National Geographic: understand civil engineering differently

Undergraduate civil engineering students have access to a rich and diverse bank of textual and graphic knowledge concerning their chosen profession. However, over a number of decades, commentators have raised concerns that students have insufficient understanding of the role of civil engineering in society. Indeed, the call for universities to educate ‘global engineers’ emphasises the need for students to be schooled in the humanities, in parallel with their core computational studies. Unfortunately, engineering students in particular are not accustomed to regular exploratory reading. This paper considers the use of the National Geographic magazine as a means to ignite students' curiosity in the world around them. The results from a pilot study and a content analysis of a number of editions from over a decade show that this periodical regularly carries themes directly concerning the impact of civil engineering in society, be it political, financial, environmental, social or ecological.