Transcript slides

ASSESSMENT OF PROFESSIONAL
SKILL DEVELOPMENT WITHIN AN
ENGINEERING CURRICULUM:
A way towards a qualification in
‘Industrial studies’
Jarka Glassey (CEAM), Katie Wray (SAgE), Jess Jung (Careers)
Heather Cambell, Dovile Gruzdyte, Rojiar Ferschy – formal
placements students
+ 4 volunteer students
Motivation
 Importance of experiential learning in developing
important employability skills
 A number of programmes incorporating placement
already exist, based on diverse assessment
requirements
 A large number of students taking a ‘voluntary year
out’ for placement – no formal recognition of the
placement
 Competitors offering Certificate or Diploma in
Industrial studies qualifications
Process
 Researched other Chemical Engineering
Departments across the UK and Ireland and the
types of placements offered. This included
contacting schools and academics and online
research.
 Placement students and volunteers created online
surveys
Students -25 questions
Academics - 15 questions
Process
 Student Survey
 Catered for all students- those with/without placement experience
 Determined :
• motivation for/against a placement
• the most important factors considered when applying for a placement
• How helpful the university was in finding/organising a placement
• Skills developed on placement and if these were assessed
• Preferred method of assessment whilst on placement
 The student surveys were distributed to the President of the Chemical
Engineering Society at over 15 universities
Process
 Academic Survey
 Catered for all academics- universities offering/ not offering assessed
placement years
 The chosen academic was the careers liaison officer/ placement coordinator
for the school where possible
 Determined:
• Placements offered
• % of students opting for placements
• Help provided by school in finding a placement
• Skills developed on placement and if/how these were assessed
• Opinion on best method of assessment
 Interviews
Findings
Students
 24 Replies
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21 had placement experience – 16 organised by their School
20 placements duration ≥ 1 year
15 placements were assessed
Skills developed- leadership skills, problem solving, communication ,
professionalism
 The majority would be more likely to undertake a placement if it was assessed
or give some formal recognition
 Suggested forms of assessment :
 Written/oral report on projects they were involved in
 A work journal updated weekly
 Feedback from employers
Findings
Academics
 6 replies
 All academics come from schools offering placements as part of the course
 50% organised the placements
 % of students undertaking placements
 0-15% in stage 2
 10%-40% in stage 3
 Students were assessed during and after the placement
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Presentations
Written Reports
Skills Acquired Reports
Log Books
 100% believe academics and employers should both be involved in assessing
students
 Importance of support from careers service
Concluding remarks
 Both students and academics believe placements are
extremely important for personal and professional
development
 Assessment would be welcome if time appropriate
 Most popular suggestions for assessment of skills
developed:
1.
Log Book – updated weekly / monthly
2.
Presentation of skills gained – 1 per semester
3.
Written Report/Dissertation to be worked on throughout the year
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Thanks to all students and
colleagues involved in the project
 Thank you for your attention