Conference Session

Professional Development and Lifelong Learning

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Serhiy Kovalchuk, University of Toronto; Mona Ghali, University of Toronto; Mike Klassen, University of Toronto; Doug Reeve P.Eng., University of Toronto; Robin Sacks, University of Toronto

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

experience; that many of them value extra-curriculars, and that academic credentials alone cannot explain success or failure in the labor market[8]. The study found that those who were unemployed had less professional work experience andlower levels of engagement in extra-curriculars than those who were employed.Third, internships, cooperatives (henceforth co-ops), and extra-curriculars help to make a successfultransition. Students in Stiwne and Jungert’s study believed that soft skills were better learnedthrough industry placements and extra-curriculars than through academic studies [3]. Industryplacements helped them to gain insights into workplace practice and values and to understand thedifferences between university and the working life

Conference Session

Project-Based Service Learning

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Beverly Jaeger, Northeastern University; Ethan LaRochelle, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

Page 14.597.4of their involvement can be difficult, but initial findings demonstrate that there are a wide rangeof benefits to more appropriately justify the work involved in participating. The project-basedmodel of programs like EWB gives students the opportunity to apply many hard skills while alsoemphasizing the development of soft skills. The major focus of the first-phase survey employedin this study was to identify the impact EWB has on developing soft skills and the second phasesurvey combined both hard-skill and soft-skill inquiries. The coupling of these skill-sets is anecessity for the education of engineers in today’s society making them a more valuable resourcefor the field of employment the students subsequently enter [3

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Paul Duesing; Morrie Walworth; Jim Devaprasad; Ray Adams; David McDonald

used in two junior level engineering labcourses. I. IntroductionIn recent years, there has been considerable discussion and dialog regarding the competency gapsof graduating engineers that need to be filled by educational institutions1. Several professionalorganizations and similar groups have sought input from engineers and managers from industryto determine the skills that employers demand of graduating engineers2-4. The results of thesestudies show that competency gaps in graduates usually fall under the following categories:communication skills, teamwork and interpersonal skills, creative problem solving skills, andleadership5. In general, these skills have been referred to as soft skills

Conference Session

Energy Conversion, Conservation and Nuclear Engineering Division (ECCNE) Technical Session 1

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Huiye Yu, UNSW Sydney; Hua Chai, University of New South Wales; Jayashri Ravishankar, University of New South Wales

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Conservation and Nuclear Engineering Division (ECCNE), Energy Conversion

used to select the data for analysis. Section 4(Data analysis and discussion) presents the results of the study, including a comprehensiveanalysis of the applicants’ educational background and working experience, technicalknowledge, and soft skills. Section 5 (Conclusion and recommendations) summarizes the mainfindings of the study and provides recommendations for future research, along withhighlighting the implications of the research for the field. The findings are expected to guidetertiary engineering educators 1 on what needs to be incorporated into the curriculumframework, so that power system engineering students can be equipped with up-to-dateknowledge and skills that better prepare them for the industry.2 Literature review In the

Conference Session

Curriculum in Telecommunications Engineering Technology

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kim Nankivell, Purdue University, Calumet; Joy Colwell, Purdue University, Calumet; Jana Whittington, Purdue University, Calumet

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

AC 2010-613: PREPARING THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYPROFESSIONALS OF TOMORROW: WHAT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYPROGRAMS CAN DO TO ENSURE THEIR GRADUATES ARE EMPLOYABLEKim Nankivell, Purdue University, CalumetJoy Colwell, Purdue University, CalumetJana Whittington, Purdue University, Calumet Page 15.976.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 Preparing the Information Technology Professionals of Tomorrow: What Information Technology Programs Can Do to Ensure Their Graduates Are EmployableAbstractIt is well understood that technical graduates need more than technical skills to be professionallyemployed; they also need the so-called “soft skills

Conference Session

The Critical First Year in Engineering Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jamie Medoff, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Anne Spence, University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

areas, particularly communication and teaching skills. Ina report entitled Education and Careers 2000: Enhanced Skills for engineers, these “softskills” were reported as fundamental to industry as the engineering skills taught incollege. “The message from industry leaders is that young graduate engineers arriving attheir companies do not possess skills in either the quality or quantity required. Theseextra skills include written and oral communication…”1In a study at the Michigan Technological University, professors were placed in industrysettings for a short time to determine what successful engineers need in the industry. As aresult, they found that “engineers need a variety of soft and hard skills.” Included inthese soft skills were teaming

Conference Session

Capstone Design in ECE

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mike Borowczak, Erebus Labs; Andrea Carneal Burrows Borowczak, University of Wyoming

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

work looks at the impact of authentic value- added capstone projects on student’s soft skills by comparing results of a multi-year collaboration survey given to multiple senior capstone teams. The observed trends suggest that projects with community impact (irrespective of size or geographic constraint) foster increased communication, participation, and ultimately collaboration.Introduction There is a worldwide push to engage and develop K-12 student interest in Science,Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines1. Some STEM collegiate programs,such as civil and mechanical engineering, seem to have a plethora of incoming and returningstudents.Why?Buildingblocks

Collection

2001 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert Anderson; Paul Duesing; Marty Zoerner; Kevin Schmaltz

educational criteria setforth by the Senior Project Faculty Board (SPFB). In the setting suggested here, failure isnot an option, and the student team must deliver1.The authors of this paper have either coordinated and directed student teams, or haveacted as industrial contacts for one or more teams. The guiding philosophy behind ourindustry-based capstone senior design course sequence includes industry origination, abusiness setting and the teaching of non-technical (soft) skills. Industry projects demandreal solutions, as well as provide actual budgets and definite time constraints. To set abusiness tone, we provide all of the teams with a shared office space (cubicles,computers, phones, etc.), fostering a common work environment and sense

Conference Session

Communication: From Pecha Kucha to Bullets

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Isabel Simões de Carvalho P.E., ISEL, Lisbon, Portugal; Christy Moore, University of Texas, Austin

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

and society’” as well as “globalization and the relatedinternationalization of enterprise.” As a result, one of the crucial challenges facingengineering educators is the need to train future engineers for careers in a multi-faceted,global community that faces enormous energy and environmental problems (NAE, 2005;2008).Unfortunately, as Carol Del Vitto (2008) points out “university engineering programsoften focus on ‘hard’ technical skills” in spite of the fact that “it is becoming increasinglyevident that in order to compete in a global environment” engineering students mustdevelop “soft skills” that will allow them to understand other cultures and respond to thedemands of the global workplace. Researchers such as Grandin (2006) and Camuti

Conference Session

TC2K Issues and Experiences

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

James Higley; Jana Whittington; Joy Colwell

organizationalleadership and supervision programs. During those three years, the faculty members havelearned much about structuring course-embedded assessments and using those assessments forcontinuous improvement in support of program goals and ABET outcomes. This paper willoutline the basic premises and methods of our assessments, then compare data from traditionaland online courses, and discuss how “soft” skills such as teamwork, communication and peerreview, and creative problem-solving can be assessed in both traditional and online courses.Specific data from engineering technology, computer graphics technology, and organizationalleadership and supervision will be discussed, as well as statistical data comparing results fromonline courses and traditional

Collection

2016 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Dixon Y. Nielson

worthy of its’ “required” status.While most believed that being ethical and professional were valuable, they felt: The case studies were too generic, detached from reality, and of little value, The economics discussions were more detailed than they would ever need during their careers, These soft skill capabilities were of little value to them because they will never be in the position of being part of or having to resolve the type of ethical or professional dilemmas presented in class, and They will have a successful career by just being technically competent.Perhaps the most discouraging feedback was that a few students believed teaching anythingrelated to business in an engineering

Conference Session

College-Industry Partnerships Division Poster Session

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Dylan John, Georgia Southern University; Yunfeng Chen, Georgia Southern University; Shahnam Navaee, Georgia Southern University; Weinan Gao, Georgia Southern University

Tagged Divisions

College Industry Partnerships

qualitative interviews with industrypractitioners’ and college students. The list of skill indicators were then validated with literaturereviews and grouped into 4 factors: Soft skills, Technical skills, and Experience and Managerialskills. The skills and groupings were presented for industry practitioner feedback at a researchsymposium prior to conducting the quantitative approach of this study. A survey was developedand tested with a pilot group of industry practitioners. The survey was improved in alignmentwith the feedback received during the pilot study and deployed for data collection. Eachidentified skill indicator was presented with a Likert scale, for industry feedback on theperceived importance in STEM related industries. The mean value was

Conference Session

Student Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sidra Gibeault, California State University, Los Angeles; Joseph D. Iorio, California State University, Los Angeles; Jorge Diego Santillan, California State University, Los Angeles AUV; He Shen, California State University, Los Angeles; Mark Tufenkjian P.E., California State University, Los Angeles

Tagged Divisions

Student

design intent from the organizers for the competition tobe accessible to students at every stage of their college career, whereby there are portions of thecompetition that are simple enough to be completed by a team competing for the first time, withsuccessive tasks of increasing difficulty that will challenge even the most experienced students.Implementation of Robotics Competition at CSULAThe Robosub team at CSULA was founded in 2016, providing a multidisciplinary platform forstudents of all majors and backgrounds to participate in the creation of an autonomous submarinerobot for the annual Robosub competition. Students gain various technical and soft skills, as wellas form lasting relationships with other team members and faculty advisors

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Division (ENT) Poster Session

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amanda Walls, University of Arkansas; Ishita Tandon, University of Arkansas; Timothy J. Muldoon, University of Arkansas; Jeff Wolchok, University of Arkansas; Mostafa Elsaadany, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Division (ENT)

incorporationof entrepreneurial engagement and the development of students’ “entrepreneurial mindsets”.Entrepreneurship in the engineering curriculum promotes the development of soft skills, businessknowledge, and the ability to create innovative solutions for “real-world” applications andcustomers – many of the skills that students feel they lack as they work towards their degrees. Inturn, students who participate in entrepreneurial activities in their engineering programs havebeen found more likely to pursue an engineering career post-graduation compared to studentswho have no entrepreneurial experience [6].To stimulate more entrepreneurial involvement within the range of STEM disciplines, theNational Science Foundation (NSF) and the National

Conference Session

Technical Session T1B

Collection

2022 First-Year Engineering Experience

Authors

Charles E. Pierce, University of South Carolina

Tagged Topics

Full Papers

to resolve problems in teams, andbecoming a better leader. In contrast with meeting new people, students often struggled todefine these goals in such a way to make them measurable.Although communication encompasses hard and soft skills, it was included as part of interactingwith others. While some of the communication-related goals were generalized or simplified,most stated or implied social or professional interaction with another person. A few examplesare asking good questions, being able to voice what I am thinking, being more comfortablepresenting to an audience, and learning how to present a proposal and make recommendations.Most (85) of the remaining (114) goals were grouped into the development of hard and soft skillsand abilities

Conference Session

DEED Technical Session 8 - Design Methodologies

Collection

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ashley Huderson, American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Erin Peiffer; Sahar Shamsi; Francisco Plaza; Elizabeth Collins

role. Requiredskills (sourced from O*Net, Burning Glass, the literature, and interpreted from the mappedworkflows) and associated technologies were also mapped for each stage. The tasks, skills, andassociated technologies that were identified are representative but non-exhaustive.Top current skills were selected from O*Net and Burning Glass from those most requested in thelast 12 months. Top growing skills were selected as the skills identified by Burning Glass with thefastest projected growth in the next two years as well as skills identified through recent literature.Since this review focused on mechanical engineers that are product designers, top technical skillssuch as plumbing, and HVAC were removed from the skills list. Soft skills such

Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wael Mokhtar, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2009-2416: INTRODUCING A TWO-SEMESTER RESEARCH COURSE INTHE FRESHMAN YEARWael Mokhtar, Grand Valley State University Assistant Professor, School of Engineering Page 14.798.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2009 Introducing a Two-Semester Research Course in the Freshman YearAbstractEngineering schools have been using capstone projects to introduce the students to ‘real world’applications and break the barrier between theory and practice. It is usually in the form of a two-semester course where the students use the first semester to develop the soft skills needed for theproject in terms of project management and

Conference Session

Design and the Capstone Experience

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Barbara E. Marino, Loyola Marymount University

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

], expanding diversity [5], gainingexperience with industry [6] and even to incorporate service learning into engineering curricula[7]. Mini projects have been implemented in the past for various ends, including ABETassessment [8]. Largely, these courses help to teach the many “soft skills” that students will needin their professional careers.However, there is an additional set of soft skills that students need to succeed in these capstonecourses. To that end, our electrical engineering department has added a senior-level course priorto the capstone course. While such a course shares the learning outcomes with the final seniordesign capstone, this course specifically aims to develop soft skills of working with off-the-shelftechnology so that in the

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Approaches for Enhancing Non-technical Skills

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alistar Erickson-Ludwig, Drexel University ; Rosie Sullivan, Drexel University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

hours of technical coursework leaving little roomto add new courses, especially those that integrate soft skills.1 The workforce demands technicalskills, and the changing work environment and competitive global market also drives demand forteamwork, ethics, problem solving, and communication within the engineering curriculum.1Previous research2 detailed competence in college graduates and the demands of the workplace,but also noted that a skills gap is present between the technical training and experience ofstudents and the responsibilities of the job. Although other researchers3 reported employersatisfaction with employee skills, it is likely that there is still room to improve upon the skillsstudents acquire in their higher education programs

Conference Session

Institutional and Curricular Reform

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pierre Lafleur, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal; Yves Boudreault, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal; Richard Prégent, École Polytechnique de Montréal

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

describe: • contents and assessment modes for each course; • preferred teaching methods for each course; • description of the process of multiple course integration and interaction; • specific support and supervision of the new students; • integrated projects; • other elements to incorporate in the first year, such as internationalization, soft skills (personal and relational), etc.The following figure shows how the 120 credits four years curriculum of our engineeringprograms were distributed before and after the implementation of the new programs. The oldprograms started with a 30 credits common year of mathematics and science courses followedby a block of 60 credits (2 years) of engineering courses coupled with

Conference Session

Capstone/Design Projects: Industrial ET

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Dana Ingalsbe; Jess Godbey

presents the results of his or her project to the faculty ofthe technology department. Students must demonstrate the successful solution to aspecific problem presented in the initial proposal.Upon project completion, the employer assesses the student’s technical and soft skills.The student is also assessed by the faculty advisor (for the written report) and by theentire faculty for the oral presentation. Because of the wide range of project topics thatare covered by the students, the assessment of the students’ skills focuses on the skillsthat should be learned during the core coursework in the Technology curriculum. Theseten courses provide the technical and soft skills that should be evidenced in anysuccessful project experience.V. Feedback

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division WIPS 1: Projects, Teams, and Portfolios

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Aysa Galbraith, University of Arkansas; Heath Aren Schluterman, University of Arkansas; Gretchen Scroggin, University of Arkansas; Latisha Puckett, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs Division (FYP)

students, faculty, and staff at no individual charge [7]. For some offerings, thesevideos are bundled together to form a “LinkedIn Learning Course”. Another option available isto complete a “LinkedIn Learning Pathway”, where several LinkedIn Learning courses withsimilar objectives are combined to create a more in-depth and diverse coverage of a topic. Wedecided on using the LinkedIn Learning Pathways over LinkedIn courses. To promote flexibilityand universal design through choice [8], we offered multiple Learning Pathways to students. Thepathways we chose were centered around traits and tools needed in our current class. 1) Improve Your Teamwork Skills (8 courses, 7h 3m, 260 points) 2) Professional Soft Skills (12 courses, 9h 40m, 304 points

Conference Session

Concurrent Paper Tracks - Session II

Collection

2015 ASEE International Forum

Authors

Patricia A. Sullivan, New Mexico State University; Delia Valles-Rosales, New Mexico State University; Marcelo Augusto Leal Alves, University of São Paulo; Brendan P. Sullivan, New Mexico State University

Tagged Topics

International Forum

. The challenge is to create educational environments that fostercomprehensive training that includes meaningful connections to the real world of work, whilefacilitating the development of self-efficacy beliefs and soft skills all leading to the competencynecessary for the job market and employers’ expectations (Harris, J. G, et al, 2013). As stated byClark (2012), higher education must enhance the employability and work readiness of itsgraduates by helping the students to transfer the knowledge gained in the classrooms intosituations in the labor market (Clark, S. 2012). Employability has been recognized as a lifelongprocess that supports students’ development of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors whichwill enable them to be successful

Conference Session

Track 4 - Session II - Student and Curriculum Development II

Collection

2013 ASEE International Forum

Authors

Abdel F. Isakovic, Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research; Szu Szu F Ling, Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research; Selwa Mokhtar Boularaoui, Khalifa University of Science, Technology & Research; Sara Bashir Timraz; Mualla Kara

Tagged Topics

Student and Curriculum Development

Engineering majors, and followed by the organic chemistry/biochemistrycourse(s), and by the fact that no modern (20th century-themed) science class existed inKUSTAR’s College of Engineering curriculum at the time of building up this lab and the course. Further, this lab program has been motivated by the need to increase the focus ondeveloping students’ competencies and professional skills/soft skills. In recent years, globalcompetency has been introduced as an important “soft” skill2,3 that engineering graduates shouldacquire along the training through a standard engineering curriculum. This trend and suggestionsfor attempting to standardize the “criteria for global competence” of engineering graduates are

Conference Session

Lab Experiments & Other Initiatives

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Ali Sekmen

: Page 10.801.2 “Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education” 1. Students do not develop the technical and soft skills that industries need for immediate employment. 2. Student learning assessment is limited. The instructor is usually the only person who assesses the students learning. 3. Students develop limited professionalism skills since the project participants are limited to the instructor and students. 4. Students sometimes do not get motivated since they cannot see immediate real-life applications.The DoCS has partnered with several businesses to extend the

Collection

2024 ASEE North Central Section Conference

Authors

Mary M McCall M.A., University of Detroit Mercy; Nassif E Rayess, University of Detroit Mercy

work.ENGR 1020 – Basic Engineering Graphics and Computer Aided Design – In their first semesterof college life, students on Day One see how business and industry value the “people” (soft)skills they will bring to the workplace (Figure 1). “Soft skills include interpersonal (people)skills, communication skills, listening skills, time management, problem-solving, leadership, andempathy, among others. They are among the top skills employers seek in the candidates they hirebecause soft skills are important for just about every job.” [9] Figure 1. First-year students learn the practical value of the communication skills taught in their engineering classes. This is an excerpt from “Why We Need Technical Writing in Engineering Classes

Conference Session

Engineering Technology Technical Session 3

Collection

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carmen Cioc, University of Toledo; Noela A Haughton, University of Toledo; Sorin Cioc

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology Division

support students’ preparedness andreadiness for the workforce.IntroductionSeveral scholarly works examined the role of problem-based pedagogies (PBL) in highereducation as a general pedagogical method (Barron et al., 1998; Cheney, 2004; Fosmire &Macklin, 2002). Others provide strategies for integrating PBL in engineering courses to expandhard and soft skills (Hsieh & Knight, 2008; Cioc et al., 2020, 2021). In all instances, the authorsfound that their PBL pilot implementations were more effective in knowledge transfer,participation, and interest, than a traditional lecture-based approach to instruction. The inclusionof an entrepreneurial mindset learning (EML) and promoted by the Kern EntrepreneurialEngineering Network (KEEN), into PBL

Conference Session

Computer ET Curriculum

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Hurny, Rochester Institute of Technology; Gina Hurny, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

Pilot ProgramAbstractStudent attrition and student learning are of major interest to colleges and universities.Collaborative learning or more specifically learning communities with its associated pedagogy isoffered as an approach to enhance both. This paper describes a pilot approach at RochesterInstitute of Technology (RIT). The purpose of this program was to integrate learning communityconcepts and methodologies into the instruction protocol of Computer Engineering Technology(CpET) first-year students. The creation of an interdisciplinary collaboration would be used toenable the continual integration of liberal arts course work and “soft skill” training into technicalcourse instruction over a three quarter academic year. The organizational

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ismail Jouny, Lafayette College

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

qualifications that distinguish him/her from the rest of the world, and make themworthy of high wages that are currently 5 to 10 times higher than those attained in the FarEast. The goal is not to go back to the days of heavy ECE enrollment, but to chart thecourse for a sustainable ECE curriculum that meets the needs of industry and continues tomove the US forward as a leader in a high-tech world. The change needed is twofold:macroscopic and microscopic. At a macroscopic level the change is largely related toenhancing the soft skills of the graduating engineer, while at a microscopic level, thechange is specific and is related to classical ECE study subjects. Underlying both aspectsof change are three key factors that are a must for all engineers

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Brian West

more.The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc (ABET) criteria [1] point todistributed emphasis on the “soft skills”, such as technical writing, public speaking, and workingon teams, while maintaining student performance in the technical areas.Two of the author’s classes, which were originally developed to enhance student performanceduring the Capstone course, were scheduled for deletion. However, the experience level neededto be maintained, so this material needed to be absorbed into other courses while maintainingcourse and program dynamics.This paper explores the issue of relocating critical material from deleted classes into classes thatare transitioning into the new program.BackgroundThe University of Southern Indiana is