On May 21st, at 4 p.m., a session of ISEP Webinars will take place, organized by Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP).       

This seminar will feature Nina Bohm, who will explore the theme “Educating uncertainty in times of sustainable transition”.    

To access the seminar, please click here. 

Abstract

Transdisciplinary courses are increasingly prevalent in higher education curricula. These courses involve partnering with real-world actors to tackle real-world problems, perhaps most notably the contemporary sustainability challenge. How to balance environmental sustainability with social and economic goals is a contested issue, with varying perspectives on the problems and solutions, even among experts. Furthermore, sustainability education is shaped amidst an unpredictable political landscape and yet unknown technological advancements. This diversity of viewpoints, unpredictability, and a lack of knowledge makes uncertainty an inescapable part of the future of engineering education.

In this webinar, we will explore uncertainty on a conceptual level and reflect on your personal experiences with uncertainty. Then, we will collaboratively develop scaffolding strategies to support students in learning to deal with uncertainty. The workshop is based on Nina Bohm’s PhD thesis and she will translate her work to some concrete questions for engineering educators.

This webinar is for you if:

• You want ideas on how to scaffold uncertainty in a (transdisciplinary) learning environment.
• You want to understand uncertainty both on a personal and a conceptual level.  
• You want to connect with other researchers and teachers interested in supporting engineering students to constructively engage with uncertainty.

Bio

Nina Bohm is a reflective and engaging educational researcher and designer with a passion for exploring the open questions in sustainability education. She obtained her PhD degree from the TU Delft in 2024 with a thesis titled ‘Educating Uncertainty.’ In this work, she investigated how students and teachers deal with uncertainty in transdisciplinary courses on urban sustainability. Previously, she has been involved in the design of such education at AMS Institute and contributed to the development of MSc MADE. Now, Nina works a postdoctoral researcher at the Copernicus Institute, where she researches climate anxiety amongst students and explores the potential of design to teach hope and agency in times of sustainable transitions.