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With a team interaction analysis model, the authors sought to identify a varying range of individual and collective intellectual behaviors in a series of communicative intents particularly expressed with multimodal interaction methods. In this paper, the authors aim to present a new construct (i.e. collective intelligence ratio (CIR)) which refers to a numeric indicator representing the degree of intelligence of a team in which each team member demonstrates an individual intelligence ratio (IR) specific to a team goal.

The authors analyzed multimodal team interaction data linked to communicative intents with a Poisson‐hierarchical generalized linear model (HGLM).

The study found evidence of a distinctive IR for each team member in selecting a communicative method for a certain task, ultimately leading to varying degrees of team CIR.

The authors limited the type and nature of human intelligence observed with a very short list of categories. Also, the data were evaluated by only one subject matter expert, leading to reliability issues. Therefore, generalization should be limited to situations in which teams, with pre‐specified team goals and tasks, are collaborating in multimodal interaction environments.

This study presents potential ways to directly or indirectly optimize team performance by identifying and incorporating IRs and CIRs in team composition strategies.

In the literature of team cognition and performance, the authors offer a new insight on team schema by suggesting a new task‐expertise‐person (TEP) unit integrating information on who uses what communicative methods to best tackle on what cognitive task (i.e. optimum cognition with least cognitive burden). Individual and collective intelligence ratios should be considered as new extensions to conventional transactive memory systems in multimodal team interaction scenarios.

The purpose of this paper is to report on methods developed, within a three‐year Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) project at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, to achieve a higher degree of embedding of ESD in engineering programmes. The major emphasis is on methods used, results achieved and lessons learned from the work.

The basic idea that methods and activities were built on was that the only way to achieve long‐term changes is to increase the motivation and capacity of lecturers and program directors to perform the required changes.

Activities that were developed and tested focused on coaching discussions and on workshops for teachers, gathering teachers from one programme at a time. These activities aimed at starting learning processes in individuals. Special care was taken into keeping the feeling of responsibility and initiative in the faculty members within the programmes. A special “resource group” of experienced ESD teachers was available as support for programme directors and lecturers.

The methods reported on are further developments of a method that has been used in Delft University of Technology (the Individual Interaction Method) in the Netherlands. The experiences from Chalmers are discussed in such a way that they provide useful insights for others aiming at similar changes at university.

When sustainable development (SD) is only taught in specific courses, it is questionable if engineering students are able to integrate it into their engineering practices and technical designs. For this reason, sustainability should also be integrated into regular engineering courses, e.g. design courses, materials courses or processing technology. The SD education plan adopted by the board of Delft University of Technology (DUT) in 1998 was based on this philosophy. It consists of three interconnected activities for all engineering curricula: the implementation of an elementary course “Technology in sustainable development”; the development of a graduation program in sustainable development for students who want to specialize; and the integration of sustainable development in all regular courses, wherever applicable. This paper describes various activities that the project group carried out to stimulate and support the third strategy: SD integration. It turned out that top‐down attempts to influence the content of courses often triggered resistance among lecturers, as they feared the intermingling of laymen into their scientific/engineering discipline. Interaction was important but was often impossible by lack of mutual understanding. Participation in a national project aimed to stimulate discussion by making disciplinary sustainability reviews of academic/engineering disciplines. This approach was promising as it created the base for serious discussions. However, the reports often ended in the bureaucracies of the departments. More positive results were achieved with a semi‐consultant approach directed at discussing SD issues with individual lecturers. Many lecturers were willing to discuss their courses, and were interested in practical ideas to integrate sustainability. This interactive approach is promising because it does not conflict with academic culture and keeps the lecturer in charge of his own course.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the various antecedents that impact the development of cultural intelligence (CQ) among students. The study also explores how growing up as a third culture kid (TCK) or a monoculture kid (MCK) impacts the relationship between the antecedents and CQ.

Using data from 307 students consisting of both TCKs and MCKs, the authors test the direct effects and moderation model amongst the antecedents and CQ. Convenience sampling was employed to choose the participants for the study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and administered to the students via e-mail.

The results indicated that short-term trips abroad, undertaking a cross-cultural management course, local culture proficiency, watching films from other cultures, language of work proficiency, having friends from other cultures and interaction with people from different nationalities had a significant effect on CQ.

This study provides a list of variables that facilitate the development of intercultural competence amongst students, which can be used as a base by academic institutions to develop various courses, classroom activities and university programs. Also, classifying students as TCKs and MCKs helps us understand which CQ antecedents are more important for which category of students.

This is one of the first studies on antecedents of CQ, which explores the impact of being a TCK or MCK on the development of students’ CQ.

The current state of the art on continuous improvement takes into consideration that capabilities and organizational behaviors are more important elements for conduction and sustainability than the technical aspects. This set of capabilities and behaviors, initially addressed by Bessant and Caffyn in the 1990s, essentially considers that organizations should build an environment focussed on continuous learning. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the development of capabilities that support continuous improvement programs in two distinct productive environments: the automotive sector and the custom made capital goods sector.

From a theoretical reference on the subject, a set of capabilities that are related to the practice of continuous improvement is raised and, through a qualitative approach, four companies of the two sectors considered are analyzed using a case study strategy.

The research results suggest that the companies researched in the automotive sector have a higher level of employee engagement in relation to continuous improvement programs compared to the companies in the capital goods sector, which is justified by the strategy adopted by the organizations.

As any qualitative approach, this research presents restrictions regarding the generalization of the results for the studied sectors.

The contribution of this paper can be divided into two parts. The first one refers to the identification of a current framework of capabilities that support continuous improvement, and the second one is the evaluation of the development of these capabilities in two sectors with different productive contexts (automotive and custom made capital goods).

The purpose of this paper is to present the strategy used for achieving change towards sustainability at Chalmers University of Technology (Chalmers). Examples of how this strategy has been used are described and discussed, and exemplified with different lines of activities in a project on Education for Sustainable Development, the ESD project.

The strategy consists of three important building blocks: Create a neutral arena; Build on individual engagement and involvement; and Communicate a clear commitment from the management team. The analysis is made along three different lines of activities in the ESD project: The work to improve the quality of the compulsory courses on sustainable development; The efforts to integrate ESD into educational programmes; and The work to collect and spread information on good teaching practices within ESD. Some other related examples where the strategy has been applied are also presented.

The ESD project functioned as a neutral arena since it was not placed at any specific department but rather engaged participants from many departments. This neutral arena has been important, for example, to increase the willingness of teachers to share their good teaching examples. The process was successful in creating a shared responsibility and for starting learning processes in many individuals by the involvement of a broad range of educational actors at Chalmers. The strong and clear commitment from the management team has worked as a driving force.

This paper can provide valuable input to universities that struggle with change processes.

This paper deals with teaching environmental sustainability to students in higher education, focusing on the sustainability of buildings and the built environment and more specifically on energy. Integrating sustainability issues into the curricula of engineering education proves to be a big challenge. The main issues are: the fuzzy definition of sustainability; continuously advancing insights in environmental sciences and mono disciplinary versus multidisciplinary approaches. These issues are put into relation with theories and practice regarding curriculum development and change.

This paper aims to investigate the intermediary role of universities in spreading design for sustainability into industry.

Three case studies were undertaken on Delft University of Technology, Design for Sustainability Program from The Netherlands; a center on sustainable consumption and production; and Prof. Göksel Demirer from Middle East Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department from Turkey.

The process and evolution of the intermediary roles of the cases are explained. Three types of structures, through which universities undertake intermediary role, are investigated via the cases studies, a program, a center and an individual scientist.

This study is a first attempt to investigate the intermediary role of universities in the design for sustainability field.

The aim of this paper is to explore the rationale for teaching sustainability and engineering ethics within a decision‐making paradigm, and critically appraise ways of achieving related learning outcomes.

The paper presents the experience of the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney in teaching environmental sustainability and engineering ethics to third‐year undergraduate students. It discusses the objectives of the course and the merits and drawbacks of incorporating ethics and sustainability in the same teaching framework. In addition, it evaluates ways of incorporating theoretical and applied perspectives on sustainability.

Ethics and sustainability overlap but do not coincide; incorporating them in the same engineering course can be effective, provided that points of linkage are clearly recognized in the syllabus, a suitable combination of theory and practical applications is drawn upon and adequate teaching methods, including decision‐making case problems, are used.

While environmental sustainability, economic rationality and ethical reasoning can be easily fitted into the syllabus, social sustainability is more difficult to teach because it requires a significant conceptual departure from deep‐seated preconceptions on the part of students and teachers, and does not lend itself easily to conventional classroom activity, such as lectures and weekly workshops. Further research on effective ways of incorporating social sustainability in engineering curricula is therefore needed.

The paper evaluates sustainability issues within the context of civil engineering education.