IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2021 - 52

Commentary
matter expert to help inform our decision-making
process. We felt empowered without equating asking
for help with relinquishing our agency or control,
and we learned how to ask questions without expecting
one answer. Through PInT, we learned to see faculty
as collaborators and supportive resources, rather
than the directors of our work, and to see ourselves
as active creators of our learning experiences [11].
PinT is powerful because it is student-led. We are
embracing PIT and redefining engineering to forge a
new culture of deep engagement that wholeheartedly
embraces our responsibility to public welfare. By choosing
to prioritize emotions and take responsibility for
team health, we demonstrated how PInT can embody
an ethic of care. By taking the time to slow down, listen,
and deliberate, we were better able to center care
for our stakeholders and ourselves. By " relinquishing "
decision-making power to students, our faculty mentors
applied liberatory pedagogy and empowered us
to explore context, navigate uncertainty, and create
personal connections [11]. While Olin is a small college
with a unique commitment to experimenting with engineering
education, we believe that students at other colleges
would benefit through similar applications of the
ethic of care and liberatory education.

Acknowledgment
The first four coauthors are all students at Olin
College of Engineering and contributed equally to
this article. We would like to thank the Public Interest
Technology University Network, especially its conveners
and funders New America, the Ford Foundation,
and the Hewlett Foundation, for supporting PInT.
 References
[1] E. A. Cech, " Culture of disengagement in engineering
education? " Sci., Technol., Hum. Values, vol. 39, no. 1,
pp. 42-72, 2014.
[2] D. Eaves, E. Felten, T. McGuinness, D. K. Mulligan,
and J. Weinstein. (Jan. 22, 2020). Defining Public
Interest Technology. New America. Accessed: Aug.
14, 2020. [Online]. Available: http://newamerica.org/
public-interest-technology/blog/defining-public-interesttechnology/
[3]
W. Faulkner, " Dualisms, hierarchies and gender in
engineering, " Social Stud. Sci., vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 759-
792, Oct. 2000, doi: 10.1177/030631200030005005.
52
[4] D. Riley, A. L. Pawley, J. Tucker, and G. D. Catalano,
" Feminisms in engineering education: Transformative
possibilities, " NWSA J., vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 21-40, 2009.
[5] M. Pantazidou and I. Nair, " Ethic of care: Guiding
principles for engineering teaching & practice, " J. Eng.
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[6] D. P. Barbezat and M. Bush, Contemplative Practices
in Higher Education: Powerful Methods to Transform
Teaching and Learning, 1st ed. San Francisco, CA,
USA: Jossey-Bass, 2013.
[7] NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering, Nat. Acad.
Eng., Washington, DC, USA, 2008.
[8] E. Cech, " Great problems of grand challenges:
Problematizing engineering's understandings of its role
in society, " Int. J. Eng., Social Justice, Peace, vol. 1, no.
2, Nov. 2012, Art. no. 2, doi: 10.24908/ijesjp.v1i2.4304.
[9] E. Graeff, " The responsibility to not design and the
need for citizen professionalism, " Tech Otherwise, May
2020, doi: 10.21428/93b2c832.c8387014.
[10] L. Claris and D. Riley, " Situation critical: Critical theory
and critical thinking in engineering education [career
advisor], " IEEE Women Eng. Mag., vol. 7, no. 1, pp.
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[11] D. Riley, " Employing liberative pedagogies in
engineering education, " JWM, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 137-158,
2003, doi: 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v9.i2.20.
Chowdhary is a junior studying
engineering with computing at Olin College of
Engineering, Needham, MA, USA.
Shreya
Sam Daitzman is a junior studying engineering
with design/computing at Olin College of Engineering,
Needham, MA, USA.
Ruby Eisenbud is a junior studying mechanical
engineering at Olin College of Engineering,
Needham, MA, USA.
Emma Pan is a senior studying engineering with
computing at Olin College of Engineering, Needham,
MA, USA.
Erhardt Graeff is an Assistant Professor of
Social and Computer Science at Olin College
of Engineering, Needham, MA, USA, and Olin's
designee to the Public Interest Technology University
Network.
 Direct questions and comments about this article
to Erhardt Graeff, Olin College of Engineering,
Needham, MA 02492 USA; egraeff@olin.edu.
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine
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