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Board 57: STEM Education from the Industry Practitioners’ Perspective

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Conference

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah

Publication Date

June 23, 2018

Start Date

June 23, 2018

End Date

July 27, 2018

Conference Session

College-Industry Partnerships Division Poster Session

Tagged Division

College Industry Partnerships

Page Count

13

DOI

10.18260/1-2--30062

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/30062

Download Count

1020

Paper Authors

biography

David Dylan John Georgia Southern University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-0062-9808

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A Masters of Science in Applied Engineering with an emphasis in Construction Management candidate at
Georgia Southern University, Dylan John is an active student leader within multiple student organizations
and serves the institution of 20,000+ students as Student Government President. His research interests include Building Information Modelling (BIM), Sustainable Construction,
Productivity & Efficiency in the Construction Industry and Construction Education. He is mentored by
Dr.Yunfeng (Cindy) Chen of the Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Management at Georgia
Southern University

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biography

Yunfeng Chen Georgia Southern University

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Dr. Yunfeng Chen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Management at Georgia Southern University with research focus on construction technology application, process management, and education.

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biography

Shahnam Navaee Georgia Southern University

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Dr. Navaee is currently a Full Professor in the Civil Engineering and Construction Management Department in the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Information Technology at Georgia Southern University. Dr. Navaee received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from Louisiana State University in 1980 and 1983, and his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Civil Engineering at Clemson University in 1989.

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biography

Weinan Gao Georgia Southern University

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Weinan Gao is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Southern University. He received his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering at New York University in 2017. His research interests include control, optimization and their application to intelligent transportation systems and cyber physical systems.

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Abstract

This study explores the industry practitioners’ perspective on skills required for success in STEM industry professions. Literature review and industry reports indicate that there is an existing gap in the skills acquired by students in STEM majors and the industry expectations of skills. A mismatch in the skills possessed by graduates could result in longer learning curves and decreased employee productivity. The objective of this study is to identify the most important skills desired by industry from college graduates in STEM related fields and add new perspective on STEM education curriculum improvement. The study used a mixed method of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to develop a list of STEM skill indicators and factors. The list of 20 skills were initially identified through qualitative interviews with industry practitioners’ and college students. The list of skill indicators were then validated with literature review and grouped into 4 factors: Soft skills, Technical skills, Experience and Managerial skills. The skills and groupings were presented for industry practitioner feedback at a research symposium prior to conducting the quantitative approach of this study. A survey was developed and tested with a pilot group of industry practitioners’. The survey was improved in alignment with the feedback received during the pilot study and deployed for data collection. Each identified skill indicator was presented with a Likert scale, for industry feedback on the perceived importance in STEM related industries. The mean was then used to rank the most important indicators and factors from the industry practitioners’ perspective. The rankings and findings of this study is expected to provide valuable information to academics, industry and college students in STEM related fields. The findings can be used to help improve academic curricula, expand college and industry partnerships and better cater to industry expectations by improving the output quality of college graduates in STEM fields.

John, D. D., & Chen, Y., & Navaee, S., & Gao, W. (2018, June), Board 57: STEM Education from the Industry Practitioners’ Perspective Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--30062

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