Title: Non-technical skills in engineering education as a concept

Authors: Christin Lindholm; Christian Nyberg; Ylva Oscarsson

Addresses: Faculty of Engineering, LTH, Lund University, Lund, Sweden ' Faculty of Engineering, LTH, Lund University, Lund, Sweden ' Faculty of Engineering, LTH, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

Abstract: To have a successful career in engineering, students need both technical engineering skills and non-technical engineering skills (NTES) in the transition to professional life. To address NTES in engineering education, the concept of six compulsory 'engineering days' were introduced in two engineering programs at the undergraduate level. The importance of different NTES for industry has been evaluated through a survey with industry representatives. The results from the survey support the assumption that NTES are important when working as an engineer. The concept of engineering days has also been evaluated through a survey that was taken by the final-year students. Overall, the student survey showed that the students understood what the purpose of the concept of engineering days was, and that the students estimated that they had increased their NTES. With this work, we hope to inspire teachers to focus on non-technical skills as well as technical skills.

Keywords: non-technical skills; engineering education; soft skills; industry; higher education; survey; Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering; Bachelor of Science Electrical in Engineering with Automation; professional life; concept; certification.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCEELL.2024.143313

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning, 2024 Vol.34 No.6, pp.577 - 599

Received: 28 Sep 2023
Accepted: 18 Apr 2024
Published online: 13 Dec 2024 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article