A Systems Approach to Addressing Human Challenges

In Chap. 2 , this chapter discusses the nuances of complex systems, accentuating that human communications and technology are integral parts of our social systems. Whenever humans are positioned at the centre of any system, complexity emerges. Interventions in complex systems are very difficult, due to feedback loops and their associated time delays and the presence of many interacting components. Each element within a complex system intertwines with others, making any intervention a precarious act, where intervening in a part of the system invariably affects other parts. Engineering education is a complex system, and it is evolving under the new AI technologies. Interventions are required and the relational dynamics among students, as well as between students and educators, are critical axes around which educational experiences must revolve. The dynamic educational ecosystems, burgeoning with myriad informal and formal, verbal and non-verbal communications,shape the educational experience and outcomes in profound ways. Ensuring that interventions do not inadvertently disrupt or diminish these interactional ecosystems requires an adept understanding of the inherent complexity embedded within the educational systems.