ENGINEERING LECTURERS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS EFFECTIVE CONCLUSION SECTION IN ENGINEERING FINAL YEAR PROJECT PRESENTATION

Final year project presentation (FYPP) assessment in the engineering field aims to evaluate students’ comprehension in the principles and concepts learnt and its application in resolving problems through engineering projects.The components assessed in FYPPs include the presentation slides that comprise introduction, content and conclusion sections. Many studies have emphasised the significance   of the conclusion section in project presentations; however, there has not been much research that explores the students' knowledge and practice on conclusion moves in their FYPPs from the FYPP lecturers’ perspective. Therefore, this qualitative study, through focus group interviews, explored the perceptions of 12 engineering lecturers from a private higher institution in the east coast region of Malaysia. These lecturers, who were also the students’ FYP supervisors were asked about the students’ overall performance in delivering FYPP conclusion section, the significance of the conclusion section and the challenges faced by engineering undergraduates when presenting their conclusion section. The findings indicate that the lecturers rated students' conclusion presentations as average. The findings reveal that for the lecturers, the conclusion section is significant as it is part of the FYPP assessment rubric and it reflects students’ critical thinking and problem solving skills. In addition, the key challenges faced by students in presenting an effective conclusion section were the English language barriers and obliviousness of the essential elements of a conclusion section. Pedagogical implications include providing training that highlights the importance of the conclusion section in FYPPs, and all the moves necessary in the conclusion section

Enhancing Conclusion Sections in Final Year Project Presentations: An Engineering Perspective

The Final Year Project Presentation or FYPP is an essential academic oral presentation for tertiary students across various university courses and fields. Despite its importance, there exists a notable lack of comprehensive understanding about the genre, particularly about the conclusion section. This study aimed to investigate engineering students' perception of the good characteristics of the conclusion section in FYPP. A questionnaire survey was administered to a sample of 33 engineering students, who identified the following features as important components of the conclusion section: a summary of the final year project, presentation of overall findings, references to previous research, discussion of issues related to the final year project, restatement of the objective/focus, specific results, interpretation of results, significance of the results, limitations, counter-arguments, and an explanation of the final year project. The study reveals that students are aware of the various elements that make up the conclusion section and suggests that this knowledge can help them improve their FYPPs. By better understanding the genre expectations and characteristics, engineering students can present their final year project findings more effectively and demonstrate their mastery of the discipline

Engineering lecturers’ perceptions towards effective conclusion section in engineering final year project presentation

Final year project presentation (FYPP) assessment in the engineering field aims to evaluate students’ comprehension in the principles and concepts learnt and its application in resolving problems through engineering projects.The components assessed in FYPPs include the presentation slides that comprise introduction, content and conclusion sections. Many studies have emphasised the significance of the conclusion section in project presentations; however, there has not been much research that explores the students' knowledge and practice on conclusion moves in their FYPPs from the FYPP lecturers’ perspective. Therefore, this qualitative study, through focus group interviews, explored the perceptions of 12 engineering lecturers from a private higher institution in the east coast region of Malaysia. These lecturers, who were also the students’ FYP supervisors were asked about the students’ overall performance in delivering FYPP conclusion section, the significance of the conclusion section and the challenges faced by engineering undergraduates when presenting their conclusion section. The findings indicate that the lecturers rated students' conclusion presentations as average. The findings reveal that for the lecturers, the conclusion section is significant as it is part of the FYPP assessment rubric and it reflects students’ critical thinking and problem solving skills. In addition, the key challenges faced by students in presenting an effective conclusion section were the English language barriers and obliviousness of the essential elements of a conclusion section. Pedagogical implications include providing training that highlights the importance of the conclusion section in FYPPs, and all the moves necessary in the conclusion section

Transformation of Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia: A Review

Transformation of higher education has affected tertiary institutions in every part of the globe. Even though, the key factors are generally common around the world, the types of higher education institutions transformation and issues emerge in the change process may vary from one country to another. This paper reviews and discusses about recent studies on the transformation involving different types of higher education institutions that have significantly occurred in Malaysia. Pertinent studies between 2010 until 2015 were researched and selected using multiple online database and direct search engine. The results indicated that four types of Malaysian higher education institution transformation were identified in these studies. Apart from that, the key elements prevalent in the transformation process were also identified and categorized. These findings are significant as they show that more researches on the transformation of other types of higher education institutions in Malaysian context should be conducted. This is due to the fact that, the transformation of the higher education institution impinges on the stakeholders, such as the policymakers, administrators,academics, students, parents, study loan/scholarship providers to mention a few in many different aspect