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The new global order is requiring that engineers work in concurrent design teams geographically disperse around the world, and that they are designing products and systems which have a broader impact due to the free-trade agreements and globalization effects that are making the national boundaries disappear in the global market. Future engineers will be also challenged to find solutions to problems outside of their social, cultural and economical environment forcing them to make responsible decisions in different settings. Besides that, the rapid development of new technology is changing the society and the environment. The existing design solutions are satisfying immediate demands without considering future consequences. As a result, it is important to start educating students not only to be aware of the world with clear understanding of cross-cultural differences, but also with very high social responsibility and the ability to assess the local and global impact as well as the short and long term impact of their decisions during the design of products, systems and processes. This paper describes the approach used in the freshman Introduction to Engineering Design course to enhance global social responsibility through a collaborative design project carried out in collaboration with students in Latin America.
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