Environmental Engineering Education in Europe

The discipline of environmental engineering is young and rapidly evolving. Once viewed largely as a sub-set of civil engineering, with a particular focus on water sanitation, it has now grown to engage with all aspects of the human and terrestrial environment. Beyond this fact however, there is much debate on the definition of environmental engineering and on its intersections and overlaps with other more traditional fields of engineering. This development poses problems for those constructing programmes of study for the next generations of environmental engineers. These selected proceedings reflect the lively debate that started with differing views on the scope of environmental engineering. Though concentrating on environmental education in European countries, very fruitful comparisons were drawn with the situation in the USA and Japan. The differences in curricular content and educational philosophy are examined, as are attempts to overcome the barriers of culture, language and the varying modes of certification of practising engineers. These proceedings will help to set a framework that can move these debates forward and will be highly valuable to all engineers and educationalists concerned with the future of environmental engineering education and the wider role of the engineering profession.