Widening their horizons: encouraging students to understand a complex world

Professional Issues attempts to demonstrate to undergraduates that they nee d skills wider than those they will acquire while studying for a degree in computer science or electronic engineering. A study of catastrophic failure s gives relevance to activities such as keeping logbooks and group work, wh ile lectures address subjects such as management and the ethical problems t hat can be encountered in the 'real world'. There is evidence (somewhat ane cdotal) that this approach encourages students to understand the complexiti es of the world they will be joining on graduation.