Innovation for the communities: empowering creative thinking in engineering education

Recent advancements associated with the third and fourth industrial revolutions have substantial impact on different aspects of the individual’s life. Besides the technological advancement, entrepreneurship, startups and economic competitiveness have become more common. Innovation and the fourth industrial revolution are closely intertwined concepts that together are forming the new shape of the current and future landscape of industries, economies, and societies. Moreover, societal challenges like climate change, energy access, healthcare access, and urbanization have galvanized efforts to find innovative solutions, drawing attention and investment to those who can address these pressing issues. The unprecedented accessibility and modularity of technology have made innovative solutions more reachable than ever, which in turn brings about a new ethical dimension in humanitarian engineering and engineering education. However, when examining a significant research-article database, it becomes evident that only a small fraction of research papers on innovation is dedicated to marginalized communities. This underscores the need for proactive measures to raise awareness and promote greater innovation for marginalized communities within academic circles. This paper underscores the necessity for a reevaluation of social responsibility within the realms of engineering ethics and design, particularly in view of the recent progress in design thinking and innovation. Additionally, it outlines the application of this approach and engages in a detailed discourse. Specifically, it establishes a design project for senior engineering students, tasked with exploring the issue of energy challenges within a local community and subsequently generating technically viable and sustainable solutions as part of their brainstorming process.