The role of education on the acquisition of 21st century soft skills by Engineering students

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana Nicola ◽  
Carla Pinto ◽  
Jorge Mendonca
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Soft Skills

Incorporating “Soft Skills” Into the Collaborative Problem-Solving Equation

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald E. Riggio ◽  
Karan Saggi
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Collaborative Problem Solving ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Collaborative Problem ◽  
Communication And Coordination

In only a very few places, Neubert, Mainert, Kretzschmar, & Greiff (2015) mention the role of communication and coordination among team members in collaborative problem solving. Although complex and collaborative problem solving is indeed an imperative for team and organizational success in the 21st century, it is easier said than done. Collaborative problem solving is critically dependent on the communication and interaction skills of the team members and of the team leader. The intent of this commentary is to shine a light on the critical role of interpersonal and communication skills in complex and collaborative problem solving.

scholarly journals TRAINING VERSATILE ENGINEERS: A HISTORICAL AND PRESENT PERSPECTIVE ON THE PLACE OF THE HUMANITES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES IN THE CANADIAN ENGINEERING CONTEXT

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Donald ◽  
Sofie Lachapelle ◽  
Jacqueline McIsaac ◽  
Tara Abraham ◽  
Ryan Clemmer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Engineering Curriculum ◽  
Ethical Awareness ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences ◽  
Graduating Students ◽  
Second World

The importance of training well-rounded engineers has been discussed by engineering educators since the end of the Second World War. For decades now, the humanities and social sciences have been used to encourage engineering students to develop social competency, ethical awareness, and the ability to express themselves with ease, both orally and in writing. In Canada, the humanities and social sciences are featured prominently in the curriculum as part of complementary studies, which comprises both required and elective courses. How do students understand their experience with the humanities and social sciences during their degree? Do they see the usefulness of the skills and content learned in these fields for the job market? This study constitutes a first step in a larger project exploring these questions. Here we first present an overview of the historical and present debates on the place that humanities and social sciences have in the engineering curriculum. We then report on the feedback obtained from focus groups of graduating students asked about their experience and attitudes relative to “soft skills” graduate attributes and complementary studies. We conclude that the new Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board graduate attribute framework provides an opportunity to assess the role of the humanities and social sciences in the engineering curriculum and suggest possible ways to measurably enhance student experience and learning of non-technical or “soft” skills.

Challenges and Trends in the Labor Market: Synergy and Soft Skills Synergy

2018 ◽  
pp. 66-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Оксана Чуланова ◽  
Oksana Chulanova
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
State University ◽  
Hard Skills ◽  
Market Needs ◽  
Group Target ◽  
Conceptual Foundations

The article presents the main challenges of our time regarding the prospects of the labor market. The directions of the reorientation of the labor market needs for universal competencies have been determined. The proposed “Boston Consulting Group” target model of competences 2025 is described. The role of soft skills in the target competency model is defi ned. The conclusion is supported that a systematic approach to the development of human capital, the system of retraining and retraining, the transition to the logic of talent management, rather than cadres. The article presents information on the Agency launching strategic initiatives (ASI) in Russia, the online platform “University of STI 20.35”, whose task will be to train personnel for the digital economy. In the process of preparing graduates, two clusters of competences are planned: a cluster of soft skills and end-to-end technologies. The article analyzes the competencies evaluated in the process of conducting the “Leaders of Russia” competition (again, the dominant role of soft skills is emphasized). The article presents the conceptual foundations of CDIO engineering education in terms of developing soft skills. The author’s vision of the integration of hard skills and soft skills in the training of engineering students in Surgut State University for the preparation of competitive graduates is presented.

Best teaching practices in the first year of the pilot implementation of the project DrIVE-MATH

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 154-166
Author(s):  
Carla Pinto ◽  
Susana Nicola ◽  
Jorge Mendonça ◽  
Daniela Velichová
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
Intelligent Robots ◽  
Pilot Implementation ◽  
Problem Solvers ◽  
Self Driving Cars

Abstract The Fourth Industrial Revolution era has arrived, according to the World Economic Forum. Everything is changing (viz., artificial intelligence, automation, intelligent robots, self-driving cars and genetic editing) and exciting opportunities accompanied with major challenges come to the surface. On the other hand, major difficulties may also rise, namely technological unemployment and poverty. How can governments, educators and parents prepare the present and future generations to thrive in this increasingly changing world? What is the Education of the Fourth Industrial Revolution age? The education of the new era must transform itself to be able to provide students with the scientific and soft skills needed in the 21st century. Students must actively apply and update their knowledge, must be critical thinkers, problem solvers, curious, imaginative, collaborative, communicators. As Alvin Toffler says in his book Future Shock (1970) ‘The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.’ DrIVE-MATH—Development of Innovative Mathematical Teaching Strategies in European Engineering Degrees’ virtual team was designed to develop a novel and integrated framework to teach math classes in engineering courses, at the university level. Its major goal is to apply novel teaching methodologies to teach math courses to future engineers. DrIVE-MATH emerged from the need to prepare and develop essential competences in engineering students, key to their success in the rapidly changing and dynamic workplace. The teachers involved in the project strongly believe that the implemented active-learning methodologies provide better scientific and soft skills support to the future engineers. In this paper, we present the results of the first year (pilot) implementation of the project DrIVE-MATH at the School of Engineering of the Polytechnic of Porto.

scholarly journals Development of Engineering Students Competencies Based on Cognitive Technologies in Conditions of Industry 4.0

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Special issue) ◽  
pp. 93-101
Author(s):  
Zhanna Mingaleva ◽  
Natalia Vukovic
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Education ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
University Education ◽  
Modern Education ◽  
Market Requirements ◽  
The University

Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0 concepts are actively developing all over the world. The accelerating transition to Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0 sets new requirements for the university education system in qualifications and competencies of engineering universities graduates. The article reveals the possibilities of using cognitive models in the professional training of research engineers for new industries. Authors used the modeling method for creating a cognitive and metacognitive model of the process. It can be used for the development of forming the optimal structure of higher professional engineering education. The article substantiates that the main tasks of modernization of pedagogical approaches in modern education, is to establish the compliance of educational products with the labor market requirements and transform the structure of vocational education, providing training for professional specialists required by specific employers. Conclusions are drawn about the important role of soft skills for engineering education in Industry 4.0. The results obtained in the study can be used for the engineering category of students.

Soft Skills in Engineers, a Relevant Field of Research: Exploring and Assessing Skills in Italian Engineering Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Caggiano ◽  
Teresa Redomero-Echeverría ◽  
Jose-Luis Poza-Lujan ◽  
Andrea Bellezza
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Reference Sample ◽  
Social Situations ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Change Perception ◽  
Emotional Adaptation ◽  
Challenging Tasks ◽  
Relevant Field

Soft skills are important for any career and are necessary to access and face the labor market. This research focuses on soft skills by exploring engineer profiles. It also determines how soft skills are developed through the study of a representative sample of 314 undergraduate engineering students from 15 different Italian universities. The instrument used is a questionnaire that investigates soft skills and is based on the Business-focused Inventory of Personality (BIP). Answers are grouped into four areas: intrapersonal, interpersonal, activity development, and impression management. Results show that these engineers have more self-confidence than the reference sample; they demonstrated a great commitment in setting job goals and pursuing projects, a good emotional adaptation to social situations, and enough attitudes in terms of problem solving and openness to change. Perception on the ability to work under pressure is in the average, and they seem ready to take on challenging tasks. The score shows that engineers from the sample are able to express positive and negative ideas and feelings in balance with the reference average, but sometimes they have difficulties in establishing personal relationships. Therefore, they are unable to understand the moods of those who around them and may also have difficulty in understanding their expectations. This results in some difficulties in teamwork. The general result underlines the opportunity of empowerment programs regarding soft skills.

Desecularization as Phenomenon at the Turn of 21st Century

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 49-57
Author(s):  
Sergey V.  Lebedev ◽  
Galina N.  Lebedeva
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Islamic Revolution ◽  
Islamic Movement ◽  
The World ◽  
Rational Alternative ◽  
Role Of Religion

In the article the authors note that since the 1970s, with the rise of the Islamic movement and the Islamic revolution in Iran, philosophers and political scientists started to talk about religious renaissance in many regions of the world. In addition, the point at issue is the growing role of religion in society, including European countries that have long ago gone through the process of secularization. The reasons for this phenomenon, regardless of its name, are diverse, but understandable: secular ideologies of the last century failed to explain the existing social problems and give them a rational alternative.

Student Learning and the Role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in 21st Century: A Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (9) ◽  
pp. 181-185
Author(s):  
Jaspreet Singh ◽  
Amir Shamim Shiekh ◽  
Manmeet Kour ◽  
Pankaj Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Secondary Information

In the last few decades, Information Technology has transformed the entire world into a village, known as Global Village, as proposed by Marshal McLuhan. ICT has increased its influence in every field like the education sector, defense sector, technology etc. In the 21st century, information and communication technology (ICT) has become an important and integral part of most educational organizations throughout the world.. The use of ICT in classroom teaching and learning processes has become indispensable as it gives teachers and learners the opportunity to operate, store, control and retrieve data in addition to promoting self-regulated and active learning. (Ali, Haolader & Muhammad, 2013) Today we are dependent on technology and the role of ICT is increasing day by day and is believed to be a new normal. Keeping that in view, the present paper attempts to examine the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICT) and student learning. This conceptual paper  is based on secondary information collected from different sources such as books, journal articles, newspapers, reports of various government organizations, non-governmental organizations and soon.

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