Reimagining engineering education through the lens of sustainable development goals

In recent decades, engineering education has increased its importance as a critical lever for advancing sustainable development, due to the escalating global challenges such as climate change, resource depletion, and social inequality. The main objective of this investigation is to provide a comprehensive analysis of scholarly production at the intersection of engineering education and sustainable development from 2015 to 2024, identifying influential sources and contributors, and unveiling the most influential research trends within the field under study, through the systematic analysis of the abstracts of 2631 peer-reviewed articles extracted from Web of Science database. The results reveal a significant growth in academic output, and the most common subtopics, such as integration of sustainability into engineering curricula, innovative pedagogical approaches through project- and challenge-based learning, circular economy and sustainable engineering practices, STEM education for sustainability and equity, digitalization and smart technologies for sustainability learning, and entrepreneurship and innovation for the SDGs. In this regard, persistent challenges are identified, like institutional inertia and limited alignment between education and practice, as well as several emerging opportunities for innovation and transformation. In this sense, theoretical and practical implications are presented for educators, policymakers and academics interested in promoting engineering education models as drivers of sustainable and inclusive development.