Description: We study learning as a process which opens the possibilities for accruing knowledge and competence. Specifically, we study whether education at Lund University's (LU) Faculty of Engineering (Lund Institute of Technology, LTH) constitutes an affordance for future engineers to contribute to a sustainable development of society. This paper is a preliminary report from the first phase of the study, and focuses the affordance constituted by examination and laboratory exercises in physics at two programmes at the LU/ LTH - Civil Engineering and Ecological Engineering. Methodology: Based on phenomenographic (variation theory) research by Baillie et al, 2000; Booth & Ingerman, 2002; Ingerman & Booth, 2003 and 2004 and phenomenological research by Sages & Szybek, 2000, Johansson & Szybek, 2001 and Szybek, 2002. Video and audio recordings, field notes and documents pertaining to the physics courses will be analysed. . Conclusions: The results so far will be an appraisal of the potential constituted by education with respect to the future tasks of civil engineers and environmental engineers. This may permit us to say something about the development of students' understanding of physics (the personal knowledge object of physics, PKOP, Ingerman and Booth, 2003 och 2004). Ingerman and Booth (op. cit.) found that the development of PKOP results in an integrated structure, where Physics subject matter merges with "the physics of the world". It is the occurrence of this merger, and its potential to result in an integration of social, economic and environmental aspects which we will look for. Also in the focus of study is the development of the staff's view on their teaching, its aims and its forms. In other way, we hope to be able to say something about the professional object of both future engineers and their professors.