Regulating Academic Pressure: From Fast to Slow

This paper investigates the impact of publication pressure on the ethics and the scientific integrity in the domain of mathematics and of the arts. Both research fields are specific in their methodology, being that they do not start from a classical hypothesis and researchers in these areas are not knowing what the outcome will be. The research design is open, and creativity is a main part of the research investigation. Both research fields do not rely on empirical cases nor on data collection or data handling. This could be a reason why mathematics and arts seem to be less subject to scientific misconduct. After presenting the (inter)national regulations on ethics and integrity, we will investigate a philosophical analysis in which we consider possible influences from publication pressure that became widespread over all disciplines. We will clarify if and how mathematics and the arts are sensitive to scientific research misconduct or questionable research practices.     

Teaching as an Immortality Project: Positing Weakness in Response to Terror

Teaching as a profession can be read as an immortality project, a form of compensation to help resolve a certain kind of existential terror. Terror management theory can help us understand the ways teachers might compensate for their limitedness as humans by imposing prescribed attributes on their students. In response to the freighted reality of teaching as quasi‐missionary work, we suggest a new orientation, namely that the profession embrace the terror of the future that it cannot know. Through a theoretical engagement with Weak Theology in the context of Eugene Thacker's philosophical ‘doomcore’, we hope to re‐orient the educational project into one with lower stakes, a shift from immortality to more ‘goodness’. The desired result is to refocus on the relationships we develop with other humans as well as with the planet.     

The University of the Twenty-First Century: From Blueprint to Reality

During the 1990s, a typical theme of a conference on the role of the university was "the university of tomorrow". Now, however, tomorrow has arrived, and universities are undergoing very powerful stimuli to transform themselves. The principal driving forces are the development of knowledge societies and economies, the all-pervasiveness of the information technologies, globalization, and the debate on the public or private nature of higher education. These forces generate a myriad of responses that, while defying the elaboration of blueprints, call for constant change and diversity.     

Interdisciplinary Teaching Within Engineering Education

This paper reports the development and implementation of a multi-disciplinary course called ‘sustainable development’ within engineering education at the University of Technology Eindhoven (TUE). In this course, students of different disciplines have to cooperate with each other in a project, with the aim of finding (more) sustainable solutions for an environmental issue or problem put forward by industry or (governmental) institutions (e.g. a zero-energy dwelling). The educational form is based on project-oriented education. The project group, which consists of six to eight students from at least three disciplines, is responsible for the results and the project. During their project, the students can rely on a tutor, who is primarily a process guide. Together with the principal, the tutor advises on whether or not the proposed working plan is realistic and can be realized within the given time of 160 h (two half-days over 20 weeks). At the end, the students have to present and defend their work before a committee, which consists of the tutor, the principal and a subject expert. Experience has shown that multi-disciplinary project work has been an excellent teaching method and addition to engineering education curricula, so improving not only knowledge but also interdisciplinary thinking and skills. Environmental issues need a multi-disciplinary approach, and this course bridges the gap between disciplines, so stimulating interdisciplinary work within engineering education.