Connected to citizen engagement within the community, citizen empowerment defines opportunities and accessibility provided to citizens by their leaders and representatives, in whichever social field, to develop capabilities that are valuable to actively participate in the development and decision making of a community. Wider than just related to a political sense, it can be viewed in terms of knowledge and other aspects (such as digital inclusion) and affecting their everyday quality of life.
Published in Chapter:
Methodologies for Engineering Learning and Teaching (MELT): An Overview of Engineering Education in Europe and a Novel Concept for Young Students
Bárbara Filipa Casqueira Coelho Gabriel (University of Aveiro, Portugal), Robertt A. F. Valente (University of Aveiro, Portugal), João Dias-de-Oliveira (University of Aveiro, Portugal), Victor F. S. Neto (University of Aveiro, Portugal), and António Andrade-Campos (University of Aveiro, Portugal)
Copyright: © 2017
|Pages: 29
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-1978-2.ch016
Abstract
The concept of Smart City comprises many levels of development, quality of life and wellbeing. One of the key aspects of this idea is the relevance of the overall education of citizens, on technical competences as well as responsible citizenship. Within the innovation-focused drive to future cities, scientific literacy is paramount, particularly considering engineering education. This is noteworthy for the education of today's students, preparing them for life in tomorrow's multifaceted technology-driven world, and directing them to personal and professional development within scientific careers. This Chapter describes the challenges and opportunities of education within today's society paradigms, with an eye on the Smart Cities of the future. A new, innovative and connected approach is presented, with concepts that encompass the main stakeholders in the scientific education system along with the main actors in society. A global and scalable education framework model is detailed, aiming to provide guidelines for an improved collaborative approach to STEM education in the future.