Abstract
In the area of engineering education academic and professional persistence are linked to a strong identity. Research in this area, for several years, has focused on a particular aspect of engineering education focusing on professional identity formation. Identity formation is influenced by culture because societal beliefs, norms and rituals shape an individual's self and way of thinking. Therefore, it is important to continuously improve engineering education by equipping students with the best ways of identity formation in their chosen profession. This goal can only be achieved if a clear understanding is established on how cultural factors influence engineering identity development. It is difficult to measure both engineering identity and culture, because they are both complex and multifaceted. The different characteristics that comprise culture can be analyzed with the help of theoretical cultural frameworks. This paper provides a summary of various cultural frameworks, such as Edward T. Hall's three cultural dimensions and Geert Hofstede's six cultural dimensions. Additionally, existing concepts of engineering identity and its formation arc examined to initiate the integration of these cultural frameworks and cultural survey methodologies to develop a conceptual model for culturally centered engineering identity formation schemas. This study is suited for both practitioners and researchers in industrial engineering, technical management, and engineering education.