Defining, developing and assessing global competence in engineers

Lohmann, Jack R.; Rollins, Howard A.; Hoey, J. Joseph

doi:10.1080/03043790500429906

Cited by 161 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Research also suggests that there is a need for global competence in the engineering profession. Lohmann, Rollins, and Hoey researched the importance of learning about cultures and issues worldwide [2]. Their study concluded that international study is key to becoming a successful global engineer.…”

Section: Social Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Consciousness in Engineering Students: An Analysis of Freshmen Design Project Abstracts

Rucks¹,

Orr²,

Hall³

2016 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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This research paper explores the motivations behind freshmen engineering projects, particularly as they vary by gender composition of the team. All freshmen in the engineering program at Louisiana Tech University must take and pass Engineering Problem Solving III, an engineering design class, before moving on to sophomore engineering classes. Students are instructed to team up in groups of two to five to design and construct a "smart product" using the knowledge gained from their previous Engineering Problem Solving I and II classes. At the end of the quarter, each team must submit a project abstract before presenting their work at the Freshmen Design Expo. This qualitative study looks at these abstracts in an attempt to find a pattern between the gender composition of the group and the motivation behind the product. Eighty-one project abstracts are analyzed, representing 227 students. Several distinct themes emerged from the analysis of the project abstracts. The most common themes were Annoying and Frustrating, Efficiency and Time Saving, Safety, Elderly and Disabled, Health and Sanitation, Forgetfulness, and Children. Analysis of how these themes map to gender composition of design teams is ongoing. These themes will help to understand how students view the impact that they can have as future engineers. Redesigning curricula and analyzing recruitment techniques to encompass particular themes may help to attract and retain more students in engineering. In this study, groups that had an equal number of males and females were more likely to design a socially conscious project than groups that were mostly male or mostly female. IntroductionFreshmen engineering students at Louisiana Tech University take a series of three engineering problem solving courses as part of the Living with the Lab experience [1]. The third course culminates in an open-ended design project. Students spend about five weeks selecting, designing, and building a "smart" product. Throughout the first year, these students have implemented a variety of sensors and actuators using an Arduino microcontroller. Their smart product must sense something about its environment and respond or report based on this input. Students self-select their teams of two to five members (honors sections typically use teams of two). They are guided through brainstorming, production of multiple prototypes, and discussions with instructors and fellow classmates. Their final product is presented to a panel of judges at the Freshmen Design Expo. Before the Expo, student teams are required to submit a brief project description that is distributed to judges and guests. These descriptions are analyzed in this study to identify underlying motivations.

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Section: Social Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Consciousness in Engineering Students: An Analysis of Freshmen Design Project Abstracts

Rucks¹,

Orr²,

Hall³

2016 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…2,7,11,16,20,25 These five areas do not exhaust the possibilities, but they do offer some understanding of the role that reentry programming can play. First, competence requires the ability to communicate well, whether in a different language or their own language without local colloquialisms (for example, the frequent use of sports metaphors in American English).…”

Section: Global Competency As a Means To Resist Culture Shockmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Reverse Culture Shock to Global Competency: Helping Education Abroad Students Learn from the Shock of the Return Home

Wayland¹

2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings

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“…5 In response, universities have developed a range of high-profile international education programs geared specifically to all Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) majors. 6,7,8,9,10 Parkinson classified these programs into nine categories of study abroad programs for engineering students, including dual degree, exchange, extended field trip, extension, internship or co-op, mentored travel, partner sub-contract, project-based learning/service learning, and research abroad.. 11 Although the relative number of students in STEM fields studying abroad remains low in comparison to other disciplines, the data suggests that efforts to develop international programs for these students may be having an impact. The Institute for International Education reported that for 2012-13, STEM fields overall showed the greatest growth in students abroad, from 59,921 students in 2011-12 to 65,223 in 2012-13, an 8.8% increase in only one year.…”

Section: Reus In Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%