Ways and Benefits of Closing the Gap : Aligning Language and Communication Teaching with the Technical Curriculum

This paper describes the background, process and results of two educational change projects at the language and communication department of a major European technical university during 2016-2019. Working in two consecutive steps with the Global Engineers Language Skills (GELS) framework, and the OECD definition of Global Competence, syllabi and learning activities were revised to improve alignment of the language and communication courses offered by the department with the overall technical curriculum of the university, and make them better tools for internationalisation and work toward sustainable development. Apart from improved alignment and quality enhancement, i.e., courses more suited to the needs of engineering graduates, to the university, and to society, the course projects were also aimed at faculty competence development. While overall successful, the projects – as with most endeavours toward educational change – also encountered some challenges and setbacks. The purpose of the paper is both to describe the work undertaken, and to explore what lessons can be learned with a view to similar projects at other technical universities.
QC 20200603