Teaching ‘Soft’ Skills to Engineers

Abstract

Engineering departments widely recognise an increasing need to equip students with effective study skills early in their university education and basic professional skills prior to graduation. These, however, are traditionally difficult modules to teach successfully to larger groups through traditional lecturing. Observations suggest a poor absorption rate from the students and thus a lack in their ability to benefit from these skills both personally and professionally. This paper documents the findings of an initiative which aimed to improve the success of study skills teaching by combining academic and commercial leanings into a modified teaching approach. The results and specific techniques described in this paper can be easily integrated into most types of teaching material.