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There is a need for further studies on students' learning of Differential Equations (DEs), especially in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses. Research on the mathematical education of engineers shows a conflict between students' demands for practical, contextualized pedagogies and the need for abstract reasoning and appropriate use of mathematical results. Few papers focus on engineering students' interpretation of theorems and their use as tools in argumentation and problem-solving. This paper takes a sociocultural stance on learning and employs dialogical inquiry – a methodology rooted in Bakhtinian theory, newly developed for collaborative inquiry and qualitative data analysis – to investigate the meanings that senior engineering students made while working on a task designed to evaluate their understanding of Existence and Uniqueness Theorems (EUTs) of solutions of DEs. We identified two important epistemological disconnections that explain the difficulties that some of our students faced in making meaning of solutions of DEs and the EUT. • There is a need for more studies on the learning of Differential Equations (DEs). • Few research papers focus on students' meaning-making of theoretical results in DEs. • Dialogical inquiry methodology was used to analyze students' meaning-making processes. • Two epistemological disconnections were found that explain students' difficulties. • The use of warrants in students' dialogue was important in their meaning-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective communication is pivotal to professional success in civil engineering. However, rural students often face unique challenges in mastering oral communication, especially in English. This study seeks to examine the challenges faced by engineering students from rural backgrounds when speaking English and the underlying reasons for these difficulties. This paper implemented specific tasks inspired by task-based language teaching methodology in the study of participants to analyze their speaking challenges and their root causes. The findings revealed that speaking English posed challenges primarily due to fear of errors, anxiety, shyness and low confidence levels. This paper proposes solutions, such as creating a supportive environment and promoting regular English communication, to address these issues. The research highlights the transformative impact of effective communication and calls for further studies to refine and expand these educational strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the application of visual-spatial skills in academic disciplines, vocational fields and daily life is becoming more and more prominent, it is of great theoretical and practical significance how to make use of big data and artificial intelligence technology to conduct research on the relationship between visual-spatial skills and students' grades. This paper explores and analyses from the perspective of artificial intelligence, combining students' visual-spatial skills and students' specific attribute characteristics to construct an expert system, which defines the prediction of academic performance as a classification problem corresponding to the five categories of excellent, good, moderate, passing, and weak, respectively, and based on which a deep neural network-based classification prediction model for students' performance is designed. The experimental results show that visual-spatial skills plays an important role in the professional learning of science and engineering students, while the classification model designed in this paper has high accuracy in the grade prediction process. This paper not only helps to fill the gaps in the current research field, but is also expected to provide scientific basis for educational practice and promote the development of the education field in a more intelligent and personalized direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional engineering education (Eng. Ed) has received criticism for restricting student learning and experiences to practical skills development while ignoring the significance of fostering cognitive skills that encourage higher order thinking, criticality, and self-reflexivity. Imaginative education (IE) has emerged as a consideration for replacing such skills focused engineering curricula with interactive, engaging, and student-centered pedagogical approaches. However, existing literature on the topic as well as Egan's (1997) own explanation of the five stages of understanding (somatic, mythic, romantic, philosophic, and ironic) are mainly focused on K-12 contexts, leaving limited resources and insights for higher education contexts. This calls for theoretical and practical expansion of the topic where development and implementation of IE-informed Eng. Ed for adult engineering students remain the focus. To respond to this call, this conceptual paper focuses on two main points. First, it attempts to unpack the theoretical underpinnings of the five stages of IE to understand what each stage means for educators and learners in higher education engineering contexts. Second, after outlining the challenges that traditional Eng. Ed is facing in a globalized world today and the initiatives from the field to address them, it discusses the promises IE can bring to make Eng. Ed more effective, inclusive, and relevant. Overall, the intention in this paper is to turn to the theoretical tensions that may emerge when considering IE as an approach to re-imagine and expand Eng. Ed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing an abstract is a challenging assignment for graduate students as it requires condensing all the extensive research into a few sentences, providing sufficient background knowledge, and presenting findings compellingly to the academic community. This study observes how graduate engineering students cope with writing their abstracts for their first published papers, with a specific focus on metadiscourse. The study is based on the learner corpus of 1,746 abstracts (117,535 words) written by non-native English speakers in English and Serbian during their Master's studies. The research follows Hyland's taxonomy, focusing on interactive frame markers and interactional engagement markers, together with metadiscursive nouns in order to uncover cross-linguistic patterns and pedagogical implications. The comparison of the absolute and relative frequency with statistical significance and log likelihood between Serbian and English sub-corpora demonstrates that students tend to use frame markers with greater frequency in Serbian abstracts than in English ones. Additionally, engagement markers, and especially directives, are used twice as often as frame markers in both sub-corpora, with a higher prevalence in English abstracts. Following the qualitative and quantitative analyses, the findings offer pedagogical implications related to the range of frame markers and metadiscursive nouns used by students to introduce their research aims and the range of engagement markers used to engage readers in their research and thus claim their credibility in academic writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to show how graduated engineering students in classical ICT view practically the advent of the QIT. The students do their theses in El.Eng. and ICT and were asked how to implement now or in the future the QIT in their current or future work. Most of them have strictly defined research topics and in some cases the realization stage is advanced. Thus, most of the potential QIT application areas are defined and quite narrow. In such a case, the issue to be considered is the incorporation of QIT components and interfaces into the existing ICT infrastructure, software and hardware alike, and propose a solution as a reasonable functional hybrid system. The QIT components or circuits are not standalone in most cases, they should be somehow incorporated into existing environment, with a measurable added value. Not an easy task indeed. We have to excuse the students if the proposed solutions are not ripe enough. The exercise was proposed as an on-purpose publication workshop, related strictly to the fast and fascinating development of the QIT. The paper is a continuation of publishing exercises with previous groups of students participating in QIT lectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The educator's choice of techniques is intended to foster a strong love of learning. The different methods of learning can improve learners' abilities. The need of pupils to learn cannot be met by only conventional teaching. When pupils graphically answer the provided question, this is clearly seen. This paper studied students' performance for the graph based topic 'Smith Chart' for the course 'Radar and Microwave Engineering' for the third year of engineering students. Total 64 students of the same class considered for the experiment. Video based learning (VBL) is methodology is used in this paper. Total 64 students learn the said chart (Smith Chart) through videos. VBL along with collaborative approach is carried out for experimental group. The two group posttest is carried out. The two group post test results presented in the paper. The assessment is carried out w.r.to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Bloom's Level (BL). The objectives of the study are to introduce and make students understand Smith chart (BL: Understand, LO1); to determine transmission line parameters and impedance along the line (BL: Apply, LO2); to examine the effect of load variations on transmission line parameters. (BL: Analyze, LO3). The results w.r.to LOs and BL are presented in this paper for both control and experimental group. To assess the level of effectiveness of the intervention feedback is taken from experimental group. Almost 96% students liked the activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current article used real data to demonstrate the analysis and synthesis of Mixed Methods Research (MMR) data with generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI). I explore how reliable and valid Gen AI data outputs are and how to improve their use. The current content is geared towards enhancing methodological application regardless of field or discipline and includes access to a prompt library and examples of using outputs. The demonstration data used emanated from a study done in South Africa, with a quantitative sample size of 969 first-year engineering students and, for the qualitative part, 14 first-year students. In the current article, I compare my original analysis to ChatGPT results. Generative AI as a mind tool is best used with human insight, and I found this to be especially true when coding qualitative data. ChatGPT produced generic codes if asked to do inductive coding, and the results improved when training the Gen AI on human examples, which led to moderate and significant correlations between human and machine coding. The quantitative analysis was accurate for the descriptive statistics, but the researcher had to use best judgment to select the correct inferential analysis. Quantitative and qualitative analysis should be conducted separately in generative AI before asking the Chatbot for help with mixed methods results. In the current paper, I give guidelines and a tutorial on how to use chatbots in an ethically responsible and scientifically sound manner for research in social and human sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a study on an interdisciplinary curriculum for mechanical engineering. The interdisciplinary strategy presented in the present research involves departments that haven't typically worked well together to provide learners with capstone design opportunities. Teams of students from the computer and mechanical engineering departments cooperate on completing a capstone design project that gets placements from industry. The method of defining relevant design projects that coordinate with the goals of the mechanical engineering curriculum is comprehensive, as well as the amount of involvement of the industrial partner. To demonstrate the interdisciplinary morality of the design projects and how they fulfil the program's goals and objectives, the automotive sector is examined by the students. Finally, the paper focuses on challenges faced by mechanical engineering students, improve their chances of securing placements and concludes with a model interdisciplinary curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the utilization of design thinking process in the entrepreneurship classes, which involves problem-solving approach, creative thinking and procedural steps to solve the problems. The entrepreneurship training classes facilitate the students to address the real-world problem through the real-world skill development activities. Entrepreneurship education leads the students to develop projects with the outcome as societal beneficial product or service. The students' expertise after attending the class will be incredibly useful for resolving the problems which need an immediate focus like Covid-19 and post pandemic situation. The case study discussed in this paper describes the growth of an engineering student into a technopreneur, who uses design thinking to solve the societal problems. This case study comprises the framework as follows: The first framework is based on Outcome Based Education (OBE) and Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) for Batch 1 and 2, and the second framework with Batch 3 on Conceive Design Implement (CDIO) and Operate framework. According to the findings, students of Batch 3 outperformed than the students of Batch 1 and 2 in applying higher order thinking abilities to turn a prototype into a working business model. As a result, the CDIO framework is ideally suited to the development of engineering abilities into the entrepreneurial opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irrespective of the branch of study, practical/laboratory courses are integral parts of engineering curriculum. These courses develop the knowledge, skill and attitude of the graduates. It is thus necessary to frame the laboratory experiments, to create a student centric learning environment and to have suitable assessment methodologies to enhance the cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills of the engineering students. This paper proposes a framework of the above three from the authors' perspective for a software laboratory. The proposed framework can be extended to the laboratory/practical with suitable modifications in the Course Outcomes. Also in this paper, a methodology is proposed for converting the scales into marks and also the formula for calculating the marks under various heads (record, viva voce and experiment) is given. Rubrics are defined for the Performance Indicators (PIs) as specified in the Examination Reform Policy of AICTE for the Program Outcomes (POs defined by National Board of Accreditation (NBA), India). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Project Based Learning (PBL) is a concept adopted in higher education that is focused on the mode of learning by implementing projects using the concepts studied during a course. This model is now extended even to middle schools. This paper is a case study on the implementation of PBL in the engineering course. PBL implementation has several issues to be considered before offering it to the students. The issues are more related to the faculty and the institution. A survey was carried out among the students and faculty to know the effectiveness of PBL implementation. A set of questions were asked to the students to know the technical and non-technical advantages and limitations of the PBL. Descriptive questions are used to know the general opinion of the students and faculty about PBL. Various observations are made based on the outcome of the survey. As the overall outcome of the survey, the faculty and students are of the opinion that the PBL will enhance the learning outcome of the course, provided sufficient time and resources are available to implement the project and the faculty can guide the students with regular monitoring of the project's progress. Faculty competency in handling the concepts practically, and availability of time and resources are of concern. Both faculty and students felt that PBL must be practiced in the engineering curriculum to enhance the skills of the student. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proficiency in speaking cannot be acquired without effective listening. Listening and speaking skills are deciding factors for academic growth of engineering students. Engineering students are mostly worried about their placement in top notch companies, thereby they keep on emphasizing more on speaking under the presumption that speaking can be acquired without active listening. They treat listening skill as the secondary skill for acquisition of speaking, which requires special attention by the teacher. Productive skill speaking and receptive one listening are invariably playing a pivotal role for human communication. Second language users of English generally get confused with the incompatibility of writing, speech production and aural skill in English. Receptive skill Listening and Productive skill speaking are incompatible to one another. The prime objective of this paper is to find out whether integrated listening and speaking activities help in developing language competence of engineering graduates or the task and activities of listening and speaking should be done in isolation to achieve the competence of the students in English language. The present paper collected data of different tests namely pre-test and post-test based on different tasks and activities intended for the engineering graduates of an engineering college and the same was analyzed and the result found at the end of the exposition of data revealed that engineering graduates those who practiced activities of listening and speaking in conjunction with one another proved to be successful in acquiring English language competence than the others who practiced the activities of listening and speaking in separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the factor structure of safety culture construct among engineering students at university context and to examine the measurement invariance of this instrument across different socio-demographic groups in a sample of engineering students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory online questionnaire was completed by 770 undergraduate and postgraduate engineering students across the UAE. Data were analyzed using a diversified multi-group and a robust and sophisticated cross-validation testing strategy. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test factor structures identified in previous studies. Multi-group invariance testing was conducted to determine the extent to which factor structure is comparable across groups (i.e. gender, educational and experiential background). Findings: Three-factor model was preferred for its parsimony. The results showed that the level of safety awareness and attitude is relatively satisfactory, whereas safety behaviour is inadequate. No significant difference was showed in multi-group invariance between demographic groups. Research limitations/implications: This research is a cross-sectional study and limited to the views of engineering students (informal group). The study would benefit from both informal and formal groups in assessing safety culture at university for a robust empirical evidence. The research highlights relevant implications for policy and program development, by pointing to the need to promote safety culture and mitigate safety-related accidents among engineering students. Originality/value: This paper offers insight into benefit of understanding the level of safety culture among engineering students and extend knowledge of informal group involvement in safety-related accidents at university level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to raise important issues in engineering education in the face of contemporary challenges and demands through the voices of different stakeholders in engineering curricula and in the practice of professional engineering. Several challenges and future perspectives are based on important skills, like soft skills, which are required by employers and include communication, decision-making, problem-solving, leadership and emotional intelligence, as well as the ability to work with people of different backgrounds and apply technical knowledge. A qualitative data analysis of interviews with students, alumni, teachers and employers revealed the demand for more balanced qualified curricula for higher education institutions in the field of engineering. This includes the promotion of collaborative learning spaces, authentic learning experiences based on engaging students in real situations, project-based learning, industrial visits, guest lectures and problem-solving methodologies that are perceived by these stakeholders as essential in the construction of a curriculum, in line with the specific technical competences of each area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's age, we see the increasing influence of technology on people, which begs to raise the question: "Is society determined by technology?" Rising up within the constraints of each society, technology had its limitations, as it catered to the needs and interests of the masses. As society evolved, so did its requirements. We are at a stage where dependence on technology has gone through the roof with new innovations coming up in the sector, the rise of artificial intelligence, for instance. Technology has replaced the concept of being a mere tool and is creating/demanding space of its own. With advancements in various fields like robotics which churn out machines that can mimic human behaviour and are equipped with anthropomorphic features, it has become rather difficult to view them as mere commodities waiting for one's (human master's) command. Keeping this in view, the paper primarily focuses on the relationship between society and technology, with special emphasis on artificial intelligence, through an analysis of the films Ra One (Bollywood), Android Kunjappan (Mollywood), and Ironman 3 (Hollywood). Secondarily, an experimental study was carried out to know the perception of the Engineering students, the future technologists, who are the stakeholders of the 21st-century technological world, with an aim to know their perception of technology and bring an awareness of the limitations of technology and its role in the creation of utopian and dystopian world. Finally, the paper examines the consequence of technological determinism and autonomy from a colonial perspective and intends to bring preparedness among the students to perceive technology conscious of its limitation and bring harmony between society and technology that leads towards building a utopian world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current curricula and pedagogy need to change to effectively support the learning needs of the Alphas and iGens. The Alpha Generation, children born after 2012, known as the "digital-first" generation, have grown up on hand-held, digital screens not watching television or reading paper-based books. Similarly, the iGens, also known as Gen Zs, university students born between 1995 and 2012, are the first generation to spend their entire adolescence in the age of the smartphone. "With social media and texting replacing other activities, iGen spends less time with their friends in person" (Twenge, 2017). The COVID disruption further pushed the Alphas and iGens onto screens for social interaction and learning. Returning to paper-and-pencil curricula and pedagogy does not serve the needs of these generations. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) (2010) issued a prescient report describing the potential for deeply-digital curricula to "provide a richer and more engaging experience through interactive components, videos, simulations, hyperlinks..." (p. 77). Alphas' and iGens' deeply-digital experiences outside of school have them expecting deeply-digital learning experiences inside of school. Toward addressing the learning needs of Alphas in Kindergarten through sixth grade and iGen university students, we have been studying how deeply-digital, highly-interactive curricula plus digitally-motivated, pedagogical practices can increase their engagement and achievement in both in-class and remote learning environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With changing employment conditions, technological advancement, frequent manpower reduction and global competition, the relevance of the protean and boundaryless career concepts is increasing. With this, the country's culture plays a pivotal role in career choice. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate protean and boundaryless career scales for college passing out students and in the Indian context. The protean career scale was measured by self-directed and values-driven dimensions, while the boundaryless career scale was measured by boundaryless mindset and organizational mobility preference. Design/methodology/approach: The first step involved defining construct and determining face validity. The data collected via questionnaire from India's final year engineering students were subjected to exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis in the second and third steps, respectively. Finally, the nomological validity was tested by establishing the relationship between factors influencing career choice and newly developed protean and boundaryless career. Findings: The result suggested using a two-factor model with a protean career (combining self-directed and values-driven items) and a boundaryless career as a separate construct for college passing out students. Research limitations/implications: The developed scale has nine items that can be used to conduct surveys at the time of campus hiring by academic scholars, HR managers, and practitioners who are working on the identification, development and management of human talent as a part of any human resource management system. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first approach to developing the protean and boundaryless career scale for college passing out students and in the Indian context which can be replicable for South Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An effective Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality paradigm is proposed to facilitate introductory robotics course in the first-year engineering curriculum. The AR/VR Application utilization and its impact on the students' learning with respect to robotic assembly and robotic application programming is emphasized in this article. The paper delves into a comprehensive review of the related works presented in the literature. The requirements for the physical assembly and virtual assembly of movable robots are meticulously highlighted. To facilitate course learning a robotic workshop involving steps introduction to robotics, and practical experience on the robot is conducted. The delivery of the course content is made much more effective by inculcating the Virtual experience of the Robotic assembly process. The virtual robotic assembly and manual physical robotic assembly process processes have their own uniqueness and importance and it is left to the students to pick them on a priority basis. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed course is determined by conducting an online quiz, collecting student feedback, tabulating and analyzing the results. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in creating interest in robotics and related courses among first-year engineering students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology and the availability of information have shifted the focus of researchers of engineering education towards experiential learning, a three-dimensional learning approach for students' engagement and development. The MIT report on The Global State of the Art in engineering education also shows the importance of experiential learning as a pedagogical tool for engineering education. Many researchers have discussed how this pedagogical tool is used to develop various skills like leadership, decision-making, teamwork etc. However, how experiential learning is mapped with learning outcomes and strategy for their assessment is yet not developed and discussed in depth. This research paper discusses the learning of students while working on the project undertaken under Mission Amrit Sarovar- Jal Dharohar Sanrakshan-2022 as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav initiative by the Government of India to rejuvenate ponds, advocating sustainability, and enhancement of analytical skills. The paper also discusses how effectively various learning aspects and understanding of all participating students would be mapped with required skill sets. The survey instrument has captured the detailed response to do an analysis of learning and later on, that has been mapped with required skill sets. Moreover, activities were designed with a perspective to provide experiential learning for students to engage with relevant officials, enhancing their communication and presentation skills. This also facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing environmental challenges and conserving valuable natural resources. The findings provide a direction for field-academic scenarios with practical knowledge and foster students' ability to contribute to real-world problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All readers have their own strategies while reading. They do face difficulties in using the appropriate strategy because they blend all the strategies to obtain or achieve specific criteria to achieve the desired comprehension, and in the end, they land up in significant confusion and inefficient reading. This paper aims to identify the vital reading strategies used mainly by the technical students while reading a text and further to classify the reading strategies under the designated criteria that are necessary to be practiced developing the reading efficiency among the technical students. Instead, if they try to find out the specific strategy to follow up for gaining the desired criterion, that will indeed help them better read any text. This paper is validated and illustrated mathematically using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making representation in assessing the data collected from students at different engineering colleges, including some central technical institutions. This paper provides technical students with an idea of using a specific and appropriate strategy which helps them in the application of precis strategy while facing challenges in different aspects while reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating interest and involvement of engineering students into the domain specific research work is indispensable for the future technology developments. Original intellectual and creative contribution through experimentation to the discipline can bring new developments significant for societal reforms. This paper presents an effort to nurture research interest among postgraduate students of Biomedical Engineering. In order to nurture a research attitude, a Lab component for the course Biomedical Image Analysis was modified with practical reflection-based learning style. The impact analysis of this exercise is studied objectively. The newly designed Lab component included more practice-based learning, demanding additional time from students and teacher, for the discussion and reflection-based learning. Assessing students on the basis of critical thinking, focused efforts and the right approach in devising the solution for real-life problems played a critical role in this pedagogy. The impact of this exercise on students learning is analyzed by comparing course outcomes and program outcomes attainment for two batches with batch size 14 and 16 respectively. The assessment was based on rubrics devised for various phases. The course outcomes were improved by 6 to 12% for the experimental Batch. This is also reflected in increase in PO attainment in the same proportion. Particularly, attainment of course outcomes related to handling complex real-life problem and to develop solution showed considerable improvement. The results revealed individual student's ability in implementing and analyzing the open-ended experiment. The major conclusion from this educational experimental work is that the conceptual, practical, and interpretational skills necessary for research can be inculcated by devising innovative pedagogy. This work also reports positive sideways of this practice and the difficulties faced during the entire exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the relationship between problem-based learning (PBL) and the digital electronics course for engineering students at a private university with a population of 97 students. The study utilized a deductive and correlational hypothetical method with a non-experimental and quantitative design. As a result, the statistically significant relationship between PBL and the digital electronics course is verified. A relationship coefficient equal to Rho = 0.780 and p < 0.01, confirms the proposed alternative hypothesis. This result provides a robust quantitative perspective on how the integration of PBL positively influences engineering students' acquisition of digital electronics knowledge. The contribution lies in empirical support for the effectiveness of the PBL approach, providing educators and engineering professionals with a solid foundation for enhancing pedagogical strategies and fostering more effective and practical learning in the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We live in a society in constant scientific and technological change, where engineering education is required to develop the competences needed for future engineers to be able to respond to the complex and interdisciplinary problems that arise from this. It is no longer enough just to provide updated scientific and technological training to students, but it is also required to articulate the needs of society with the design of the curriculum and the expectations of the different stakeholders. The present paper's goal is to present the perceptions about engineering education through the lens of different institutional stakeholders, following a qualitative design study, through semi-structured interviews with seven key-stakeholders representing different scientific and professional institutions. These interviewees play an important role in the definition of guidelines for the engineering profession and in (re)thinking curricula reflecting the interaction with society, training and research. In this sense, it aims to explore the following objectives: (i) to know the perception about the profession, the profile of engineers and the engineering curricula; (ii) to identify the challenges posed to engineers in the job market and in society, today and in the future; and (iii) to reflect on a desirable profile to be attained by engineering students at the end of their Higher Education path. From the interviewees' perspective, competences development effectively involves learning approaches that realize which problem-solving strategies, concepts and capacities for social action should be developed in students, which are not restricted to disciplinary or specific content, but which allow (de)constructing curricula that reflect the different needs of society. In fact, as well as including the point of view of renowned international associations, this article reinforces the idea that the integration of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) into curricula is not only a challenge, but also a growing and inevitable phenomenon in response to society's needs. The curriculum, the competences to be privileged, the importance of interdisciplinarity, and the contribution of STEM and STEAM approaches from an integrated engineering perspective are interpreted as difficulties but also the target opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly hampered the ability of higher education institutions (HEIS) to place interns for traditional on-site work experiences and forced these institutions to quickly find alternative cooperative education arrangements for their students. This placement challenge led to the development of an innovative alternative Industrial Work Experience (IWE) programme for final-year engineering students at the University of Technology, Jamaica. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the alternative IWE programme implemented during the pandemic and to explore viable alternative engineering cooperative education practices that can be implemented by HEIs in the post-pandemic era. The study used an Inductive-Simultaneous Mixed Method Investigation design with an online survey instrument consisting of 28 closed-ended questions and six open-ended questions that collected quantitative and qualitative data concurrently. A total of 67 invitations were administered by email and WhatsApp over a period of 18 days with a 43.3% (n=29) response rate. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, the qualitative data were analysed using an inductive thematic approach. The point of integration occurred at the analysis stage. Results show that the most valuable aspects of the alternative assessment were design skills (72.2%) and teamwork (38.9%). Of the respondents, 43.5% highlighted that the experience fostered collaboration and empowerment. The major challenges highlighted were a lack of exposure to the actual work environment by 55.0% of the respondents and working with team members (45.5%). Although seventy-two (72.0%) of the participants obtained employment after completing the alternative IWE, only 51.6% were employed within their respective engineering disciplines. The findings of this paper will inform HEIs, prospective interns, industry and other stakeholders of some of the advantages and disadvantages of the alternative IWE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning the SQL language for working with relational databases is a fundamental subject for future computer engineers. However, in distance learning contexts or unexpected situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, where students had to follow lectures remotely, they may find it hard to learn. Chatbots are software applications that aim to have conversations with people to help them solve problems or provide support in a specific domain. This paper proposes a chatbot-based learning platform to assist students in learning SQL. A case study has been conducted to evaluate the proposal, with undergraduate computer engineering students using the learning platform to perform SQL queries while being assisted by the chatbot. The results show evidence that students who used the chatbot performed better on the final SQL exam than those who did not. In addition, the research shows positive evidence of the benefits of using such learning platforms to support SQL teaching and learning for both students and lecturers: students use a platform that helps them self-regulate their learning process, while lecturers get interesting metrics on student performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary professional landscape, engineers are confronted with the dual imperative of not only excelling in the core subject expertise but also possessing linguistic competence to remain competitive in the global job market. The current employment scenario is marked by raise in demand but decline in the number of qualified professionals graduating from colleges. Graduates are now expected to embody the qualities of techno-managers, adept at multitasking in their roles. Relying solely on technical skills has proven inadequate for many individuals. Recognizing the evolving job market requirements, it became apparent that students must excel in communication, particularly English communication skills, to thrive professionally. Effective communication fosters the development of confidence, astuteness, and outward skills in students. Language acquisition is a lifelong, active process that commences at birth. Textbooks play a crucial role in achieving the objectives of a course, serving as prominent elements in the teaching process. Language learning, facilitated by learning strategies, involves a set of tactics individuals employ to take control of their learning processes. In today's educational landscape, teachers play a pivotal role in enhancing strategies in second or foreign language classrooms. Their responsibility extends to facilitating learning among students and making their thinking processes visible. Effectively teaching a second language (L2) requires educators to consider the unique needs and backgrounds of each learner. By doing so, they can employ methods that help students in utilizing strategies to enhance their L2 learning experience. This paper provides insights into the trailblazer learning strategies that augment the language skills repertoire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluid mechanics, a required course in many undergraduate engineering disciplines, is often described as a challenging subject as it weaves together advanced mathematics and physics to solve conventional engineering problems. This study examines the effect of incorporating a physical model project via multidisciplinary teams into two theory-based fluid mechanics courses to address two general questions: Does the design and construction of the physical model aid in understanding fluid mechanics concepts? Does working with students of different engineering disciplines improve student experience and comprehension? The study was conducted in Spring 2023 with a cohort of 49 mechanical and civil engineering students; each project team had a mix of both disciplines. At the end of the semester, all projects were presented at a common venue, followed by an anonymous paper-based survey. The results indicate that around 83.7% of students felt the project had an overall positive impact on their learning experience. Despite initial student apprehension about multidisciplinary teams, 72% of students appreciated the opportunity to work with engineers from other disciplines, with qualitative inputs describing the value added from varied skill sets. In conclusion, this project enabled students to apply their in-class training to a real-world model while working in multidisciplinary teams. The results provide insight into the implementation of similar projects and the value of multidisciplinary teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of having engineering students proficient in visual literacy has long been recognized. Within this objective, the role of freehand drawing is paramount. It is, therefore, important to reinforce its practice for engineering communication and visual thinking support. This paper reports the findings of a research project aimed at studying the visual literacy skills of engineering students and the use of freehand drawing for this purpose. This exploratory study focuses on visualization and its externalization through freehand drawing. An empirical study was conducted with 66 engineering students from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain). Their skills for expressing visualized images through freehand drawing and their tendency to use drawings for problem-solving were evaluated. The findings of the study indicate that students generally lack skills in expressing ideas through freehand drawing. Additionally, they do not tend to apply drawing when finding solutions to given problems. Considering the importance of freehand drawing to reinforce visual literacy, the implementation of its practice is encouraged in order to have students competent in thinking and communicating through these means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In today's highly competitive global business environment, there is a growing demand for professionals who possess well-developed soft skills. Such abilities include flexibility, effective communication and other skills. Soft skills are personal attributes and qualities that are more closely related to the emotional side of human beings. Individuals must cultivate and hone soft skills during their undergraduate studies. These skills, also known as interpersonal or non-technical skills, are essential to complement hard skills and pave the way for a thriving career trajectory. Soft skills are developed over the course of one's career and are indispensable in establishing a strong, professional presence in the corporate or academic realm. The field of engineering is no exception in this regard, and the business approach during the engineering course is of significant relevance. By acquiring soft skills, engineering graduates will become competitive and adaptable professionals capable of handling the current and future challenges of the job market. The purpose of this study is to investigate the soft skills that students perceive as being better developed during their business classrooms in the engineering course and identify areas for improvement in the business education process. Design/methodology/approach: The research method consisted in four different phases from variables identification to statistical analyses. Then, as part of this approach a structured questionnaire was administered at the end of the engineering course, where students rated their perception of the degree of development of each of the soft skills covered in the course on a scale of zero to ten. The collected data were analysed using multivariate analysis techniques, including factorial analysis. Findings: The results of the study demonstrate that the set of skills acquired by individuals in business classrooms pursuing a degree in industrial engineering is in high demand by potential employers. Such skills are deemed essential for the successful operation of businesses in modern-day industries. The findings of this research validate the significant role that industrial engineering students play in fulfilling the requirements of the job market and pave the way to meaningful insights on how to approach this topic during the business education process in engineering courses. Practical implications: The findings bring about significant insights for national educational councils and ministries, universities and educational stakeholders in the process of updating, rethinking and implementing new curricula criteria in higher education, particularly in the Latin American context. Originality/value: This paper enriches the literature by assessing the development of soft skills of engineering students in the Latin American context. The research reinforces the importance of developing soft skills aligned with those required for the context of current and future labour markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students' engagement is a fundamental challenge in large classrooms in higher education. In recent years, innovative technologies such as electronic learning and online polling platforms have made learning more engaging, effective, and interactive. By using these platforms, educators can create more inclusive and enriching learning environments. This paper presents a novel approach in which an online technology is employed to enhance students' learning experience. In this approach, features of an online polling platform, i.e., Slido, are employed to enhance students' engagement in an engineering module, i.e., 'Mechanics of Solids', which is recognised as a fundamentally challenging module with difficult subjects. This study investigates how the interactive features of such technologies, such as real-time polls, question and answer (Q&A) sessions, and quizzes, can provide a more active and practical learning environment by improving student engagement in the classroom. In total, six online polls were designed: one for ice-breaking, two on the topics of shear forces and bending moment, two on stresses, and one on deflection. Each poll was presented to the students, and they participated in them by scanning a QR code or typing the poll's code online. The rate of students' participation in polls is extensively discussed to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. The findings of this study show a significant increase in student participation in classroom activities compared to traditional methods. Student feedback also indicates a positive learning experience with the use of the proposed approach. It is shown that the proposed approach has the potential to transform the way engineering students engage with challenging subjects, leading to enhanced learning outcomes and a more positive learning experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In keeping with discipline-specific genre expectations for writing in scientific and technological fields, students enrolled in English writing classes for future engineers are often required to produce collaborative reports on team projects. For freshman engineering students, such collaborative report writing, which constitutes a cornerstone in their academic literacy, is an entirely new genre. Drawing on Engeström's (Engeström, Yrjö. 1987. Learning by expanding: An activity theoretical approach to developmental research. Orienta-Konsultit Oy) activity system and Storch's (Storch, Neomy. 2002. Patterns of interaction in ESL pair work. Language and Learning 52(1). 119–158) interaction model, this paper explores two engineering freshmen's experiences of working collaboratively in separate groups in the same writing class. Our focal students were both native-English-speaking women at a U.S. midwestern university. Over the course of one semester, they provided their class notes and project report drafts, and they and the course teaching assistant participated in interviews. Our findings demonstrate that while both students had similar levels of commitment to the collaborative project, their writing experiences differed depending on their respective group members and their own attitudes and experiences. Our case study has implications for engineering freshman writing education as we illustrate how the ESP class we examined can help students prepare for academic and professional communication. We also discuss ways to help apprentice future engineers overcome discipline-specific communication difficulties as they enter a new discourse community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calculus continues to be an important topic of discussion among mathematics education researchers given how it often acts as a gatekeeper for students in STEM. In their extensive 2017 review of calculus literature, Larsen and colleagues identified two main areas of applied research that had largely been neglected: research related (1) to efforts to improve calculus teaching and learning and (2) to equity and social justice. In this review we investigate how scholars have answered this call by reviewing recent literature related to these two themes. First we identified some promising intervention studies that investigated changes at the course level (e.g., calculus courses intended for engineering students) and at the level of specific calculus topics (e.g. using digital tools to help students understand the Fundamental Theorem). Second, we identified several studies on diversity, equity, and inclusion. We found that some studies in this collection still approached this research through traditional methods (e.g., so called achievement gaps) but we also identified promising new directions for research in which scholars utilize critical theories and provide counter-narratives that highlight the strengths of calculus students from historically marginalized groups. We conclude our review by discussing future directions we hope to see in the field that we argue will strengthen current work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study objective: The aim of the study is to assess financial expectations of the students of the Faculty of Management of the Jan and Jędrzej Śniadecki Bydgoszcz University of Technology after graduation and to determine whether the field of study has an impact on salary expectations. The hypothesis was formulated that students of finance and accounting have higher salary expectations than students of other fields. Additionally, it was assumed that 2/3 of the students of this faculty work while studying. The field and level of studies were taken into account. Methods: The study was conducted at the Jan and Jędrzej Śniadecki Bydgoszcz University of Technology. It involved 252 students of the Faculty of Management studying in the following fields: management (hereinafter ZA), management and production engineering (hereinafter ZIP) and finance and accounting (hereinafter FIR). The study was based on the primary data, obtained using a measurement instrument prepared for the needs of the study in the form of an online questionnaire (CAWI), as well as data on the number and structure of students of the Faculty of Management obtained from the University IT Department. Conclusions: The study results show that over 70% of the students take up work while studying. This indicates changes in the labour market, where the market demand for young people with both education and experience is clearly visible. The largest group of respondents, both employed and not working, are students of finance and accounting (first and second-cycle studies). The students of management and production engineering have the highest salary expectations after graduation, while students of finance and accounting have the lowest expectations. Students of management, however, fall between these groups. The salary expectations of finance and accounting students differ from the average salary expectations by PLN 1,334.69, by PLN 1,251.55 (for management students) and by PLN 1,194.76 (for management and production engineering students). Therefore, the largest deviation occurs for finance and accounting students who on average expect lower earnings than students of other fields. For all fields of study, the variation between salary expectations is low, which indicates homogeneity of the population. Interestingly, students of management in the highest percentage do not work in their profession (over 60%). The smallest disproportion between students who work and do not work in their profession exists in the case of finance and accounting students. The largest group working in their profession are students of management and production engineering, followed by students of finance and accounting. Most students, regardless of their cycle, combine work with studying. Among second-cycle students, the largest number of people - over half of the students of management and production engineering, and slightly less than half in the field of finance and accounting work in their profession. Among first-cycle students, the vast majority of respondents, regardless of the field of study, do not take up professional work. There is a relationship between salary expectations and the field of study, and it is statistically significant. This hypothesis was positively verified. Originality: The paper shows on the example of the students of the Faculty of Management of the Jan and Jędrzej Śniadecki Bydgoszcz University of Technology that the vast majority of management and finance students work while studying. The study highlights an extremely important aspect of current studying - combining studies with work, which has been noticed by researchers in Australia (Devlin, James, Grigg, 2008; Creed, French, Hood, 2015), New Zealand (Manthei, Gilmore, 2005) and the USA (Butler, 2007). The article is addressed to universities, in particular those offering courses, such as finance and accounting, management, management and production engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of learning a foreign language for specific purposes, the most suitable, adequate, and innovative approaches are constantly being sought, concerning how and which/what additional (supplementary) materials contribute to more effective 1) subject and 2) language content learning, as well as concerning easy knowledge transfer - from the native to the foreign language. The following paper examines the importance of various content components and illustrative materials as supporting engineering students’ foreign language teaching and learning. By means of an exploratory survey (survey card), the opinion of the students was collected and analyzed, which is indicative of the materials suitable for application in a working environment in their relation with the conceptual apparatus in the studied material in the native and foreign languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of higher education, the pursuit of interdisciplinarity aims to foster the exchange and integration of fragmented knowledge, yielding transformative outcomes. Employing a phenomenological method, this study delves into the interdisciplinary experience of twelve students from a first-year undergraduate calculus class. Through the analysis of written questionnaires, focus group sessions, and supplementary qualitative data, a comprehensive understanding of students' interdisciplinary encounters is unveiled and organized into three main categories: what students think about interdisciplinarity, how they act when being involved in integrations and what external factors are involved in shaping their experience. This paper presents emergent experiential themes, shedding light on both individual and collective experiences, as students navigate and enrich their calculus learning through interdisciplinary connections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students newly admitted to the university must familiarize with the higher education system, must survive to the transition from pre-university system and adapt to the style of learning/organization/evaluation, basically have to adjust to student life. This change from the pre-university system to the university one has a major influence on the young person on several aspects. Some concern personal life, because it is possible for him to access a university in another city or country and then break up with his friends and his current partner. This factor, among many others, can influence school dropout. Thus, in first years of study, the Communication discipline was introduced in the faculties with a technical profile, precisely to improve and facilitate communication in the new environment in which young people develop and to encourage them to work in a team. The paper presents the analysis of the way in which the aforementioned discipline influences interpersonal communication and obviously friendship relations between new colleagues. Two questionnaires were proposed: one for initial evaluation and one after the semester passed, completed by students at the first and at last seminar. The results showed that this discipline is really important and brings added value to collegial relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unhealthy lifestyle among university students is an apparent issue in their quality of life. The criticality of this issue is supplemented by reports that students' lifestyle was severely impacted due to the pandemic and abrupt shift to online learning. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the lifestyle of engineering students at a Malaysian public university. This paper also seeks to determine gender differences in students' lifestyles. Questionnaires were distributed to respondents via Google Forms to uncover their eating habits, physical activity, and sleeping habits. Data were collected for three months from four engineering programmes. Simple random sampling was employed, and 120 responses were obtained. The findings revealed that the students have been practising a moderately unhealthy lifestyle; possess average eating habits; are physically inactive, and do not attain sufficient sleep. This study also observed no significant differences between male and female students' eating and sleeping habits. In contrast, a significant difference was reported between male and female students' physical activities. The results also determined a moderate correlation between eating habits and sleeping habits and also between eating habits and physical activity. The findings recommend universities implement precautionary measures such as constructing relevant courses and health programmes to raise students' awareness of the importance of a holistic lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the deep integration of modern information technology and auxiliary training, virtual reality technology represented by human-computer interaction has gradually received widespread attention. In this paper, virtual reality technology is applied to the physical fitness training of college engineering students to assist teaching, so that learners in the virtual sports situation with the help of VR sensing equipment to complete a variety of sensory real-time interaction, combined with the goal of stimulating feedback mechanism to improve students' self-efficacy and interest in learning, and use practice to explore the teaching effect and potential value of the achieved not only to promote the diversified development of sports skills learning, but also to provide a reference for the application of virtual reality technology in sports. It can not only promote the diversified development of motor skills learning, but also provide reference for the application of virtual reality technology in sports. The application of virtual reality technology in the physical fitness training and teaching of college engineering students can be used as a means to stimulate the effect of the potential learning ability of the learners, in the awakening of interest in the sports situation at the same time to promote the improvement of sports skills, while the traditional classroom learners in the emotional attitude did not have a positive effect on the promotion. Secondly, it is difficult to form an effective stimulating effect in physical quality by different teaching methods. The experimental results show that the application of using virtual reality technology to optimise engineering students' physical fitness training is significant and proves the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) has opened up new opportunities in education, particularly in the field of mobile robotics. Mobile robotics is a fast-growing field, and with the increasing demand for skilled robotics engineers, it is essential to provide students with hands-on experience in designing and developing robots. In this regard, an IoTbased 3D printed mobile robot platform has been developed for students training. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education has been gaining attention as a means to improve science and engineering education. STEM education aims to foster critical thinking, problem-solving skills, creativity, and innovation among students. It involves an educational policy that aims to develop the next generation of skilled professionals by integrating the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The goal of this approach is to provide students in mechatronics, who are assigned to the robotics lab during their studies, an up to date knowledge and experience in research and development activities. Thus, this paper aims to provide education that focuses on the acquisition and application of engineering knowledge, including control engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, information engineering, among others, with the main focus on mobile robot research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education is the means to take the sustainable development goals forward. Sustainable future cannot be built without the strong foundation of education. With the challenges and concerns grappling across the globe, engineers have a big role to play, especially with regard to the implementation and attainment of sustainable development goals. This study attempts to measure the knowledge level of engineering students regarding sustainability and UN Sustainable development goals. This study also aims to measure the understanding and perception of students understanding towards importance of SDG in their everyday life. As our country has a population that is mostly from rural backgrounds, the study also attempted to analyze if there is difference between rural and urban students' level of understanding on sustainable development goals. Finally, the paper attempts to measure student's willingness to learn sustainability concepts as a part of their curriculum. The study followed a descriptive research method. Data for the study was collected from 250 engineering students from west Tamilnadu comprising of 7 states. This region also is the hub for engineering education in the state. The survey was developed based on a thorough literature survey and standardized instruments were identified and administered through online mode. The result of the study indicates that the knowledge levels on SDG is low among the students. The understanding and importance of goals to the everyday life was found to be significant. The study also revealed that rural and urban students differ in 5 SDG's that pertain to their functioning. The results also indicate that majority of the students were willing to be involved in the SDG implementation and interested in having them in their curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) course is crucial for mechanical engineering undergraduate students since it covers a wide range of engineering applications. It makes students ready for their careers in the area of NVH which has received attention from industry. The traditional treatment in teaching the course is mathematically challenging and might not be helpful for some undergraduates who are kinaesthetic learners. The explanation of topics can be facilitated by modern computation tools with simulation and visual capabilities in NVH course. These contemporary simulation tools make it feasible to more effectively and engagingly teach mathematically complex subjects to students for better understanding. This paper describes teaching NVH course in the Mechanical Engineering department at the KLE Technological University. Course is taught in two parts at 5th and 6th semester level. The first course is Mechanical vibrations and the second one Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH). Hands-on lab sessions with the simulation tool are included in the second course to give student in-depth understanding of concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting a research mindset among undergraduate students is crucial to fostering a culture of inquiry, critical thinking, and innovation. HEI's impetus on research at undergraduate levels has garnered increased attention in recent years across the country. For India to make a mark in research, especially in publication at an international level, HEIs must recognize the value of a research-oriented curriculum. The paper attempts to study the effect of undergraduate research experience and institutional support among engineers on research mindset and the impact of research mindset on career aspirations in research. The study followed a descriptive & relational research design. With a theoretical background of expectancy-value theory, four study variables were identified through literature: Undergraduate Research Experience (URE), Institutional Support, Research Mindset, and Career Aspirations in Research. Final and Prefinal year engineering students from tier 1 and tier 2 engineering institutions were the target respondents. Validated scales were adopted and used to collect data. The hypothetical model was formulated and tested with three direct effect hypotheses and indirect effects. Structural equation modelling (covariance-based method) was administered to prove the theoretical framework. Opensource GUI Software, Jamovi, was used for this purpose. The test results indicate a positive impact of URE and Institutional support on research mindset, and research mindset has a positive impact on career aspirations in research among engineers. Suitable suggestions and recommendations follow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]