Engineering Students’ Perceptions of Soft Skills, Industry Expectations, and Career Aspirations
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 142, Issue 1
Abstract
Because of globalization and the rapid advancement of technology, researchers and employers agree that the 21st-century engineer must have a set of skills (e.g., teamwork, communication, and management) that were not emphasized in the past. In response, many universities have started to implement program changes in order to graduate well-rounded engineers. As an attempt to assess the gap between what universities are exposing their engineering students to and the requirements of the industry, this paper examines the perceptions of a sample of engineering students about the importance of various soft skills and how well their universities have prepared them in gaining the associated abilities. Students were also surveyed about their career aspirations in an attempt to determine whether these aspirations affect their perceptions. The results revealed that, although the students showed a significant understanding of the importance of soft skills, some of these perceptions can be attributed to their career aspirations. This finding implies that universities need to play a stronger role in strengthening students’ nontechnical skills in specific areas such as oral communication skills.
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Acknowledgments
This work would not have been possible without the support of the Center of Teaching and Learning (CTL) at AUB, the FEA Career Center, NDU Faculty of Engineering, BAU Faculty of Engineering, and LAU Faculty of Engineering.
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Published In
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 142 • Issue 1 • January 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 1, 2013
Accepted: Feb 5, 2015
Published online: Apr 1, 2015
Discussion open until: Sep 1, 2015
Published in print: Jan 1, 2016
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