Course Overview
Engineers often face subtle yet significant ethical challenges in their professional roles—especially when balancing business pressures with public trust. This workshop dives into common conflict-of-interest scenarios, such as dual employment, financial entanglements, and misuse of privileged information. Participants will explore how professional codes of ethics can guide decision-making and how perceptions of ethical behavior can differ between sectors.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify and analyze common conflicts of interest in engineering and technical professions.
- Apply professional codes of ethics to real-world dilemmas and evaluate appropriate responses.
- Understand how ethical behavior is perceived differently in public versus private sector environments.
Who Should Attend?
- Licensed Professional Engineers seeking to meet ethics training requirements.
- Architects and technical professionals involved in procurement, contracting, or project oversight.
- Public and private sector professionals navigating complex stakeholder relationships.
Course Outline
During this ethics workshop you will:
- Discuss a range of common conflicts of interest that professionals may encounter in their roles
- Explore the importance of recognizing these potential conflicts and how they may be perceived differently by private and public sector firms
- Examine professional codes of ethics and how these guiding documents provide greater clarity when facing ethical dilemmas
- Evaluate real case examples of ethics problems
Instructor
Laura Grossenbacher
Laura Grossenbacher, PhD, is the Director of the Technical Communication Program in the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has been teaching courses in engineering communication for over twenty years. Dr. Grossenbacher has been an active member of the Association for Practical and Profession Ethics, serving as a judge at the National Ethics Bowl Intercollegiate Competition for several years. She has served a three-year rotation as an NSF proposal reviewer for the Ethics in Engineering and Science Education panel, and actively develops cases for her undergraduate capstone course, Contemporary Issues in International Engineering.
Upcoming dates (2)
PE Ethics Workshop
Location: Online
Course #: RA01666-D698
Fee: $195
interpro.wisc.edu/RA01666
Fee
- $195
-
The Dec 5, 2025 course subject is:
PE Ethics Workshop: Ethical Considerations in Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater
Fee covers course materials, live online instruction, and certificate.
Discounts
When three or more sign up from same employer, your course fee is $175.
10% Discount for Madison City and Dane County Water Utilities employees. Your department affiliation will be verified.
Credits
- CEU: .2
- PDH: 2
Schedule
Event Date/Time:
12/5/2025 11:00am - 1:00pm Central Time
Course Notes
The Dec 5, 2025 course subject is:
PE Ethics Workshop: Ethical Considerations in Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater
This workshop is appropriate for Engineers from all backgrounds, but will utilize interesting and relevant case studies and scenarios in the Civil/Environmental Engineering and Water/Wastewater fields. Subjects covered may different from what is described on this webpage and will focus on ethics questions especially relevant to Civil and Environmental Engineers.
This course is taught online using the Canvas and Zoom platforms. A UW NetID is required to access the online course. Your registration confirmation email will walk you through the NetID process and how to access the Canvas course website.
Please watch the email address you provided during registration for instructional material release dates and pre-course information. Check your spam folder if you do not see your confirmation or UW (@wisc.edu) communication emails.
Instructor
Laura Grossenbacher
Location
This is an online course.
Topic:
Cancellation Policy
Once you have accessed the online course, no cancellations or refunds are permitted.
PE Ethics Workshop
Fee
- $195
-
Fee covers course materials, online instruction, and certificate.
Discounts
When three or more sign up from same employer, your course fee is $175 per person.
Credits
- CEU: .2
- LU: 2
- PDH: 2
Schedule
Students work through online course modules in their own time and at their own pace.
Instructor
Laura Grossenbacher
Location
This is an online course.
Topic:
Cancellation Policy
Once you have accessed the online course, exam and/or materials, no cancellations or refunds are permitted.