Civil engineering undertakings (like dam construction, improvements to transport infrastructure) impact local environments and economies, and thereby often entailing a reallocation of benefits from local users to new groups of beneficiaries at a regional or national level. At the heart of many civil engineering endeavors in developing countries are issues of equity, governance, justice and power – issues which lie at the heart of the globalization debate.

Underlying this array of facts, figures, economic statistics and engineering calculations, lie several basic and guiding principles. If adhered to and applied on a case by case basis, these principles could go a long way towards incorporating multisectoral perspectives into technical assistance projects in a way that help projects achieve toward short-term and long-term success criteria.

Through civil engineering case studies in a constant simulated developing country context, Daedalus' End encourages civil/environmental engineering students and early career professionals to evaluate the ethical, social, cultural and environmental complexities of technical assistance projects. Are there universally applicable, politically uncontroversial operational models for delivering electricity, water, sanitation, transportation infrastructures in developing country contexts? Is there a role for cross-sectoral debate on in technical assistance projects? What roles public, private and civil society interests play in successful construction, maintenance and operation of such projects?

Daedalus' End forces students to question the ipso facto universal applicability of technical solutions in developing country contexts. Its immersive roleplay and environmental simulation will help students to break through the traditional boundaries of thinking and look at development civil engineering issues from a more holistic and ethically sensitive perspective. At the same time, students will not learn about technical ideals and holistic ethics in a politically unrealistic context. Rather, Daedalus' End will emphasise that in the context of the realpolitik of development, there are very rarely short cuts or completely agreeable paths to equitable and sustainable development; there are only imperfect solutions.

Copyright 2002, MIT.