Paper ID #37619The Development of Career Resilience for Early Career Engineers inChina: A Grounded Theory StudyMr. Lichao Ma, Tsinghua University Lichao MA, male, PhD. student, Division of Engineering Education Research Tsinghua University. His scholarship focuses on higher education policy and management, engineering education. He is devoted to understanding and facilitating Chinese higher engineering education reform, through which he expects to cultivate engineers who can demonstrate innovation, resilience, social competency, responsibility and ethics. His research is published with journals like The Asia-Pacific
]. Addressing systemicinequities can be challenging in any profession, but particularly so when members are socializedto think of themselves as free agents, unencumbered by social structures [2,3]. Our paperexamines the prevalence of agentic and structural explanations of career mobility among 952Canadian engineers who responded to a national engineering career path survey. We found that49.3% of racialized men, 71.6% of white women, 75.6% of racialized women and 68.0% ofLGBTQ2SI+1 engineers, compared to only 26.3% of white men, believed their social locationhad impacted their careers suggesting that individuals who are relatively under-represented in theengineering profession are more inclined to view their social location as a non-neutral feature
perspectives on post-graduation life. The study intends to investigate whetherthe videos can improve students’ understanding of the realities of early career engineering andcan promote their ability to visualize their future professional selves. The study includes a pre-survey, video viewing, a post-survey, and semi-structured interviews with some of theparticipants. This paper presents some data from the post-survey.This paper focuses on the impact of the video series as a means of communication from thealumni speakers to the student viewers. The paper presents scholarship on the use of videos ineducation and other fields. As a medium, the video series can convey representational rolemodeling as it delivers content. Preliminary data from 121
identity has changedthroughout the years, based on my academic experience and societal impact. My first exposure to the engineering profession was through a close relative, who worked as anengineering technologist for a small consulting firm. My initial impression of their work was thatthey mainly worked individually, performing calculations and creating technical drawings. Iinitially did not want to be an engineer, based on my lack of interest in architectural drawingsand external pressures to choose a more “feminine” profession, like teaching or nursing. A visitto the local university for their yearly Women in Engineering Day introduced me to differentsides of engineering, which drew me to a career in electrical engineering. At the time, my
authors, but to ensure that the lead authors (who, both early in their careers asengineering educators, generally have more to gain professionally from the publication of thispaper) took on the majority of the labor. In fact, the affordance of narrative control was asurprising by-product of this decision, and one which the lead authors did not feel entirelycomfortable with, especially early in the process. Jacque and Morgan often remarked that the actof synthesizing highly personal experiences of their co-authors was challenging, as they did notwish to overinterpret or misrepresent the experiences of others in service of the narrative. Thoughthis awareness alone does not eliminate the risk that the experiences of authors (particularlystudent
PathwaysEngineering education is typically described using a “pipeline” metaphor, wherein students are shuffledalong pre-determined pathways toward a narrow set of career outcomes. However, several decades ofresearch have shown that this pipeline model does not accurately describe engineering trajectories andmay exclude students who enter the pipeline at different times and have other career outcomes in mind.Similarly, qualitative studies have shown that normative identities in engineering feature masculinestereotypes such as “geeks” and “nerds” that reproduce technical/social dichotomies. Several studies havesuggested that broadening the expected outcomes and identities in engineering to include “alternative”pathways and identities may contribute to a shift
is an important and complex site of negotiationbetween control and care: how do lab principal investigators (PIs) create environments that nurturethe development of individual trainees at multiple career stages, while advancing their own careerand research agenda in ways that will satisfy institutional expectations? This is fraught territory,grounded in an academic reward system that prioritizes individual performance. Persistent surveysof STEM trainees struggling with mental health [1], [2] highlight a culture of control linked tomeritocratic systems that can prioritize PI career advancement over the well-being of lab members.This culture is increasingly being challenged, by both trainees and mentors. How to support lableaders invested in
easily as do morefrequently invoked technical considerations. Further demonstrating the necessity ofsociotechnical education, Riley and Sciarra’s case study demonstrates that women inengineering education can benefit from opportunities to grapple with historical legacies relevantto their own experiences and career aims.In this paper, we analyze film representations of the École massacre from the early documentaryAfter the Montréal Massacre (Rogers 1990) to Denis Villeneuve’s 2009 feature dramatizationPolytechnique. We do not find that filmmakers over time have arrived at more comprehensiveaccounts of the tragedy or keener diagnoses of its causes. Instead, each telling becomes furtherremoved from the initial feminist understanding of the events
©American Society for Engineering Education, 2023Learning the impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion modules in an undergraduate electrical engineering classroomAbstract:In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a set of diversity, equity, andinclusion (DEI) based modules, created to be deployed in an introductory computing courseoffered to first year students in our program. Our objective is to ensure that engineeringundergraduate students, who are not historically exposed to DEI content within the engineeringcurriculum, are introduced to these important topics in the context of their technical courseworkand that they understand the relevance of DEI to their careers. We created 6 modules that cover awide range of topics
the University of Toronto. Her research interests include engineering culture, engineering careers in the public sector, and ethics and equity in STEM. Dimpho has several years of experience in thDr. Emily Moore P.Eng., University of Toronto Emily Moore is the Director of the Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (Troost ILead) at the University of Toronto. Emily spent 20 years as a professional engineer, first as an R&D engineer in a Fortune 500 company, and then leadingDr. Andrea Chan, University of Toronto Andrea Chan is a Senior Research Associate at the Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering | University of TorontoMs. Emily Macdonald-Roach, University of Toronto
that many students’ passions (humanitarian work, justice, andenvironmental topics) directly relate to engineering and that their institutions can improve bymaking those connections. Our project differs slightly in that our effort is not to integrate theirpassions into their engineering coursework but to find ways of igniting their curiosity and passionin their liberal arts general education.Education is an endeavor in instrumentalism at the individual level (career attainment) and liberationat the societal level (ideological exploration). Liberty, freedom, and intellectual agility are commongoods requiring sound judgment; sound judgment requires breadth of understanding and curiosity.This work attempts to understand curiosity among first-year
, speaking, listening; managing process; adapting approach to circumstances; persuading and influencing others) 3. Teams and Groups a. Coordination, cooperation, collaboration b. Multidisciplinary teams, knowledge integration c. Negotiation and conflict management d. Relationship between individual capabilities and group functioning 4. Identity and Culture a. Duality/sociotechnical differentiation (technical/nontechnical; either/both; simplistic/complex; deterministic/contingency) b. Stage of career/role in organization c. “Typical/average engineer” as leader/entrepreneur (norm vs. exceptional)4.3 Topic Models Tables 2-4 display the
governance practices in higher education. His research interests include renewable energy, females in engineering, and quality assurance and governance. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025Female engineering academics in the Global North and South: An exploration oflanguage of instruction, using Story Circles and Focus GroupsAbstractSustainable and inclusive development would benefit from an increase in female visibilityand leadership in the field of engineering. Particularly in the Global South, engineering iscrucial to development, and increasingly attractive to female students, but intersectionalbarriers restrict employment / career advancement. Our earlier research, published by ASEEin 2016 [1
research interests related to technology and society, gender diversity and engineering education.Dr. Susanna Maria Bairoh, Academic Engineers & Architects in Finland TEK Susanna Bairoh holds a Doctor of Science (Economics) degree from Hanken School of Business and a Master of Social Science degree from University of Helsinki. She works as Research Manager at TEK (Academic Engineers & Architects in Finland) and is responsible for leading and managing TEK’s research activities and the research team. Through her research, she aims at improving gender equality, diversity and inclusion in technology workplaces and careers. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Perceived
engineers who worked on the SE3 committee, I heard similar reports about how theirfirms viewed this committee work relative to work on technical committees (like the SeismologyCommittee or the Existing Building Committee), which work to develop codes, standards, ormitigation strategies using the latest developments in research. While those involved in SE3noted the benefits that their involvement had to the career, they were not necessarily recognizedin terms of advancement in their firms for this work.Various interlocutors let me know that their work heading SE3 was valuable in terms of makingconnections with others and the work was well-regarded among others in the professionalorganization that shared the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion
profession. As engineering educationfaculty, students, and support practitioners, we are engaging in a collaborative inquirymethodology to examine engineering education programs, recruitment, and curricula, andengineering career pathways to identify key practices that hinder learning about and workingtowards Solidarity Engineering. This work-in-progress presents a broad outline of work we areundertaking to explore what we call the “re-engineering” of both engineering education and ofpotential career pathways. Through our work, we hope to identify a broad set ofsolidarity-focused examples and methods. Further, we hope this paper inspires a largerconversation about how the engineering profession can reframe its ways of engaging within theworld to
to tell a story, write a reflection, follow provided prompts, or write a commentary.Contributors were given a series of prompts, that they could use formally, informally, or choosenot to use. They were told to write in a way that was meaningful to them, reflected who theywere, and how they wanted to communicate to other people. There are five reflections includedin this paper, but we had a total of 11 conversations with potential participants. Each of theseindividuals was enthusiastic about the vision and goal for the paper. However, six were unable tocommit to contributing to this paper. The reasons given for not participating included funding,discomfort being this transparent, concerns regarding career stability, and other reasons
computerengineering portion. Typical course topics in the materials and mechanical engineering portionof the course included: metals and atoms, hardness testing, microstructures and properties,Hooke’s Law, and the design of trusses. Typical course topics in the electrical and computerengineering portion included Ohm’s Law, the resistor color code, equivalent resistance, power,digital logic, ASCII, and concepts regarding computer programming like basic variables andconditional statements. In addition to these technical topics, professional orientation toengineering was addressed with lectures on career opportunities, resume development, etc.Centered on preliminary topics in computer, electrical, materials, and mechanical engineering,past versions of EG 101
solvingsocial issues [24] and helping people [25], and are more likely to pursue engineering because ofsocial motivations [5],[26]. Women are typically more interested in engineering disciplines thatprovide more real-world, contextualized learning opportunities [27], so engineering courses thathighlight the social aspects of engineering may help female students to see engineering as asuitable career for them. Second, engineering graduates would better understand the importanceof considering the social aspects of engineering and the societal implications of engineeringwork. This would better prepare them for a career industry where they will be (1) makingdecisions that impact people [1] and (2) interacting and collaborating with others [28]-[30].One
representation comprises a mere 1% of graduateengineering degrees, underscoring the “imperative need to further engage women andunderrepresented minorities in engineering” (p. 49).In part thanks to support from the NSF in the form of a Major Research Instrumentation grant, anNSF Faculty Early Career (CAREER) award, and a Partnership for Research and Education inMaterials (PREM) Center award, Lozano established a flourishing research program at UTRGVon nanofiber composite materials. Since 2009, the PREM center has involved an estimated 500+students with a 100% graduation rate. As of 2022, PREM had more than 200 peer-reviewedjournal publications with 85% of them featuring an undergraduate coauthor, as well as 20+patents and applications. Lozano stressed
defense industry,interpreted diversely by the student body. Theprevalence of these organizations, as reflected in thestudent quotes, suggests that the Clark School heavilyleans on this network for career opportunities,influencing the perceptions of student’s professionaltrajectories post-graduation, as the following participantquotation captures, “It's for all engineering majors, but it is Figure 7: Image of Corporate Sponsors especially for aerospace, and it's the constant and Military Organizations Associated dilemma and ethical tension about what to do with the Engineering School with all this military-corporate attraction. And I would say that opportunities from the Clark School grow very
specific practices of inclusive pedagogy that faculty might implement to fostergreater belonging in their classrooms.Faculty play an important part in students’ sense of belonging. Rainey et al. [30] found thatwomen “were less likely to feel a sense of belonging” when compared to men and that womenstudents broadly did not feel as though their instructors wanted them to succeed (our previousresearch [3] echoes some of these claims.) However, when faculty emphasized their availabilityand willingness to help students with questions and cultivated an atmosphere of mutual respect,all students experienced a greater sense of belonging [30].In a recent study of early career engineering students [31], students’ self-efficacy and belongingwere examined
in their home countries. For StudentH, astudent from NYCU, for example, the situation improved when he discovered that the topicscovered in the course were closely related to their major and future career as an engineer.During the interview with Shawn when the semester ended, he said: “I would say this courseis quite useful in retrospect. I can easily connect the topics explored back to the real worldand current geopolitics.”12Cultivating “global competency” in a divided worldClearly, NYCU students became more active after the instructors made it clear that classroomperformance would also affect their final grade during the one-on-one sessions with eachstudent. However, the disparity in classroom participation between students from NYCU
theory in engineers’ professional identities,” Leadership, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 351–373, 2015. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715014543581 [5] How to Change the World, “Transforming Careers for a Sustainable Future,” https://www.howto- change-the-world.org/, Accessed: 02-06-24. [6] J. A. Leydens and J. C. Lucena, Engineering Justice: Transforming Engineering Education and Practice, ser. IEEE PCS Professional Engineering Communication Series. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2017. [7] J. C. Lucena, M. F. Rojas, S. L. Schlezak, and E. Chapman, “Beyond uncritical blindness: How critical thinking about engineering for community development could lead to socially responsible and sustainable projects,” in 2023 ASEE
engineering workforce. Angie received an NSF CAREER award in 2021 for her work with student veterans and service members in engineering.Dr. Matthew W. Ohland, Purdue University Matthew W. Ohland is the Dale and Suzi Gallagher Professor and Associate Head of Engineering Education at Purdue University. He has degrees from Swarthmore College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Florida. His research on the longitudinal study of engineering students and forming and managing teams has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Sloan Foundation and his team received for the best paper published in the Journal of Engineering Education in 2008, 2011, and 2019 and from the IEEE Transactions on
spatial skills based upon gender and socio-economic status [16]-[19] whichcould explain gaps in diversity in engineering; however, studies have also shown that spatialskills are malleable [20], which means disparities in graduation rates in engineering can bereduced through spatial skills intervention.Communication Skills in EngineeringOne crucial ability for engineering graduates is communication abilities, including visual, oral,written, and other forms of communication aimed at various audiences. Technicalcommunication skills are critical for engineering graduates’ success as they enter an increasinglyglobalized market and must interact with those from various cultures. The importance ofcommunication for career success is reflected by ABET’s
society. She is particularly interested in developing and implementing interventions to improve mental health related help seeking in undergraduate engineering students. Sarah graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rowan University and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts. She began her academic career as teaching faculty in Chemical Engineering at the University of Kentucky. As an educator, Sarah works to integrate non-cognitive skills such as creativity, social and emotional intelligence, and communication into her courses. Her experience as a teaching faculty member led her to the development of her research in student mental health, resulting in her transition from
. L., Slack, T., & Junqueira, W. (2022a). Factors Impacting Engineering Advanced Degree Pursuit and Attainment Among Black Males. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 28(4), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2021036005Henderson, J. A., Hines, E. M., Davis, J. L., Benjamin, L. S. S., Alarcón, J. D., & Slack, T. (2022b). It’s a Vibe: understanding the graduate school experiences of Black male engineering faculty. Journal for Multicultural Education. https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-01-2022-0013Henderson, T. S., Shoemaker, K. A., & Lattuca, L. R. (2022c). Career calculus: Assessing the psychological cost of pursuing an engineering career. Journal of
engineering culture and applying cognitive load theory in the engineering classroom. He is currently working on an NSF project attempting to improve dissemination of student narratives using innovative audio approaches. Gabe has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Utah State University (USU). ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2024 From Mind Full to Mindful: Proposing Mindfulness as a Proactive Strategy for Safeguarding Mental Health in Engineering EducationAbstractEngineering students are increasingly reporting struggles with stress and mental healthchallenges during their undergraduate careers, yet most will only consider seeking
designed will help STEM instructors across SUNY explore ways to teachwith AI tools toward greater knowledge about its potential to support STEMeducation–while also exploring its pitfalls such as inaccuracy, context-blindness,harmful content (generation), and “knowledge drift” due to AI recycling its owncontent. We call this first dimension “critical AI literacy for effective STEMeducation.” Second, we will support participating faculty to enhance diversity,equity, and inclusion (DEI) by recognizing and mitigating potential harms of AI-integrated science to DEI goals in science education and careers. We call thisdimension “AI-assisted inclusive STEM education.” Scaling up our 2023-24project, we developed and shared video discussions, online games