ETHICAL AND SUSTAINABLE EDUCATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS - BETWEEN REALITY AND HOPE

Engineers posses the skill of making the life more comfortable, by using new technologies that may have damaging, unpredictable, unintentional effects, which sometimes occur because of malpractice.Thus, a question arises: to what extent could engineers be responsible for their work?It is common knowledge that every technology has tardy, indirect effects upon plants, animals, ecosystems and future generations.This issue is directly linked to professional ethics.Engineering ethics includes compulsory moral behaviour standards and it contains a particular kind of principles.Further on, there are supplementary elements (impartiality, honesty, integrity) that lead to a set of special behaviour standards, which constitute engineering ethics and can be found in a code of ethics.When do future Romanian engineers find out about their professional responsibilities and the issues of moral demeanour, which often occur in their activity?After they graduate!The importance of introducing ethics in the technical education syllabus is undeniable, taking into consideration the fact that engineers are expected to reach the highest standards of honesty and integrity, especially because their actions have a vital, direct impact upon the quality of life!