The Impact of Energy Transition on Engineering Education Across the Globe

This study investigates how mechanical and chemical engineering curricula worldwide are adapting to the energy transition by integrating renewable energy, carbon capture and hydrogen technologies, digitalization/AI, and sustainability. A global survey was distributed to 1000+ universities and directed to academic leaders and curriculum committees; 18 early responses were analyzed and benchmarked against a petroleum-engineering study reporting 82% of programs updated in response to energy expansion. Preliminary results indicate adaptation is underway but uneven: 72.2% of programs report partial integration, 22.2% report full integration, and 5.6% report none, with two-thirds of “partial” adopters at ≤25% curriculum coverage. Change occurs within existing structures (no reported department name changes) and spans multiple tiers: 50% cite updates across BSc + MSc + PhD. By level, BSc emphasizes broad exposure, with Sustainability 83.3%, Renewables 77.8%; MSc shows deeper technical expansion, with Sustainability 66.7%, Renewables 66.7%, CCUS/H₂ 66.7%, AI 44.4%; PhD shifts remain selective, with Renewables 38.9%, AI 38.9%, Sustainability 33.3%, with 44.4% reporting no change. These early signals suggest mechanical/chemical programs are directionally aligned with petroleum's transition topics but lag in depth, especially on CCUS/H₂ at scale and explicit climate content, highlighting the need for ready-to-adopt materials and cross-level coherence to accelerate reform and better prepare engineers for emerging energy demands.