Article
Implementation of Sustainability Indicators in Engineering
Education Using a Combined Balanced Scorecard and Quality
Function Deployment Approaches
Ali M. Al-Bahi
1,
* , Mohamed S. Abd-Elwahed
2
and Abdelfattah Y. Soliman
3
Citation: Al-Bahi, A.M.;
Abd-Elwahed, M.S.; Soliman, A.Y.
Implementation of Sustainability
Indicators in Engineering Education
Using a Combined Balanced
Scorecard and Quality Function
Deployment Approaches.
Sustainability 2021, 13, 7083. https://
doi.org/10.3390/su13137083
Academic Editor: João Carlos de
Oliveira Matias
Received: 10 May 2021
Accepted: 21 June 2021
Published: 24 June 2021
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4.0/).
1
Aerospace Engineering Department, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
2
Mechanical Engineering Department, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia;
msaahmed@kau.edu.sa
3
Nuclear Engineering Department, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia;
a.y.soliman@gmail.com
* Correspondence: abahi@kau.edu.sa
Abstract:
One year and a half after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it became suitable to rethink
the design of the engineering education systems to remain sustainable and resilient. The paper
aims to identify the most important aspects of the system, as well as the most vulnerable ones and
the extent to which the system meets the sustainability requirements of the society. The Balanced
Scorecard approach is used to ensure that the system remains sustainable and resilient. The indicators
to measure the aspects of this design are developed. A Quality Function Deployment approach is
used to identify the extent to which a designed system satisfies the sustainability requirements of
the society. The problem is formulated as an engineering design problem in which the customer
requirements are presented using a sustainability Triple Bottom Line framework. The results indicate
that a well-designed engineering education system is capable of addressing the majority of the
17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) identified by the United Nations. The most important
aspect of this system is its commitment to quality assurance and continuous improvement. Such a
system is a key player to achieve the SDGs, particularly those of economic growth, quality education,
good health and wellbeing, and industry innovation.
Keywords:
sustainability indicators; sustainable development goals; engineering education; quality
function deployment; balanced scorecard
1. Introduction
Sustainability has attracted the attention of engineering education over the past
30 years [1]
. The early studies in this field can be traced back to the signature of the Talloires
Declaration as an action plan for incorporating sustainability and environmental literacy
in teaching, research, operations, and outreach at colleges and universities [
2
]. Initially,
the declaration was signed by 12 founding members in 1990 and expanded over the years
to include more than 500 signatories from 55 countries by 2016. These efforts required
the development of the sustainability indicators as part of the performance management
process. Some of these indicators date back to the early 1970s [3].
In the previous years, several authors concentrated on developing assessment tools
and indicators of sustainability in higher education [
4
–
6
]. In particular, the study in [
6
]
addressed, among other quality indicators, the resilience of the educational process and
its preparedness for emergency situations as well as its impact on the sustainability of
its environment.
In more recent studies, authors continued the same approach of addressing the as-
sessment of sustainability in higher education [
7
–
9
]. In this area, the work carried out
in the EDINSOST project in Spain [
10
–
12
] is commendable. The project has focused on
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