The ethos project is focused on providing an infusion of humanitarian values and ethical practices to undergraduate engineering and computer science students. The primary goal of the Ethos project is to develop students’ mindsets as contributors to and creators of societal change via technology and its role in improving outcomes for diverse groups. The Ethos project is composed of four interrelated sub-projects as follows:
- Freshman Academy Renovation: All first-semester freshmen across engineering and computer science majors worked together with faculty leaders to design and create prototypes of potential solutions for the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges. Everybody was guided by principles of project-based learning and human-centered design coupled with societally relevant work in STEM contexts.
- Vision Venture: Formerly known as Engineering moment is a short-form video cast series that aims to foster a sense of professional identity and social responsibility in students.
- Engineers Engaging Community: This project helps students understand the vital role of public engagement in the practice of humanitarian engineering. It guides students to understand that engineering does not exist in a vacuum but is an integral part of greater community discourse.
- The Good Life: In this project, we enable a series of discussions between USC undergraduate and graduate students. Students engage in ethical engineering practices and technology professions through these discussions.
Each of the four sub-projects is highly transferable across diverse types of colleges and universities. The four sub-projects can be embedded together or individually in any college of engineering especially those which commence with a “first-year” experience for students.