What does deaf awareness have to do with educating engineers more effectively?

And why should this be a question that should be questioned at all?

When I teach, when I do engineering, it’s also my responsibility as a Chartered Engineer (CEng) to be supportive of the needs and concerns of others. I'm a signatory to our institution’s Code of Conduct, which includes responsibility for carrying out engineering duties in an ethical manner. Oh, and I need to be an effective communicator and educator, and hopefully engaging too.

And to a broader engineering perspective? Why should we think more broadly of society around us, when hearing loss will affect 1 in 5 of us?

For me, the Royal Academy of Engineering’s front web page headline captures the “why” really well:?

“Harnessing the power of engineering and technology to build a sustainable society and inclusive economy that works for everyone”.?

Or as someone I was talking to put it...

"this shows that engineers...responsibilities to people, and also the responsibility to practice in a sustainable and inclusive way. In other words, it's not enough to just do the technical stuff".

With Royal Academy of Engineers staff support the deaf awareness conversation is opening up amongst us as Visiting Professors. Together, we’ve been using our industrial engineering experience to capture what’s working?and what’s not. Our observations from the front line of engineering teaching and communication have helped inform development of ten tips, for anyone to use.

I’m sure I haven’t reinvented the wheel but I hope I’m reaching a new audience with, and at a new time too. Naturally there’s an engineering flavour to what we came up with.

I hope this list helps. You can use it in any way that works for you e.g. I’ve got point 1 as something I try and do, and talk about too.

1. Prioritise one thing today. And tomorrow too. For me it’s making sure that there is space at the bottom of slides for Closed Captions. It makes you think about what you’ve got on your slides. You could encourage better meeting behaviours by sharing material ahead of time, hands up and avoiding talking over each other or do something different.?
2. (Try and) Meet the needs of the many in your audience, not the few. Think beyond specific labels and technologies. For example, the induction loop may not be suitable for some (check it is working as well!) but it’s not likely to be sufficient on its own. Don’t forget that people with hearing loss have to take on board multiple different strands of technology and absorb in parallel multiple streams of information, much more than someone else.
3. Talk to the professionals, use their resources, engineering and human-led interaction. But do the work yourself. Think engineering too. Audiologists and building acoustics specialists think about people and their environment, clearly technology and environmental design have got key roles to play. More broadly, RNID has got excellent resources for everyone.?
4. Do you entertain or do you deliver clearly? Can you do both well? I walk around when I am lecturing, and use a different tone (and apparently stand differently!) when I am explaining something beyond the slide content. Makes me easier to listen to, and hold the room’s attention. But it's not the same if you can’t see my face to lip read or the non-verbal cues aren’t clear or consistent. ?Think holistically.
5. What’s on the screen versus what’s being said? Does it make sense? We’ve been taught that fewer words and bright engaging visuals make a better presentation, but does it all fit together? There’s no harm in starting with “this is what we are going to learn and how we are going to approach the session” and then recapping. I don’t stand in front of slides either. The audience can’t see through me!
6. Room layout, camera, screens and action. Student lecture theatres, with hundreds of students seated, have many screens, multiple displays above and below the eye line of the podium. Think about the information and volume of material being delivered, reduce where possible. If you’re in 30+ hours of lectures that's more high intensity and complex material than someone reading captions on a TV programme.
7. The secret life of your audience. What are the people in the room or on the other side of the screen already doing? Around you are non-native English speakers, people who are having trouble keeping up and more and at least some of your audience may be “live transcribing and translating” using apps on their phone or other devices to put your words on screen.
8. Ask what’s in place when you are giving a talk. It is interesting how novel this approach seems to be, and yet it’s a simple thing to do, you’re asking for other people’s needs to be taken into account. It creates the conversation, and takes the burden off the person who has had to ask for things on a daily basis.
9. AI meeting support. We’re only just scratching the surface. Could AI give deaf awareness feedback as a presentation coach? Could it chair a meeting or block interruptions? How about CODEC for dynamic selection of multiple speakers and separate transcription software for managing different voices, tags for captions for slides so you don’t have to watch the deck transitions.
10. Try not to be daunted, or let your personal limits and perceived technical skill put you off. Just because you can’t do something yet doesn’t mean you won’t be able to in the future. It’s fine to be bad at things at first (read more about my early trials here).

We’ve also got effective group project discussion and delivery - a key part of engineering education - on our to do list as well. One of the Royal Academy of Engineering VPs is getting their professional society to include deaf awareness in their Code of Conduct for conferences. I have started asking about deaf awareness accessibility measures that will be in place when I give a talk. If we work together we can start a trend.?

Next up, with the team of VP’s support, an agile and iterative start-up approach to in the field trial and improvement, and also blogs exploring the link between deaf awareness to sustainability and ethics. For engineers and others in STEM, why not add deaf awareness linked engineering to your CPD for 2024?

Closing, it’s important to highlight that I’m not a DEI specialist, or assuming to represent the needs of people - individually and collectively - that I’ve never met. If there’s one takeaway I’d like everyone to hold on to, it’s don’t assume you know what someone’s needs are. Everyone’s needs are different and can change too. Ask and listen. Take the time to learn, Deaf community, culture, language, communication and more. Context for deaf awareness matters, like for everything else.

Watch this space, more to follow, and thank you for your attention.

Dr Emma Taylor is a Chartered Engineer with more 30 years of experience across three sectors: aerospace, energy and transport. Emma would like to thank all of those who have helped her with deaf awareness and practical guidance including Sarah Hitt of the Engineering Professors Council, and a special thank you to Prof Graham Braithwaite for his support. I'll update this acknowledgement with the individual names of the Visiting Professors who helped contribute, one by one, as I get their permission.

Please note that this article is written in a personal capacity and is for guidance only, do consult with professionals working in this field if you are looking for specialist advice.