August 28, 2007

While technical skills are critical to the success of an engineer, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology also recognizes the importance of teaching professional skills in engineering education. That’s why 16 faculty members at Rose-Hulman participated in summer workshops to learn how to more readily incorporate professional skills into the classroom.

In a series of three-day sessions hosted at Rose-Hulman Ventures (RHV), the workshops provided updates to faculty about how skills recommended by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), can be integrated into the classroom and experienced in co-curricular activities by RHV interns through project work. Based on a collaborative approach involving students, project managers and faculty, the workshops offered presentations and discussions, as well as opportunities to observe and interact one-on-one with student interns developing new technologies at RHV.

The range of professional skills covered in the workshops included:
-Leadership and project management in multidisciplinary teams
-Design and development in a business, marketing, societal and global context
-Ethical issues in technical development projects
-Communication issues within teams and with clients
-Legal, contract, confidentiality, intellectual property issues
-Marketing and selling technical projects

“Attending the workshop gave me a more in-depth understanding of the project work that goes on at Ventures,” said Anneliese Watt, associate professor of English. “I came to appreciate, for instance, the effort that managers put into finding and shaping projects that will be a valuable experience for the students. I also saw how the project work provides students opportunities to practice professional skills, and came away with a few ideas for integrating professional skill work into my own classes.”

The idea for the workshops originated with William Kline, associate dean for professional experiences and associate professor of engineering management, who manages RHV. Kline says that honing these soft skills gives students an educational advantage and a jumpstart when entering the job market.

“Engineering educators have been teaching technical skills for a long time and we are very good at that,” said Kline. “However, attention to the professional skills is relatively new and there are still many opportunities and challenges to integrating professional skills education into curricular and co-curricular experiences. Our students will ultimately benefit by being more prepared to enter the competitive workplace of the future.”

Andrew Mech, professor of mechanical engineering and a student faculty advisor at RHV, helped lead the workshops. Mech hopes the workshops challenge faculty to take a more active role in promoting those skills in classrooms. He said it’s likely improvements will occur gradually as faculty integrate more professional skills into their teaching.