Vyshnav's Statement of Commitment to Ethical Principles (Blog)

The statement of ethical principles which was created by Royal Academy of Engineering in collaboration with the Engineering council primarily focuses on the four vital fundamental principles (Honesty and integrity, Respect for life, law, the environment and public good, Accuracy and rigourand Leadership and communication) were fundamentally designed to form the core of the codes of conduct. The above principles will be implied on people engaged with engineering at all types of level.

Justine Metz spoke about engineering ethics and difficult decision making in her Ted Talk. While speaking on the topic, she had stated there were three steps to making a decision and being ethically right. Firstly, by defining the risk to get to know what one’s risk tolerances are, secondly by establishing rules and lastly being committable and accountable because rules and risk become a framework only when there are accountability and commitment (1). The reason why I chose this video as a supporting resource was because of the example that she had used. She spoke about a group of students working on an assignment; hence this was easy to understand as I am an engineering student and that such things frequently happen when working with a group.

Overall, I found the ethical principles issued by the RAE and EC, connects well to my personal experiences and is of the utmost importance when I work in the future. As a student, there were times, especially during the group micro mouse sessions where my teammates and I were honest and open with our ideas and strategies. Respecting privacy and right of others are one of the reasons why my group still stands strong during these tough times. To be better, I will continue to practice these morals by participating in more group work activities because that is the only one an individual can learn his/her mistakes. When working as a professional engineer, I will carry out the lessons and morals which were instilled by my institution and make use of them at the workplace.

Respecting life, law and the environment are a must for a student engineer and a professional. As a student, I will carry out this principle by adhering to the institution’s requirement in terms of my work. For example: by avoiding plagiarism, I am respecting other’s work and also ensuring that my work is lawful and justified. Furthermore, as a future engineer professional, I promise to abide by the laws with the same Respect so that I do not tarnish the reputation, rather I uphold the reputation and standing of the profession. As an engineering student, it is of utmost importance that everything, I do is very accurate and that I am very thorough with the work that I am handling. Hence, as a student, I will be extremely thorough and be careful by reviewing and working hard on the task that I am presented. I promise to keep my knowledge and skills up to date, and always to understand and evaluate any problems while managing the risks and never knowingly mislead others. As a student engineer, it is understood and expected that in the future, I will uphold responsibilities both at university and at work. I promise to keep in mind that I work for the society and that I must be aware of the issues that the techno ology industry raises for the people and that I must listen to their thoughts and concerns. As a student, I will promote equality by being a voice for the voiceless. Creating groups where people from all walks of life are welcomes and a place where everyone’s opinions are welcome. As a future engineer, I promise to respect and listen to my peer’s, promote diversity by communicating and opening up and at the same time, become objective (2).

When looking at the guidance issued by IET, their rules of conduct is something which must be strictly followed by an engineer or any personnel working in the same field. As a student, I will abide by these rules and practice them by instilling them into my work. For example: maintaining professional behavior throughout lectures and group sessions. All in all, as an engineering student and also as a future engineer, I promise to abide by these principles in my line of work. And the only way to abide by them is that I will implement it in my daily life, thus working towards being an ethical person (3) (4).

1. Ted. Engineering Ethics and Difficult Decision Making | Justine Metz | TEDxCSM [Internet]. 2017 [cited 1 April 2020]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FYt6qsoybM

2. Statement of Ethical Principles [Internet]. Engc.org.uk. [cited 1 April 2020]. Available from: https://www.engc.org.uk/standards-guidance/guidance/statement-of-ethical-principles/

3. Rules of Conduct [Internet]. Theiet.org. 2019 [cited 1 April 2020]. Available from: https://www.theiet.org/about/governance/rules-of-conduct/

4. Professional ethics and the IET [Internet]. Theiet.org. [cited 1 April 2020]. Available from: https://www.theiet.org/membership/professional-values/professional-ethics/