Affiliation:
1. University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing
Abstract
Engineering is a highly cognitive activity and as such has long been treated andeducated in solely cognitive domain. However, the role of emotions in engineering hasrecently been closely examined. Engineering is creating products, services and systemsfor people to use. In their use people engage emotionally as well as cognitively.Therefore in defining project requirements attention must be paid to emotional needs ofusers as well as their functional and cognitive needs. It is known that user�s mentalconcept of a product is the basis of their intended use and manipulation. However, theiremotional attitude and approach also influence effectiveness of using devices, tools andservices. However, emotions of end users of engineered products are not the only onesthat need to be considered. Engineering often creates products that do not exist innature. In this, engineering is much closer to arts and in this process emotions playsignificant role. Thus the ways to leverage emotions in engineering process arediscussed and ways to do that in engineering education are proposed including the roleof arts. A survey results about students� attitudes towards importance of emotions inengineering design are presented. The survey was conducted among 680 freshmen and80 seniors at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing.The results indicate that students modestly relate emotional intelligence withengineering profession and are to some extent ready to accept learning about emotionsto be part of their education.