| Popis: |
There are numerous discourses about competencies of future engineers as well as the challenge to learn, teach and assess them. In particular, this applies for the question of which competencies – besides technical knowledge and understanding – are relevant for future engineers in order to responsibly address the needs of society. This paper contains the initial results of an ongoing research project which aims to investigate engineering students’ competencies and their perception thereof. In the context of a recurring engineering master's seminar at RWTH Aachen University the participants conducted interviews with a total of 41 students from outside the course. The interview subjects were themselves master's students from diverse engineering programs. In the interviews, the subjects were asked by their peers, among other things, which competencies they consider relevant for engineers and to what extent they have acquired these in their studies. The answers to those questions are evaluated and discussed in this work. The results show gaps in the acquisition of competencies – from the students' point of view – and in particular a discrepancy between the perceived relevance of competencies and the acquisition of these in the study programs. Besides problem solving, and technical knowledge and understanding, students pointed out that social competencies, such as communication and teamwork are particularly relevant. At the same time, they saw a lack of acquisition of these competencies in their study. The same applies for missing integration of knowledge into practical application. |
