Infusing Professional Skills Development into Co-op Student

John (Jack) Anthony Selter

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Conference: 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Publication Date: June 10, 2012
Start Date: June 10, 2012
End Date: June 13, 2012
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Panel: Infusing Professional Skills Development into Co-op Student Work Assignments
Tagged Division: Cooperative & Experiential Education
Page Count: 3
Page Numbers: 25.777.1 - 25.777.3
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--21534
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/21534
Download Count: 278

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John (Jack) Anthony Selter University of Central Florida

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Jack Selter has 30+ years of experience developing and managing partnerships between industry, government, and higher education. Past organizational affiliations include Clemson, University of Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Mellon University. Currently, Selter is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Simulation and Training, Research in Advanced Performance Technology and Educational Readiness, at the University of Central Florida.

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Abstract

Infusing Professional Skills Development into Co-op Student Work Assignments For over three decades, industry workforce groups, engineering educationresearchers, and national engineering societies have all come to the sameconclusion; the gap between what engineering colleges teach in theirundergraduate curriculum and what skill sets employers expect new engineeringgraduates to have, has widened. Employers point out that new engineeringgraduates do have technical competence but severely lack professional skillsnecessary to manage projects, work with others collaboratively, write and presentproposals, etc.The problem statement is: What role can Co-op employers play in helping theirengineering school partners address this gap? ABET has defined key skills or “professional skills” in their Criteria 3. Asshown in Table 1, we have divided these skills into 2 categories: “EngineeringSkills” and “Professional in the Workplace Skills.”Engineering Skills Professional In the Workplace Skills• (a) an ability to apply knowledge of • (d) an ability to function on mathematics, science, and engineering; multidisciplinary teams;• (b) an ability to design and conduct • (f) an understanding of professional experiments, as well as to analyze and and ethical responsibility; interpret data; • (g) an ability to communicate• (c) an ability to design a system, effectively; component, or process to meet desired• (h) the broad education necessary to needs within realistic constraints suchunderstand the impact of engineering as economic, environmental, social, solutions in a global, economic, political, ethical, health and safety, environmental, and societal context; • (i) a recognition of the need for, and an manufacturability, and sustainability;• (e) an ability to identify, formulate, ability to engage in life-long learning; and solve engineering problems; • (j) a knowledge of contemporary issues; • (k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice; Table 1: ABET Engineering Skills SortedThis presentation will describe how employers can actively participate in helpingengineering schools and their students address ABET Criteria 3 recommendationsby identifying and linking Workplace Skills with specific activities that can takeplace over the course of several co-op experiences. These experiences can bebundled in accordance with the student and employer needs and requirements.For example, during a work assignment a student would be assign to work in afunctional team to solve a specific problem or design a new system. Studentswould be required to record their experience in the team: how is the teamstructured?; what were some of the teams’ key components?; what outcomes didthe team produce?, and so on.Student engagement into one or several of these skills related activities will beused to establish a student portfolio of professional practice which can be used todemonstrate professional skills proficiency, be used by the employer as an end ofwork term student assessment, and/or help establish a working roadmap for thestudents’ continuing professional skills develop, or all of the above.

Citation
Format

Selter, J. J. A. (2012, June), Infusing Professional Skills Development into Co-op Student Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--21534

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -             Infusing Professional Skills Development into Co-op Student                                Work Assignments      For over three decades, industry workforce groups, engineering educationresearchers, and national engineering societies have all come to the sameconclusion; the gap between what engineering colleges teach in theirundergraduate curriculum and what skill sets employers expect new engineeringgraduates to have, has widened. Employers point out that new engineeringgraduates do have technical competence but severely lack professional skillsnecessary to manage projects, work with others collaboratively, write and presentproposals, etc.The problem statement is: What role can Co-op employers play in helping theirengineering school partners address this gap?       ABET has defined key skills or “professional skills” in their Criteria 3. Asshown in Table 1, we have divided these skills into 2 categories: “EngineeringSkills” and “Professional in the Workplace Skills.”Engineering Skills                     Professional In the Workplace Skills• (a) an ability to apply knowledge of • (d) an ability to function on  mathematics, science, and engineering; multidisciplinary teams;• (b) an ability to design and conduct • (f) an understanding of professional  experiments, as well as to analyze and and ethical responsibility;  interpret data;                      • (g) an ability to communicate• (c) an ability to design a system,     effectively;  component, or process to meet desired• (h) the broad education necessary to  needs within realistic constraints suchunderstand the impact of engineering  as economic, environmental, social,    solutions in a global, economic,  political, ethical, health and safety, environmental, and societal context;                                       • (i) a recognition of the need for, and an  manufacturability, and sustainability;• (e) an ability to identify, formulate, ability to engage in life-long learning;  and solve engineering problems;      • (j) a knowledge of contemporary                                         issues;                                       • (k) an ability to use the techniques,                                         skills, and modern engineering tools                                         necessary for engineering practice;                    Table 1: ABET Engineering Skills SortedThis presentation will describe how employers can actively participate in helpingengineering schools and their students address ABET Criteria 3 recommendationsby identifying and linking Workplace Skills with specific activities that can takeplace over the course of several co-op experiences. These experiences can bebundled in accordance with the student and employer needs and requirements.For example, during a work assignment a student would be assign to work in afunctional team to solve a specific problem or design a new system. Studentswould be required to record their experience in the team: how is the teamstructured?; what were some of the teams’ key components?; what outcomes didthe team produce?, and so on.Student engagement into one or several of these skills related activities will beused to establish a student portfolio of professional practice which can be used todemonstrate professional skills proficiency, be used by the employer as an end ofwork term student assessment, and/or help establish a working roadmap for thestudents’ continuing professional skills develop, or all of the above.
AU  - John (Jack) Anthony Selter
CY  - San Antonio, Texas
DA  - 2012/06/10
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Infusing Professional Skills Development into Co-op Student 
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/21534
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--21534
ER  -