Student Review

James Ropotar, Undergraduate Student, University of British Columbia

Patterson dives into the complex issue of professional identity and ethical considerations in the mind of a student. They posit that a professional may act unethically to meet a deadline or target, and question how to best guide students to act ethically in that circumstance. The text breaks down how guidelines to integrity cannot be focused on punishing wrong, but encouraging the right path forward. The chapter concludes with the idea that if a student chooses to commit unethical behaviour, it is for them to face the consequences.  In some regards, this can be related to increased fail rate of particular courses following the pandemic and online classes. Students choosing to act unethically harm themselves in the end, whether it be in the workplace, where a shortcut leads to a product failure, or in school, where cheating on one thing leads to gaps in the skills needed to complete another.  Further, it extends discussion to what integrity means to the profession of Engineering. How can one be guided softly towards the right decisions, if wrong decisions could lead to harm to others? Overall, the chapter is a strong guide to understanding the ways in which professional identity grows from the practiced integrity in the classroom.