Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions is awarded a Faculty Innovation Grant

The Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions (CSEP) was awarded a Faculty Innovation Grant for the project, “Bottom-Up Ethics: Real World Training for Professional Practice.” The project team includes Elisabeth Hildt, director of CSEP; Kelly Laas, CSEP iibrarian; Stephanie Taylor, graduate research assistant; and is led by Christine Miller. Clinical Associate Professor of Innovation in the Illinois Tech Stuart School of Business.

Most students have some exposure to ethics during their education; however, the concept of ethics is abstract and professional codes are intentionally general, which makes them impersonal. For students, opportunities to apply ethics training in real world circumstances are rare, especially for those who will eventually work in multiple disciplinary teams where members may have different levels of training in, and interpretations of, what constitutes ethical practice. As the pace of innovation increases and new areas of scientific practice emerge, conventional ethics education may be insufficient for situations that students will encounter in their professional careers.  

The project team will create an extracurricular supplement for the current Introduction to the Profession course in the biomedical engineering program that was will include a hands-on workshop and a panel discussion of industry professionals who will discuss situations they have experienced relative to a range of ethical issues.