TU Delft students, and now also PhD candidates, are invited to submit essays (in English) for the 2008 Mekel Prize. TU Delft Rector Magnificus Jacob Fokkema, a member of the jury: "Many PhD candidates are confronted with ethical questions during the course of their doctoral research.
Delen
An essay allows you to examine these questions and can also be added as a chapter in your thesis.”
In Rector Jacob Fokkema’s experience, engineers are confronted to varying degrees with ethical questions in many areas, such as sustainability, safety and social responsibility. This was one reason why, for example, the TU’s Platform for Ethics and Technology was expanded to include a committee for PhD candidates. The committee includes five researchers from the faculties of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics & Computer Science; Applied Sciences; Architecture; and Mechanical, Maritime & Materials Engineering.
Last May, the PhD committee, in partnership with Promood, the association for PhD candidates at TU Delft, also held a workshop entitled ‘Ethics of engineering’. Ilse Oosterlaken, secretary of the platform: “I was warned that PhD candidates are always pressed for time and therefore have little interest in participating in workshops. But to my surprise, our workshop was fully subscribed within a very short time.”
During the workshop, the participants discovered that they were indeed confronted with many types of ethical questions during their research. Oosterlaken: “These questions were extremely varied, such as: ‘What is permitted or not permitted when conducting tests with the end-users of my product?’ Or: ‘What are the potential social consequences of the technology I work with?’ But also: ‘How do I deal with a professor who requires that his name be included as a co-author?’ PhD students found it very helpful to discuss theses issues and questions with their colleagues and a specialist in ethics.”
Nuances
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Mekel Prize; however, this is the first year that all essay submissions must be written in English only. Oosterlaken: “This allows international students to participate.” To celebrate the Mekel Prize’s tenth anniversary, a second prize has been added: in addition to the 1,000 euro prize for the best undergraduate student essay, there is now also a 2,000 euro prize for the best essay by a PhD candidate.
Fokkema is a major proponent of helping PhD candidates address the ethical aspects of their research. “Today, technology and research projects are becoming increasingly complex, and the social standards higher. Ethical questions arise in all technological fields: from biotechnology to civil and electrical engineering. For one researcher, the question could arise in the area of sustainability or health, while for the other safety is the key issue, but whatever the case may be, nobody can avoid thinking about the ethical aspects of the their work.”
Fokkema believes it’s important for PhD candidates to devote significant attention to ethical issues during their research. This will not only allow researchers to gain a better understanding of themselves as researchers, but also ensure that social debates do not always get stuck in generalities. “Politicians for example are usually extremely inclined to focus on only one aspect of a technology,” Fokkema explains. “Nuclear power plants are either a disaster for the environment or an absolute economic necessity. As engineers, we can promote the nuances and show that a technology has more than one aspect to it.” Fokkema therefore fully supports the Mekel Prize being expanded to include essay submissions from PhD candidates.
Fokkema: “Perhaps some of them are now thinking: Where will I find the time to write an essay? But I want to offer them another approach: incorporate the essay as a chapter in your thesis. A thesis will only benefit if PhD candidates show that they have also devoted attention to the ethical aspects of their research. And it is of course great if you can also win a prestigious prize with a chapter of the your thesis.”
Students and PhD candidates can submit their essay until September 15 to the platformet@tbm.tudelft.nl or to Henneke Filiz-Piekhaar: h.c.filiz-piekhaar@tudelft.nl. More information available at http://www.platformet.tudelft.nl/mekel-prize.html. Essays must be written in English!
For a complete listing of this week’s Study Breaks, go to: www.delta.tudelft.nl
In Rector Jacob Fokkema’s experience, engineers are confronted to varying degrees with ethical questions in many areas, such as sustainability, safety and social responsibility. This was one reason why, for example, the TU’s Platform for Ethics and Technology was expanded to include a committee for PhD candidates. The committee includes five researchers from the faculties of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics & Computer Science; Applied Sciences; Architecture; and Mechanical, Maritime & Materials Engineering.
Last May, the PhD committee, in partnership with Promood, the association for PhD candidates at TU Delft, also held a workshop entitled ‘Ethics of engineering’. Ilse Oosterlaken, secretary of the platform: “I was warned that PhD candidates are always pressed for time and therefore have little interest in participating in workshops. But to my surprise, our workshop was fully subscribed within a very short time.”
During the workshop, the participants discovered that they were indeed confronted with many types of ethical questions during their research. Oosterlaken: “These questions were extremely varied, such as: ‘What is permitted or not permitted when conducting tests with the end-users of my product?’ Or: ‘What are the potential social consequences of the technology I work with?’ But also: ‘How do I deal with a professor who requires that his name be included as a co-author?’ PhD students found it very helpful to discuss theses issues and questions with their colleagues and a specialist in ethics.”
Nuances
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Mekel Prize; however, this is the first year that all essay submissions must be written in English only. Oosterlaken: “This allows international students to participate.” To celebrate the Mekel Prize’s tenth anniversary, a second prize has been added: in addition to the 1,000 euro prize for the best undergraduate student essay, there is now also a 2,000 euro prize for the best essay by a PhD candidate.
Fokkema is a major proponent of helping PhD candidates address the ethical aspects of their research. “Today, technology and research projects are becoming increasingly complex, and the social standards higher. Ethical questions arise in all technological fields: from biotechnology to civil and electrical engineering. For one researcher, the question could arise in the area of sustainability or health, while for the other safety is the key issue, but whatever the case may be, nobody can avoid thinking about the ethical aspects of the their work.”
Fokkema believes it’s important for PhD candidates to devote significant attention to ethical issues during their research. This will not only allow researchers to gain a better understanding of themselves as researchers, but also ensure that social debates do not always get stuck in generalities. “Politicians for example are usually extremely inclined to focus on only one aspect of a technology,” Fokkema explains. “Nuclear power plants are either a disaster for the environment or an absolute economic necessity. As engineers, we can promote the nuances and show that a technology has more than one aspect to it.” Fokkema therefore fully supports the Mekel Prize being expanded to include essay submissions from PhD candidates.
Fokkema: “Perhaps some of them are now thinking: Where will I find the time to write an essay? But I want to offer them another approach: incorporate the essay as a chapter in your thesis. A thesis will only benefit if PhD candidates show that they have also devoted attention to the ethical aspects of their research. And it is of course great if you can also win a prestigious prize with a chapter of the your thesis.”
Students and PhD candidates can submit their essay until September 15 to the platformet@tbm.tudelft.nl or to Henneke Filiz-Piekhaar: h.c.filiz-piekhaar@tudelft.nl. More information available at http://www.platformet.tudelft.nl/mekel-prize.html. Essays must be written in English!
For a complete listing of this week’s Study Breaks, go to: www.delta.tudelft.nl
Comments are closed.