Personal Skills in the BISE Curriculum: An Integrative Approach

In an increasingly complex and dynamic world, young executives need certain soft skills to be forearmed for the challenges of their job. The need for training of these personal skills in higher education is recognized among the business and information systems engineering (BISE) society. Yet, existing approaches often integrate the development of soft skills implicitly, usually without quantitively measuring the impact on students. However, an initial literature review identified a demand for an explicit and systematic integration of personal skills in basic lectures. We present an approach that systematically integrates the training of personal skills in a basic BISE lecture for first-semester students. To exemplify this approach, we describe the integration of the selfleadership strategy self-observation in a lecture on process modeling. Our research project follows the Design Science Research methodology. The outlook previews the completion of the first design cycle by describing the planned evaluation and further research ideas

Interpersonal skills in engineering education

CONTEXT Engineering education communities have long recognised that graduates not only need to possess technical knowledge in their chosen disciplines, but also need to be better educated in communication skills, teamwork, leadership, creativity, problem solving and a host of other human factors. Several studies mention these so-called “soft skills” as increasingly important to future engineers. This popular but unfortunate colloquial term is often used to describe the development of a person’s professional relationships with other people and the building of their emotional intelligence. On the other hand, it can suggest that these skills are low grade. Graduates with enhanced "soft skills" are certainly at an advantage in the job market. PURPOSE To investigate the following research questions:How important are soft skills? Are they perceived as low grade? What are the most appropriate methods for skills development and where does the responsibility for this lie? And ultimately, how effectively is the current education system preparing students for employment? APPROACH This paper reviews the current literature and compares this with the findings of a significant new investigation involving students, lecturers, careers personnel and employers. The primary research correlates quantitative and qualitative research methodologies using an online student survey; plus structured interviews with academics, careers advisors and industrial employers. RESULTS ‘Soft’ skills are difficult to quantify compared with hard (technical) skills. Conversely, less merit is often attached to soft skill competence in academia and hence they may be perceived as easier. Never-theless, they are externally perceived as extremely valuable. Most highly specialised academics, however, are typically not sufficiently well trained in the most appropriate teaching methods and believe (or hope) that the skills are simply acquired through experience. Participants overwhelmingly agreed that the development of ‘soft’ employability skills is important in higher education but few thought the responsibility for their development was the sole responsibility of HE institutions. All the interview participants believed that soft skills are insufficiently emphasised in the University curricula at present. Students believe that the best way to introduce more soft skill development is to change the method of learning in the technical subjects, rather than to directly teach soft skills. CONCLUSIONS The common term ‘soft’ skills is ambiguous and unhelpful. Transferable, interpersonal and people skills were preferred descriptors: the research found them difficult to bound, quantify, and teach. They tend to be subjective and were perceived, by some as low value. Nevertheless, the research suggests they are of equal or more importance than technical skills in respect of employability. The literature identified a graduate soft skills gap but on balance the research findings did not support this proposal. The new research data highlighted that work experience; mentoring and industrial placements are the most appropriate educational methods and that soft skills development should be a shared responsibility; lower and higher education institutions, employers, parents and the individual all have a part to play. Universities, however, are presently too heavily focused on technical skills and they have the key responsibility to ensure graduate employability

How soft are ‘Soft Skills’ in the engineering profession?

How soft are ‘Soft Skills’ in the engineering profession

Building capacity and developing human capital: an exploration of curriculum development in ICT programmes at South African universities

There is a growing consensus on the potential for information and communications technologies (ICTs) to support socio-economic development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Universities as providers of higher education are critical to developing SSA countries by, amongst others, empowering the region to develop appropriate ICT solutions for local challenges. The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss how contextual realities influence the development of ICT programme curricula at public universities in South Africa, a developing country in SSA, in order to meet the demand for ICT skills. After a brief discussion of the factors that influence the content and delivery in education systems an overview of the South African public higher education context is provided. Against this background the content and delivery of ICT programme offerings and the rationale behind the programmes at four South African public universities are presented in case study format and concludes with a discussion of the case studies. The paper may be of value to academic departments as examples of how other departments are responding and adjusting their offerings, to government departments and policy makers by engendering a better understanding of the impact of policy on programme development and to industry by illustrating the diverse stakeholders in higher education and academia’s responsiveness to these diverse requirements

Business Process Management – A Missing Link in Business Education

Business processes have been the subject of formal study from multiple perspectives for a long time since the start of industrial age. In spite of such sustained focus, processes still are not well understood, left unmanaged and poorly executed. Business schools’ teaching is primarily function specific and narrow, while the IT schools focused on narrow technical skills and leaves the ‘process view’ and ‘integration’ either to the individual student or the academic. This paper analyzes the inadequacies of current business and IS/IT education and reviews the historical perspective of business processes. It posits the significance of business process management and highlights its ability to provide the missing link to business education. It reports on the strategies employed by business schools and discusses the challenges in the BPM education and research

Engineers Soft Skills in the 4th Industrial Revolution: Perspectives of Employers in Morocco

Abstract: During the last few decades and especially in the late 21st century, the world has witnessed significant changes in different domains of life, including higher education and the job market. This perennially fast-changing world necessitates tertiary education institutions to swiftly calibrate up-to-date strategies and promote students’ skills, notably soft skills. As a result, there is an urgent need to expand and bring diversity to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workforce in Morocco and to the needs of society. The objective of this paper is to identify the overall evaluation and satisfaction with the performance of engineers at the level of soft skills.  Against this backdrop, the study opted for a mixed-method approach for data collection and data analysis. The main research instruments used are the questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The target population of this study comprised 20 employers. Their views were essential for the needs analysis research because they could mirror their experiences in the job market. The findings of the study strongly endorse that there is a mismatch between engineering students’ skills and those required in the workplace. Many challenges have been faced during the different phases of conducting this research. One would mention the acute shortage of references about soft skills in Morocco and the fact that it required much time and energy to build literature.   Keywords: Soft skills, Graduate skills gap, 4th industrial revolution, Employability JEL Classification: L51, L60, O15 Paper type: Empirical research  Resumé: Au cours des dernières décennies et surtout à la fin du XXIe siècle, le monde a connu des changements importants dans différents domaines de la vie, notamment l'enseignement supérieur et le marché du travail. Ce monde en perpétuel changement rapide oblige les établissements d'enseignement supérieur à calibrer rapidement des stratégies actualisées et à promouvoir les compétences des étudiants, notamment les compétences non techniques. En conséquence, il est urgent d'élargir et d'apporter de la diversité à la main-d'œuvre STEM (Science, Technologie, Ingénierie et Mathématiques) au Maroc et aux besoins de la société. L'objectif de cet article est d'identifier l'évaluation globale et la satisfaction à l'égard de la performance des ingénieurs au niveau des compétences générales. Dans ce contexte, l'étude a opté pour une approche mixte pour la collecte et l'analyse des données. Les principaux instruments de recherche utilisés sont le questionnaire et les entretiens semi-directifs. La population cible de cette étude comprenait 20 employeurs. Leurs points de vue étaient essentiels pour la recherche sur l'analyse des besoins, car ils pouvaient refléter leurs expériences sur le marché du travail. Les conclusions de l'étude confirment fortement qu'il existe un décalage entre les compétences des étudiants en ingénierie et celles requises sur le lieu de travail.  De nombreux défis ont été relevés au cours des différentes phases de réalisation de cette recherche. On citera le manque criant de références sur les soft skills au Maroc et le fait qu'il a fallu beaucoup de temps et d'énergie pour construire la littérature.   Keywords: Soft skills, déficit de compétences des diplômés, 4e révolution industrielle, employabilité JEL Classification: L51, L60, O15 Paper type: Recherche empiriqu

Invited Paper: Building a K-16-Industry Partnership to Train IT Professionals

Building on the importance of experiential learning for early career success, this paper presents a blueprint for a multiple-tier co- op approach, where students as early as high school will be selected by employers, will learn skills relevant to the employer’s needs, and will get hands-on experience while enrolled in a relevant educational program. This program is currently being developed by a partnership of industry professionals, university faculty, and local school district faculty and administrators in Anchorage, Alaska. After identifying a need for more and better qualified candidates for many unfilled IT positions, a consortium of hiring authorities in Anchorage initiated discussions with educators to better align curriculum with employers’ needs and to establish a pipeline in the education system for better recruiting, growing, and retaining technology talent. Two high school courses have been developed as a result of this collaboration and are being offered with direct assistance and involvement from the business community. In the courses, students are evaluated against a series of 13 micro-credentials relevant for IT professionals. An articulated pathway into university degrees and an extension of the pipeline into middle school are under development

Leadership skills development among engineering students in Higher Education – an analysis of the Russell Group Universities in the UK

Today, the engineering landscape is continually changing, and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have a responsibility to design curricula that address the growing demands of various industry sectors. Likewise, the roles and responsibilities of an engineer are evolving; requiring a further broadening of the current engineering curriculum. As a profession, engineering draws upon broad interdisciplinary knowledge, and when training 21st-century engineers, universities should follow a more comprehensive teaching and learning approach, with a focus on both technical and soft skills including the integration of leadership into engineering curricula. However, the spectrum of engineering leadership is not well-defined. Leadership is one of the most widely sought-after skills in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) industries; it is, therefore, clear that more investigation needs to be carried out into this area of engineering pedagogy. One of the most distinct gaps in the literature is that there is little or no consensus on what approaches should be undertaken to integrate leadership in engineering courses by those in academia. This paper seeks to shed light on some of these gaps, with the primary objective of the evaluation of the current state of leadership education using a nation-wide sample of BEng Electronic Engineering course structures and contents at Russell Group universities in the UK. It highlights the case study of the University of York, where there is a strong emphasis on the integration of engineering leadership and management skills within the current BEng Electronic Engineering course structure

Load flow studies on stand alone microgrid system in Ranau, Sabah

This paper presents the power flow or load flow analysis of Ranau microgrid, a standalone microgrid in the district of Ranau,West Coast Division of Sabah. Power flow for IEEE 9 bus also performed and analyzed. Power flow is define as an important tool involving numerical analysis applied to power system. Power flow uses simplified notation such as one line diagram and per-unit system focusing on voltages, voltage angles, real power and reactive power. To achieved that purpose, this research is done by analyzing the power flow analysis and calculation of all the elements in the microgrid such as generators, buses, loads, transformers, transmission lines using the Power Factory DIGSilent 14 software to calculate the power flow. After the analysis and calculations, the results were analysed and compared