Being the lifeblood of socioeconomic progress, engineering is implicated in the unprecedented challenge of sustainability. The global engineering community devised sustainable engineering as a conceptual departure from conventional engineering practices. However, the extent to which the sustainability worldview has permeated the Nigerian engineering community remains unanswered. This paper is an attempt to answer the question of how sustainability literate are the members of the Nigerian engineering community. The paper undertakes an assessment of the sustainability literacy of the community with the aid of a stakeholder survey and a devised sustainability literacy test. Three criteria that are used to gauge the stakeholders' sustainability literacy are awareness of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, score on the sustainability literacy test, and self-assessment of sustainability knowledge. Survey participants were recruited mainly from two federallyrun Nigerian higher education institutions, and engineering professional associations. The assessment reveals an unsatisfactory performance of the Nigerian engineering stakeholders on all three sustainability literacy criteria. The results show that the majority of the students (81%), educators (67%), and practitioners (64%) were unaware of the UNDESD. The paper therefore highlights the need to improve the sustainability literacy of the Nigerian engineering community, possibly through a sustainability education intervention.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to present an assessment of the sustainability content of the Nigerian engineering curriculum in universities. Design/methodology/approach Content analysis is used to generate and analyse data from three engineering documents, namely, the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards for Engineering Programmes in Nigeria and the engineering handbooks of two Nigerian higher education institutions. Findings The Nigerian engineering curriculum is revealed to have a low sustainability content, with environmental concepts being the most cited themes and social topics as the least stated issues. Research limitations/implications The sustainability assessment approach adopted in the study is constrained by the question of what constitutes a sustainability syllabus. Expert-derived sustainability themes used in the study are unavoidably incomplete and may limit the conduct of an exhaustive sustainability content assessment. Practical implications Based on the research outcome, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria and other stakeholders can consider ways to adequately incorporate sustainability themes in the Nigerian engineering curriculum. Originality/value The research is an effort to determine the presence of sustainability issues in the Nigerian engineering education, which has hitherto been scarcely documented. This study provides a baseline and a rationale for sustainability education interventions in the Nigerian engineering curriculum. It also presents a methodology for analysing sustainability content in university curriculum and contributes to the continuing sustainability education discourse, especially in relation to sub-Saharan Africa.

Systems engineering is unique in being characterised by its methods rather than its artefacts. Consequently, the scope of systems engineering is difficult to define. While some systems engineers contend that systems engineering is capable of addressing sociotechnical problems, including climate change and terrorism, others argue that it is strictly a technical field. The paper presents the results of a discourse analysis of systems engineering textbooks, journal articles, and a qualitative questionnaire administered within the International Council on Systems Engineering United Kingdom Chapter and University College London Centre for Systems Engineering. The analysis finds three parallel accounts of systems engineering in the sampled community. These representations are of systems engineering as something new, as good engineering, and as a meta-methodology. The three distinct discourses of systems engineering diverge on its concept, origin, scope, role, training, epistemological positions, and worldview. The paper shows that claims for and against the wider applicability of systems engineering techniques to complex socio-technical problems not only chart alternative courses for the future of the field but are also grounded in particular constructions of its origins, practices and worldview. While this brings circumspection to the recent rise to prominence of systems engineering within broader engineering discussion and debate, it also provides an opportunity for reflexivity within the field as it responds to demands for integrated solutions to complex socio-technical problems.

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to assess the current level of systems literacy of air force logisticians in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThis research undertook an assessment of the knowledge of air force logistics officers on systems thinking with the aid of a qualitative questionnaire. The questionnaire featured questions on the level of literacy and application of systems thinking by air force logisticians in Nigeria.FindingsThe research finds that the majority of the air force logistics officers have very low levels of knowledge and training in systems thinking.Originality/valueThe research is a unique effort to ascertain the level of systems thinking literacy and training in air force logistics in Nigeria. The study presents a baseline and justification for intervention through an improvement of the logistics curricula used in air force training institutions in Nigeria.

Studies into various aspects of systems engineering have emerged to broaden understanding of the discipline. However, consensus on the concept and purview of the field remains elusive. Viewing systems engineering as engineering philosophy can provide insight into these differing perspectives. This chapter discusses engineering philosophy and provides a brief historical overview of systems engineering. Some concepts in system engineering such as system, complexity and emergence amongst others are discussed. Systemic thinking as a precursory problem-solving strategy is highlighted. Thereafter, the various representations of systems engineering are used as examples of reflections within systems engineering, which can be characterised as engineering philosophy as distinguished from philosophy of engineering. Whilst the philosophy of engineering assesses engineering from the outside with the aid of concepts and methodologies of the discipline of philosophy, engineering philosophy involves philosophical thinking of engineering from within that sets a paradigm for understanding the world.