The Importance Of Soft Skills In Engineering And Engineering Education

This book explores in depth the significance of soft skills within engineering education and the profession of engineering and emphasizes the importance of integrating hard and soft skills effectively, thereby enhancing personal acumen. Among the most important soft skills are ability to communicate, courtesy, creativity, empaty, flexibility, integrity, positivity, problem solving, professionalism, resourcefulness, responsibility, a strong work ethic, and ability to work within a team. While hard skills are related to the left side of the brain and are linked to the intelligence quotient (IQ), soft skills are related to the right side of the brain and are linked to the emotional quotient (EQ). A person who fuses hard and soft skills successfully will be able to upgrade their professional behavior and become a difference maker (DM). Soft skills are of central importance in the context of Engineering 4.0, the new phase of engineering, and in Engineering 4.0 education, and this is the central focus of the book. The presented examples of the role of soft skills will also enable readers to self-evaluate, to identify those skills that require improvement, and ultimately to enhance their performance.

Student feedback has appeared in the forefront of higher education quality, particularly the issues of effectiveness and the use of student feedback to affect improvement in higher education teaching and learning, and other areas of the students' tertiary experience. Despite this, there has been a relative lack of academic literature available, especially in a book format. This book focuses on the experiences of academics, higher education leaders and managers with expertise in these areas. Enhancing Learning and Teaching through Student Feedback in Engineering is the first in a series on student feedback focusing on a specific discipline, in this case engineering. It expands on topics covered in the previous book, by the same authors. Valuable contributions have been made from a variety of experts in the area of higher education quality and student feedback in the field of engineering.

Presents key principles of communication that support clear exchanges in a technical context and help engineers learn effective communication skills Effective communication is a necessity for engineers. Even minor on-the-job misunderstandings can cost time, money, or worse. Yet even though recent studies show that improved communication makes for better engineers, the ability to speak clearly and listen carefully have historically been considered "soft skills" and are not typically or explicitly addressed in engineering programs. Working from basic units called microskills, Effective Interpersonal and Team Communication Skills for Engineers shows readers, one step at a time, how to engage, listen, manage conflict, and influence others with highly constructive, repeatable communication exchanges. This career-enhancing handbook: Presents communication skills for both technical issues and social situations in an engineering context Breaks skills down to elemental usage forms as microskills Includes plenty of practice exercises, case studies, and self-assessment tools Helps develop higher-level skills for more complex situations, such as dealing with confrontation and conflict negotiation Features a direct, user-friendly, practice-oriented format Effective Interpersonal and Team Communication Skills for Engineers is a must-have guide for professionals and an important supplement for engineering programs at all levels.

This open access book presents the proceedings of the 3rd Indo-German Conference on Sustainability in Engineering held at Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India, on September 16–17, 2019. Intended to foster the synergies between research and education, the conference is one of the joint activities of the BITS Pilani and TU Braunschweig conducted under the auspices of Indo-German Center for Sustainable Manufacturing, established in 2009. The book is divided into three sections: engineering, education and entrepreneurship, covering a range of topics, such as renewable energy forecasting, design & simulation, Industry 4.0, and soft & intelligent sensors for energy efficiency. It also includes case studies on lean and green manufacturing, and life cycle analysis of ceramic products, as well as papers on teaching/learning methods based on the use of learning factories to improve students’problem-solving and personal skills. Moreover, the book discusses high-tech ideas to help the large number of unemployed engineering graduates looking for jobs become tech entrepreneurs. Given its broad scope, it will appeal to academics and industry professionals alike.

This report presents a synthesis of OECD’s empirical work that aims at identifying the types of social and emotional skills that drive children’s future outcomes.

Creativity is like an iceberg - the resulting new idea, or novel solution is only 10% of the effort. The other 90% is the complex interplay of thinking skills and strategies, personal and motivational properties that activate these skills and strategies, and the social and organizational factors of the environment that influence the creative process. Creativity in Engineering focuses on the Process, Person, Product, and Place to understand when and why creativity happens in the engineering environment and how it can be further encouraged. Special Features: Applies findings in creativity research to the engineering arena Defines engineering creativity and differentiates it from innovation Discusses personality and motivational factors that impact creativity Clarifies the role of creativity in the design process Details the impact of thinking skills and strategies in creativity Identifies the role the organization and environment plays in encouraging creativity Discusses the 4P's of Creativity: Person, Product, Process, and Place Provides tactics and tools that will help users foster creativity in engineering environments Identifies how creativity results in innovative new solutions to problems Applies creativity research and knowledge to the engineering space

This edition of the Reader’s Companion accompanies Skills Matter: Additional Results from the Survey of Adult Skills that reports the results from the 39 countries and regions that participated in the 3 rounds of data collection in the first cycle of PIAAC, with a particular focus on the 6 countries that participated in the third round of the study (Ecuador, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Peru and the United States). It describes the design and methodology of the survey and its relationship to other international assessments of young students and adults.

The book focuses on teaching knowledge and principles (Higher Education) regarding professional practice of engineering (life and lifelong learning). It covers recent developments in engineering education. This book comprises the select proceedings of the conference organised by the Portuguese Society for Engineering Education. This book goes beyond the examination of the economic, culture, and social factors, which influence the education of engineers in different higher education institutions, and encompasses critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration and creativity and innovation. These are essential components of engineering education. The contents of this book are useful to researchers and professionals engaged in the re-engineering of engineering education.

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