladesh is having
some limited amount of energy sources for generating electricity (Anwarul Islam and Salma
2016). Bangladesh also imported the energy sources from other counties but as the demand of
the electricity is growing day by day, various security concern is occurring and for that reason
process of importing is not a suitable option for Bangladesh anymore. In such a situation the

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only option left for Bangladesh is using the renewable energy sources which are also
acknowledged by the country itself. From my personal learnings, Bangladesh needs emerging
engineering to successfully integrate the renewable energy sources to the national power
sector of the country. Thus this engineering will help the country in sustainable development
and will also help them to contribute to the common global aim of environmental protection.
Reflection on Workshop Two:
The main focus of the workshop two was on the smart cities. From the workshop two
of the liveable and smart cities, I have successfully understood the trends of the urban
population growth and the future challenges regarding it. According to me, the population
growth of the humans are in the peak stage, and it has been analysed that by the year of 2030
there will be a total number of 41 megacities in the world in which 10 million or more
number of people will live (UNITED NATIONS 2014). With these megacities there will be
other large and medium-sized cities will be there. As per me the size of the earth is finite, and
it cannot hold an infinite number of peoples. So, due to the increment in the human
population, there will be various challenges in these cities such as transport, stretched
infrastructure assets and quality of life (Ławicki 2014). I think in such of the situations it is
very much important to address the challenges in a proper way otherwise these challenges
will become a big problem in society. From the study I think to address the challenges one of
the most efficient ways is implementing sustainable engineering, and in this case, the role of
the engineering infrastructure and the asset manager is very much important.
According to me by the use of sustainable engineering the best way of managing the
population efficiently is the implementation of the smart and liveable cities. Sustainable
engineering is needed for the development of the smart city because ICT infrastructure
(Kosowatz 2017) is the most important part of a smart city. As per my thoughts, the smart

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city will be able to tackle the huge population in the smarter way as the smart city will
provide a smart environment, smart living, smart mobility, smart governance and smart
economy. I have seen that many peoples get confused among the smart city and the
intelligent city. A knowledgeable city is good, not able to tackle the growing problems
regarding the population. The smart city is preferable because these cities are master of flows
of traffic, information and energy that creates a better life for the peoples (Neirotti et al.
2014). For me, the smart cities will be able to manage its traffic flow and the wastages
automatically. Also, the security and the transportation system of the smart city will be very
much advanced. The government plays a huge role in the development of smart cities by
making the decisions regarding it. In many previous cases, I have seen that the government
has taken some bad decisions regarding the development of the smart city which ultimately
led the project to failure (Meijer and Bolívar 2016). So, as per my decision, the government
needs to remain active for the development of the smart city. The government officials and
the managers of the smart cities are the most important part of a smart city model. From my
findings through the government plays a huge role in the smart city development still the
most important role is played by the engineers as sustainable development is required is
required for the smart cities. According to Comer and Uffer (2016), smart cities are the
sustainable practice which is enhanced by some good decision making. This statement clearly
shows why sustainable engineering is needed for the development of smart cities.
Conclusion:
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that perfect engineering is very much
important for the development of a sustainable future. From the workshop one, I have
successfully learned what sustainability is and what the usage of this in the context of
engineering management. Workshop one was about on the electricity energy sustainability

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and from that I learned the challenges about the electricity supply chain. Also, I have
successfully learned the role which the technologies play to achieve sustainability.
The second workshop was about the smart and liveable city. From this workshop, I
have learned the trends about the urban population growth and the future challenges
regarding this. From this workshop, I have also learned about the concept of the smart and
liveable city which I think the most important part in addressing future challenges regarding
the abnormal growth of the population. How the government plays an important role in
making smart cities is also learned by me through this workshop two.

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References:
Aghaei, J. and Alizadeh, M.I., 2013. Demand response in smart electricity grids equipped
with renewable energy sources: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 18,
pp.64-72.
Anwarul Islam, K. M. and Salma, U., 2016. The Renewable Energy and Sustainable
Development: A Case Study of Bangladesh.International Journal of Finance and Banking
Research.Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 139-146. doi: 10.11648/j.ijfbr.20160204.13
Comer, A. and Uffer S., 2016. "The Engineer's Role in the Future City." Retrieved
30/10/2018, from https://www.burohappold.com/opinion/engineers-role-future-city/
Johansson‐Sköldberg, U., Woodilla, J. and Çetinkaya, M., 2013. Design thinking: past,
present and possible futures. Creativity and innovation management, 22(2), pp.121-146.
Kosowatz, J., 2017. Building a Smart City. Mechanical Engineering Magazine Select
Articles, 139, 32-37.
Ławicki, Ł., 2014. The Great White Egret in Europe: population increase and range
expansion since 1980. British Birds, 107, pp.8-25.
Meijer, A. and Bolívar, M. P. R., 2016. Governing the smart city: a review of the literature on
smart urban governance. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 82, 392-408.
Neirotti, P., De Marco, A., Cagliano, A.C., Mangano, G. and Scorrano, F., 2014. Current
trends in Smart City initiatives: Some stylised facts. Cities, 38, pp.25-36.
Stigka, E.K., Paravantis, J.A. and Mihalakakou, G.K., 2014. Social acceptance of renewable
energy sources: A review of contingent valuation applications. Renewable and sustainable
energy Reviews, 32, pp.100-106.

9ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
UNITED NATIONS, 2014. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision Highlights.
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2014).
Vithayasrichareon, P., Riesz, J. and MacGill, I.F., 2015. Using renewables to hedge against
future electricity industry uncertainties—An Australian case study. Energy Policy, 76, pp.43-
56.
Yearley, S., 2014. The Green Case (Routledge Revivals): A Sociology of Environmental
Issues, Arguments and Politics. Routledge.