Engineering education, reality TV and ethics

In this paper we consider engineering education as a process that has over many years developed a particular ethical and philosophical framework. These ethical and philosophical frameworks are often dormant and unquestioned. During the development of an innovative reality TV mediated engineering design and test project (the Fuelduel¹ project) for undergraduate students ethical issues arose that challenged long-held views on engineering education. This paper discusses the ethical issues that became evident during the course of the Fuelduel project and how these lead to a consideration of the underlying philosophical framework inherent in most engineering education.