assessed anintegrated student project that is the overarching theme of engineering curriculumcontextualization at sophomore level. The project is part of the Sophomore Unified CoreCurriculum for Engineering Education (SUCCEEd) program, funded by the National ScienceFoundation that seeks to integrate classes in the engineering core curriculum. The paperdescribes a house remodeling project that is used to integrate four lower division engineeringcore courses, namely, statics, programming, matrix algebra and CAD, and how it can be used tomeet soft skills required by ABET. The manuscript concludes by including program assessmentand recommendations based on what has been learned during project implementation.IntroductionThis article describes the
., & Giralt, F. (2013). Assessment of Engineering Students’ Leadership Competencies. Leadership and Management in Engineering, 13(2), 65-75.21. Passow, H. (2012). "Which ABET Competencies Do Engineering Graduates Find Most Important in their Work?" Journal of Engineering Education, 101(1), 95-118.22. Phani, C.S. (2007, January 8). The top 60 soft skills at work. Retrieved September 8, 2013, from Redif News: http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2007/jan/08soft.htm.23. Posner, B. Z. (2010). Psychometric Properties of The Student Leadership Practices Inventory Retrieved Sept. 15, 2010, from http://media.wiley.com/assets/2232/98/StudentLPIPsychometricProperties_2010.pdf.24. Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (2014). About Complete
,such as analytical skills, are effectively acquired in college, other competencies needed fortoday’s and tomorrow’s engineers are lagging behind [10, 12].Cross-disciplinary Competencies and Self-Directed Lifelong LearningTo date, there is a strong move across many nations to include multi-disciplinary competenciesand soft skills into the engineering curriculum (e.g., [13, 14, 15]). Skills developed in humanitiesclasses help boost awareness of the need for multi-faceted requirements faced by professionals inthe real-world working on ill-structured issues or questions. However, this is only one of theaspects that would help professionals adapt and grow after college.Students enter and often leave college as dependent learners who used to rely on
PRACTICES COURSE FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING1. AbstractThe coverage of ethics and professionalism in engineering and computer science programs hasbecome standard since ABET incorporated these and other “soft skills” as student outcomes inEngineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) and Computing Accreditation Commission(CAC) accreditation criteria. Many programs have chosen to incorporate these topics in variouscourses across the curriculum while others have developed standalone courses. The Universityof Texas at Arlington (UTA) Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) Department offersABET accredited programs in computer engineering, computer science, and softwareengineering. Initially, the department chose to cover
engineers and engineering students – had bought intothe stereotype. And if they had, would they assume this perceived lack of social skillswould carry over to their ability to give an oral presentation? Would the audiencemembers suspect the presenters of not having as much technical knowledge or skill astheir peers if they appeared to not fit the stereotype? Would they feel the presenters wereperhaps relying on “soft” skills to hide their lack of technical skills? The authors of this Page 26.571.5paper had heard this stereotype often enough that we felt it was worth investigating.A number of responses from audience members provide
linkage of research and teaching in academicwork makes university education distinctive (it was beneficial for the two departments theauthors are affiliated with). Moreover, it certainly helped generating additional researchoutput/knowledge creation and strengthened pathways to postgraduate research (we are currentlyworking on two IEEE Transactions journal papers as a result of such creation). Finally, webelieve our deeply-embedded security research and teaching integration helps develop student asknowledge worker, and engages them in concept of the provisionality of existing knowledge.Deeply-embedded systems methodology, hard skill, and soft skill teaching goals were evaluatedfor graduate students working in the related research area (through
Teaching, Education, Engineering and Technological LiteracyAbstractIn 2010 James Trevelyan [1] argued on the basis of studies of the work that engineers do thatthe engineering curriculum required to pay more attention to the development of what havecome to be known as “soft skills”, as for example communication and the ability to performeffectively in teams. He noted that engineering courses that taught communication treatedcommunication “only as information transfer” when what was required was a comprehensivedevelopment of social interaction skills. He thought that this could be achieved if studentswere given the opportunity to teach in their courses because “education, like engineeringpractice, relies on special kinds of social interactions
andEydgahi (n.d.) approach this issue as it relates to curricula, by recognizing that non-STEM fields such as Social Sciences andHumanities “emphasize more on ‘soft skills’ and ‘social service’ and as such have naturally embraced ‘service-learning’” (p. 1). As aresult, integrating academic fields with “service-learning” that emphasizes, “‘technical’ and ‘scientific’ skills such asEngineering…[is] rare”33. Another difference in the definition of service learning provided through an evaluation of Jacoby (1996), who defines servicelearning as a “form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs togetherwith structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and
is acomponent where soft skills were developed12. The project was an open-ended problem whereteam members had to think about safety and functionality, and at the same time team membersdeveloped and applied skills on teamwork, project planning, economics, and communication7.The key difference was the domain where the students had to develop their project, the projectwas not a typical application of what they have learned in their coursework, but at the same timethis project presented the opportunity to illustrate a common situation that students will be facedonce they apply (and get) a technical job. It brings to light one of the message that are usuallyoffered in design courses where open-ended and different application domains are
havingthe requisite educational qualifications and strong research experience, the instructor should alsoknow how to effectively communicate with students of various backgrounds and academicpreparations. Roberts et. al. studied and presented observations from three different instructors Page 26.914.2promoting student learning paradigm and soft skills that were balanced with syllabus. Theyobserved that syllabus needs to be accompanied by real-world examples and the most importantlessons such as teamwork, leadership, initiative critical thinking and problem solving learned bystudents were not in syllabus. 1 Swartz has reported recommendations
includes at least 1 or 2 open-ended design projects to give studentsa feel for the type of problems that students solve as engineers. The introductory courses are 2credits and run as some combination of 1 or 2 lectures per week and 2 hours of lab. What thestudents called “soft skills” or “fluff” such as how to get around campus, student clubs andorganizations, et cetera, would be covered by a series of videos that students would watch ontheir own. Topics such as engineering ethics and economics are covered in other requiredcourses. Time management and use of the student tutoring services are integrated into each of thefirst-year electives.Model 2: Skills Modules. The second course model recommended by the committee requires first-year
, and then advance quickly with the use of programming andsimulation tools. Hands-on milling and turning practices are the essential part of this course.Student teams design and fabricate a number of real-world machining projects at the end of thesemester.This course is one of the best engineering courses in order to implement the innovation,leadership, and entrepreneurship concepts in the entire curriculum, and it challenges students tograsp a number of industrial soft skills such as problem solving, team work, and analyticalthinking.Although some of the course students find jobs as programmers, machine operators, tooldesigners, and manufacturing engineers, the number of students with a mindset in creating jobswith the latest trends supports
the technology. The multidisciplinarynature of BIM training makes it a natural fit for a polytechnic institution where all expertisecould be brought together to train professionals with BIM expertise for industry. A polytechnic institution attracts a diverse group of life-long learners through a practical,hands-on, and outcomes-based approach to education [20]. For training professionals in the BIMdomain with the appropriate skillset that the industry needs, an institution has to be a hub of thetechnical and soft-skills that are required. As an emerging academic discipline, BIM is an area where industry needs skilledprofessionals at both provincial and national levels; and the needs are expected to grow in thefuture. The context
students improvetheir writing while still covering normal course content. Needless to say, students struggle withtrying to meet standards they have yet to be taught or had the opportunity to practice. The writingguide is meant to help alleviate this problem by offering consistent guidance for studentsbeginning at the freshman year and continuing throughout the degree program.Simply providing the students with the writing guide, however, will most likely not be enough todrastically improve their communication skills. Faculty must also demonstrate to students theimportance of developing these skills as they relate to a successful career in engineering.6 Socalled “soft skills” such as communication, teamwork, information seeking and
of the future will have dif-ferent attributes than the stereotypical 20th century engineer. These attributes include the technicalknowledge that all engineers should have and are included in traditional engineering curricula, andother characteristics related to what have often been called soft skills or professional attributes,including communication, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills.” To help instill an entrepreneurialmindset, Kern Family Foundation established a network of colleges called the Kern Entrepreneur-ship Education Network (KEEN) in 2005. Gonzaga University is one of the 19 colleges in KEEN,and it views the entrepreneurial mindset as a critical need in undergraduate engineering education.Considering students in our CS 1 is
Page 26.1001.4able to do which resulted in eleven desirable outcomes, no matter what the discipline. Thecriteria can be divided into two categories: “hard skills” and “soft skills” or what is becomingincreasingly better known as “people skills”. Six of the eleven outcomes address the people skillsincluding (Shuman et al., 2005):• an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams• an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility• an ability to communicate effectively• the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global,economic, environmental and societal context• a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in lifelong learning• a knowledge of contemporary issuesWhile curriculums
] has been gaining popularity and holds the promise of cultivating the desired competency forfuture workforce with breadth and depth [16]. Project-based learning allows students to buildknowledge [17], develop critical thinking, creativity [18] and a number of soft skills (e.g. leadershipand communication) [19]. Aside from student learning process, project-based learning alsoredefines and transforms the role of the instructor. Instead of being the point of authority andsource of solution, the instructor in project-based learning works as a mentor and/or an expertconsultant who helps students formulate their own strategies towards the accomplishment ofproject goals with open-ended, heuristic suggestions while avoid offering the “answer key
describing design-centric engineeringprojects (DCPs), which we have developed and are in the process of refining. Our DCPsemphasize context-oriented, design-focused coursework, with a strong focus on teamwork andcollaboration. We feel that development of professional “soft” skills and design expertise areachievable through project-based learning (PBL). Our development efforts draw from the currentpedagogical literature on PBL, particularly that pertaining to electrical and computer engineeringeducation.7–10 We are especially interested in efforts related to electrical power engineering.11, 12 Page 26.1515.2For PBL, instructors introduce a relevant
; providing the following feedback. “Overall, based on responses to text-entry questions, the interns reported experiences that were beneficial in two key areas: work experience and education. Interns and fellows were able to gain valuable technical/field-related experience as well as experience in business areas not available to them in the classroom setting. This included professional networking, project management, and soft skills. They were able to leverage the experience to secure other non-SEIP internships or to gain full-time employment in the industry. Interns/fellows also indicated that the program enhanced community awareness around energy issues.” 11When the interns (n=215) were asked, “To what extent do you feel that
study usedtheir reflection as an opportunity to suggest improvements for WIC, present ideas for futurechallenges or express personal preference for one type of WIC competition over another. The author’s personal skills at communication in a team environment also potentiallybiased the analysis process.References[1] Robles, Marcel M. (2012). Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today’s Workplace. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly December 2012 vol. 75 no. 4 453- 465[2] ABET (2015) Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs 2015 – 2016. General Criterion 3. Student Outcomes. Retrieved from: http://www.abet.org/eac-criteria-2015-2016/[3] Association of American Colleges &
, “Engineers Learn ‘Soft Skills the Hard Way’: Planting a Seed of Leadership in Engineering Classes,” Leadership and Management in Engineering, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 18–24, 2007.[2] P. Galloway, “Engineering Education Reform,” in The 21st-Century Engineer: A Proposal for Engineering Education Reform, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2007, pp. 46–51.[3] B. Ahn, M. F. Cox, J. London, O. Cekic, and J. Zhu, “Creating an Instrument to Measure Leadership, Change, and Synthesis in Engineering Undergraduates,” Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 103, no. 1, pp. 115–136, Jan. 2014.[4] S. S. K. W. Fakeh, M. S. Shahibi, A. Jamaludin, M. R. Rahim, J. Paiman, and Z. Ibrahim, “Understanding Leadership Values Among Under Graduate Students in UITM
, manufacturinggraduates are expected to have soft skills such as communication, leadership, and teamwork5. Inaddition, manufacturing engineers have to deal with multidisciplinary technical skills set such as Page 26.1442.5those from electrical, mechanical, chemical, and electronics engineering and computer sciencefields to be able to work on the shop floor. Similarly, for manufacturing planning, graduates needto acquire supply chain management and logistics skills sets. For example, Mohammed et al6.present a Manufacturing Engineering Technology (MfgET) program of a major university innorth east Indiana which provides their graduates with solid knowledge and
instructional landscape foster possibilities forconnection and collaboration that the traditional classroom precludes, as a wider network existsbeyond the brick and mortar classroom. The Accelerate curriculum enhances these possibilitiesby relying on a broad-based philosophy of course integration that obfuscates abiding distinctionsbetween “hard” and “soft” skills, blends liberal and technical subjects, and—perhaps, mostimportantly—combines a range of populations, talents, and experiences to produce the nextgeneration of engineers. At the heart of the program lie six conceptual strands, or “grandthemes.” Developed in the fall semester of 2014 by Accelerate faculty and administrators, thesethemes reflect and inform the overall mission of integration
business. In this business you are hired for your technical skills, fired for your lack of people skills and promoted for your management skills”.There is no specific undergraduate course dedicated to business development at theConstruction Science Program at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The author makesall the efforts to integrate leadership, business development and other soft skill topics to corecourses.The paper covers the integration of business development topic to the Project Managementcourse. It highlights the scope of the course content. The perception of the students towardsbusiness development was tested with a pre-survey questionnaire before the instruction of thetopic. The same survey questionnaire was conducted
Construction Management Education‖, InternationalProceedings of the 49th Annual Conference, Associated Schools of Construction, San Luis Obispo, California, April4. Badger, W. W., Walsh, K., & Mayo, R. (2005). Leadership and goal-setting in construction education. InProceedings of Construction Research Congress.5. Kumar, S., & Hsiao, J. K. (2007). Engineers learn ―soft skills the hard way‖: Planting a seed of leadership inengineering classes. Leadership and Management in Engineering, 7(1), 18-23.6. ASCE, The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025, ASCE, Reston, VA.7. ASCE, Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century – Preparing the Civil Engineer for the Future, 2 ndEdition, 20088. Skipper, C. O., & Bell, L. C. (2006
: The key to breakthrough changes, How teaming can harness collective knowledge", Hospital Material Management Quarterly, Aug 1999, 21(1), pp. 7-12.[24] U. Rutz. C. Blaney, and G. Stephanie, “Attitude toward teamwork and effective teaming”, Performance Management, 2004, 10(7), pp. 145-151.[25] D. Petkovic, et al., “Work in progress—e-TAT: Online tool for teamwork and “soft skills” assessment in software engineering education”, Proc., 40th FIE Conference, Oct 27-30, 2000, Washington DC, Session S1G.[26] T. Hillburn and W. Humphrey, “Teaching teamwork”, IEEE trans on Software, Sep/Oct 2002, pp. 72-77.[27] P. L. Hirsch and A. F. McKenna, “Using reflection to promote teamwork understanding in engineering design education”, Mudd Design
drive thedevelopment of the program. He/she will need to overcome inevitable resistance from facultywho are concerned that the inclusion of “soft” skills will detract from the classic, technologyfocused engineering curriculum. Further, there needs to be a high level of institutional supportfrom within the college, and even within the university. A new program in leadership willrequire funding as well as capable and experienced faculty. It may also be perceived asencroaching on turf that has a home in the business or psychology schools. These road-blockswill call on the zealot to navigate a successful path. StormingDuring the storming phase, achieving agreement on the learning objectives and pedagogy isessential. The key is to develop a
- Page 26.787.3professionalism, 3.1.9 - ethics and equity, and 3.1.12 - life-long learning1. These new objectivesresulted in the inclusion of the discourse on sustainability and social learning and an in-depthdiscussion of integrative skills (a.k.a. “soft” skills).The New First-Year CourseLater we developed a first-year course with a theme of sustainability, APSC 176: EngineeringCommunication. Its objectives are to provide students with research, critical thinking andadvanced communication skills necessary for success in the study and practice of globalengineering.We believe that a first-year communication course is uniquely positioned for integratingeducation on sustainability (ESD) with graduate attributes. APSC 176: EngineeringCommunication
engineering faculty.” This could be in part becausethere are a limited number of studies that provide recommendations related to the design,implementation and evaluation of effective engineering study abroad programs. Anotherexplanation for the lack of participation identified in her literature review is cost. However, shenoted that the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology supports study abroadexperiences because they assist students with developing the “soft skills needed to function inmultidisciplinary teams.” One of the challenges that she identified was that very few studyabroad program opportunities exist in engineering disciplines. This could be in part becausefaculty believe that their work on study abroad programs does not
skills before graduation. The term people skills for professionals (synonymous with social skills, or soft skills) refer to a collection of skills including: Communication skills (verbalization, listening, writing, reading) Creativity in professional settings Adaptability to situations encountered on the job Collaboration (teaming) skills Leadership skills. So, people skills for professionals are about working with and relating to other people encountered at work. There are two lines of thought about development of those skills in engineering students: Each student has a Myers-Briggs personality type, and their particular type dictates the ease or difficulty they will encounter as an entry