Designing for Becoming in Engineering Education

February 16th, 2026

By Sue Huffman, Learning Experience Designer

The theme of FOLC Fest 2026 was “Changing Futures.” By the end of the conference, I found myself thinking less about the future and more about who our students are — and who they are becoming — today. Throughout the sessions, three themes kept resurfacing for me: relational intelligence, becoming, and the importance of the present moment — the now.

Relational Intelligence.

A Thursday keynote challenged the idea that intelligence is purely cognitive. What if the next form of intelligence is relational? In engineering education, we often ask, Can students do this? But I’m starting to ask a different question in my design work: Should they? And who is affected by their decisions? As instructional designers, we help shape assignments, projects, and assessments. Are we building in opportunities for students to consider collective wellbeing, long-term impact, and ethical weight? AI can optimize and produce elegant outputs, but it cannot feel the consequences of a bridge design, an algorithm, or a system failure. Our students can — and should.

Becoming.

During the student panel, I was struck by the idea that students are not just acquiring skills. They are becoming someone. Every course contributes, in small ways, to their professional identity. When I sit down with faculty to discuss Bloom’s taxonomy and learning objectives, I now want to layer in another question: Who is this course helping students become? An engineer who can calculate efficiently? Or one who feels connected and responsible to people and living systems? Frameworks like ICAP remind me that interactive, social learning isn’t just about deeper cognition — it’s also about identity formation and belonging.

The Now.

We talk constantly about preparing the “engineer of 2030.” But students are living in the now. The student panel gently reminded us that their present experiences — belonging, stress, curiosity, agency — matter. Sessions on storytelling, accessibility, and learner experience reinforced that inclusive, engaging design helps students build resilience in challenging content. As I move forward, I’m adding new questions to my design conversations: Where do students see themselves in this work? How does this assignment connect to something human and immediate?

I don’t have a fully formed framework yet. I don’t have research citations for every instinct. But I am convinced these questions matter. I’m beginning to see that learning experiences don’t just build knowledge and skills — they quietly shape identity. Maybe they are, in many ways, growing experiences: spaces where students practice who they’re becoming.

_{Author’s Note: This article was drafted with the assistance of a generative AI tool to support wording and formatting; content generated by AI has been reviewed and approved by the author.}

References

Arizona State University. (2026, February 5–6). Future of Learning Community (FOLC) Fest 2026 [Conference]. https://folcfest.asu.edu/

Hau, I. C. (2026, February 5). The next intelligence [Keynote address]. Future of Learning Community Fest, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States. https://folcfest.asu.edu/2026-agenda

Future of Learning Community. (2026, February 6). The future starts with us: Student voices on changing futures [Panel discussion]. Future of Learning Community Fest, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States. https://folcfest.asu.edu/2026-agenda

Learning and Teaching Hub. (n.d.). Fulton Schools of Engineering Learning and Teaching Hub. https://lth.engineering.asu.edu/