CONTEXT: As a practical discipline, engineering should create fit for purpose, user centred solutions. In Australia, it is increasingly important that engineering projects support the interests of Indigenous communities, who are often underrepresented in engineering and design teams (Goldfinch & Kennedy, 2013). This requires understanding of Indigenous perspectives and knowledges in engineering curriculum so that students in all disciplines (Leigh et al., 2014) become more culturally capable professionals, delivering projects that are respectful and inclusive. Currently, students have limited opportunities to learn about Indigenous perspectives within an engineering context (Goldfinch et al., 2017).

PURPOSE: This project aims to support students to become more confident in understanding Indigenous perspectives and culture within a design context, by developing case study resources, class discussions and opportunities for reflection, to support the Engineers Without Borders (EWB) design challenge embedded into a first-year engineering course.

APPROACH: Five EWB design challenges were selected to meet the course learning outcomes and provide the best opportunity for engagement with Indigenous perspectives. Case studies were integrated into an e-Portfolio workbook to offer examples of Indigenous engineering, community considerations and design applications. Students were asked to reflect at four key touch points during the design process and self-assess their cultural competency and understanding of Indigenous perspectives.

OUTCOMES: Results suggest students interacting with workbook resources including case studies, studio discussions and reflection embedded within the curriculum and design process assists students to design solutions that are user centred, respectful of Indigenous perspectives, and therefore more fit for purpose. Students self-assessment of cultural competency increased over the teaching term by 2.5 units (1-10 scale) with the greatest increase occurring in the problem scoping phase of the design process.

CONCLUSIONS: Respect and understanding of how social and cultural factors influence the design process are essential graduate attributes for professional engineers. This paper outlines an authentic approach to embedding Indigenous perspectives into a foundational engineering design challenge course, as a first step towards transforming engineering curriculum and the professional engineering landscape to be more inclusive of Indigenous perspectives.