Continuity and adaptability in design and engineering education for a knowledge age

In 2020, the world as we knew it changed, and the organisers and participants of the International Conference on Engineering & Product Design Education (E&PDE) had to adapt to this change through a transition to an online conference. 2020 and 2021 will always be unique years for the conference, not only because they were online, but they were the first to be hosted sequentially by the same university host and the same local conference team. We must thank the team at VIA Design + Business, VIA University College in Denmark for their outstanding efforts and success in delivering the conference. The 22nd and 23rd international E&PDE conferences brought together 126 delegates from over 23 countries for the first time since the COVID pandemic began. 168 papers were published on the themes of The Value of Design & Engineering Education in a Knowledge Age and Continuity and Adaptability in Design and Engineering Education. The E&PDE conference series has been jointly organised and held annually since 1999 by the Design Society Special Interest Group on Design Education and the Institution of Engineering Designers. We celebrate over 20 years of this collaboration and all who have contributed to the conference over the years. Also, we thank those authors who made the journey with us to prepare extended manuscripts for the DATE journal and the reviewers from the E&PDE community who supported the review process. We hope to continue the special relationship between DATE and E&PDE for many years to come. This special edition aims to explore how educators will tackle changing engineering and design practices in the coming years in line with the demands of students and industry. This sentiment comes from a need to share knowledge and experiences in engineering and design education and discuss how barriers might be overcome. In the Knowledge Age, technology and ideas are the main sources of economic growth, and this requires workers with new and different skills. Knowledge is more than what is in the minds of experts or classified within separate disciplines. Knowledge is now defined and valued not only by what it is but also by its potential as a driver for innovation. Within technology education, we should be aware of the future requirements, and support skills development in our students. These changes have major implications for our educational system. We need to empower students to be able to locate, evaluate and work creatively with the knowledge to generate new and improved solutions that can be implemented in practice. These days, we are witnessing a severe environmental crisis that calls for a greener approach for all industries. Digital and technological development offers new alternative ways to work. We experience global challenges of public societies and healthcare systems that demand close attention to risk and uncertainty. These environmental, technological and societal changes and challenges have major implications on our educational system within design and engineering. They impact what we teach, the way we teach and why we teach. We need to educate designers and engineers so that, in addition to being proficiently skilled, they can work in cross-disciplinary teams and can contribute to a dynamic and constantly evolving processes and systems in a fragile and unpredictable world. The special edition was designed to give specific and actionable examples for the Design and Technology Education community. The guest editors Ross and Anne Louise have considered papers from the entire design education experience to give a flavour of the state of the art within the E&PDE community. We aimed to cover the entire design process of Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver, and those aspects important to educators such as course design and feedback. In particular, we have noticed a huge focus on skills and tools discussed at E&PDE, and we have many examples within the special edition. We hope you will enjoy the perspective that we have prepared.