Search Results for
"Engineering education"

Integrating bioinspired design and additive manufacturing into engineering education fosters innovation to meet the growing demand for accessible, personalized assistive technologies. This paper presents the outcomes of an international course, “3D Prosthetics and Orthotics”, offered to undergraduate students in the Biomimetic program at Westfälische Hochschule (Germany), in collaboration with the 3D Orthotics and Prosthetics Laboratory at the Federal University of São Paulo—UNIFESP (Brazil). The course combined theoretical and hands-on modules covering digital modeling (CAD), simulation (CAE), and fabrication (CAM), enabling students to develop bioinspired assistive devices through a Project-based learning approach. Working in interdisciplinary teams, students addressed real-world rehabilitation challenges by translating biological mechanisms into engineered solutions using additive manufacturing. Resulting prototypes included a hand prosthesis based on the Fin Ray effect, a modular finger prosthesis inspired by tendon–muscle antagonism, and a cervical orthosis designed based on stingray morphology. Each device was digitally modeled, mechanically analyzed, and physically fabricated using open-source and low-cost methods. This initiative illustrates how biomimetic mechanisms and design can be integrated into education to generate functional outcomes and socially impactful health technologies. Grounded in the Mao3D open-source methodology, this experience demonstrates the value of combining nature-inspired principles, digital fabrication, Design Thinking, and international collaboration to advance inclusive, low-cost innovations in assistive technology. © 2025 by the authors.

The purpose of this article is to assess the effects of teaching methodologies in the context of higher education, particularly the competency-based approach (CBA), on the development of key skills. To this end, a survey was conducted with 104 students from different fields in Higher Normal Schools (HNS) and Higher School of education and Training (HSET). The SPSS framework (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) was the main tool used to analyses data. The results show that students have significantly developed various key skills, including creativity, teamwork, cooperation, communication, and problem-solving, as a consequence of using CBA. Moreover, the correlation between the 4Cs skills (creativity, collaboration, communication, critical thinking) of the HNS and HSET shows that the relationship between them is weak, meaning they are only loosely connected, except for a slight correlation between collaboration and communication, where it is observed that students with a better level of communication are more collaborative. The results of the comparison of these skills show that they do not follow the normal distribution. In conclusion, this article sheds light on the positive effects of CBA methods on the developing transversal skills among higher education students. This highlights the importance of promoting CBA in higher education programs to ensure better alignment between the skills acquired and the workplace needs. © 2025, International Organization on 'Technical and Physical Problems of engineering'. All rights reserved.

In an increasingly interconnected and technologically driven world, workplace learning must adapt to meet global demands, embrace diversity, and integrate emerging technologies. The rapid pace of innovation, combined with post-pandemic shifts, has made continuous reskilling and upskilling essential for organizational resilience and individual success. Effective global leadership now requires cultural competence, adaptability, and a proactive approach to risk and change. Addressing these evolving needs ensures that professionals across industries remain competitive and capable in a dynamic global environment. Navigating the Global Workforce Through Workplace Learning and Professional Development serves as a comprehensive resource to current trends, strategies, and innovations in global workplace learning, with a focus on reskilling and adapting to technological and cultural shifts. Covering topics such as continuous learning, intercultural communication, and workplace learning, this book is an excellent resource for education practitioners, graduate students, policymakers, supervisors, managers, guidance counselors, workplace learning professionals, researchers, academicians, and more. © 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved.

This paper investigates the prospects for artisan development in South Africa's Architecture, engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. Despite the vital economic contributions of this industry, attracting new entrants, aiding their transition into the workforce, and retaining skilled artisans remain significant challenges. The research focuses on strategies for addressing these issues, specifically within the context of South Africa's Institute for National Development of Learnerships, Employment Skills, and Labour Assessments. A critical literature review and qualitative interviews with key stakeholders revealed insights into existing policy implementation, the quality and relevance of training programmes, and the recognition of artisans' prior learning. The research findings underscore the urgent need for robust and inclusive skills development strategies, recognizing prior learning as a key intervention and improved advocacy for artisan professions. Establishing clear targets, enhancing digitization processes, and strengthening institutional roles are vital steps towards addressing artisans' skill shortages in South Africa's AEC industry. © 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited: All rights reserved.

Over more than two decades, The University of Glasgow has co-designed and delivered numerous software engineering focused courses with industry partners, covering both technical and discipline specific professional skills. Such collaborations are not unique and many of the benefits are well recognised in the literature. These include enhancing the real-world relevance of curricula, developing student professional networks ahead of graduation and easing recruitment opportunities for employers. However, there is relatively little scholarship on the perspectives of industry practitioners who participate in course design and delivery. This gap is significant, since the effort invested by practitioners is often substantial and may require ongoing support from both the industry partner and academic institution. Understanding the motivations, expectations and experiences of practitioners who engage in course delivery can guide the formation of future partnerships and ensure their long-term sustainability. We begin to address this gap by reporting on the outcomes of a retrospective conducted amongst the practitioner coauthors of this paper, with the academic coauthors acting as facilitators. All coauthors have participated in the recent co-design and delivery of software engineering courses, but we choose to focus explicitly on the perspectives of the practitioners. We report on the themes that emerged from the discussions and our resulting recommendations for future collaborations. © 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).

Developing the workforce is integral to individual, community, and organisational economic development for current and future businesses and industries. This qualitative case study explored factors influencing the workforce development of Technical and Vocational education and Training (TVET) college graduates. The research sample was drawn using purposive and convenience sampling. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with ten participants (five Electrical engineering students, two lecturers, one head of department, and two Human Resource managers). Thematic analyses were used to analyse data. The findings revealed that the TVET curriculum needs to be more responsive to the needs of the students. In addition, the study showed that the Electrical engineering course lacks the practical component, and the course’s brief duration makes it impossible to finish the curriculum. This study recommends that the curriculum used in TVET colleges be revised continuously to ensure that students acquire the appropriate and relevant skills that will prepare them for employment. The practical component of the curriculum should be prioritised. Furthermore, a coordinated approach involving stakeholders (TVET colleges, industries, and students) should be followed to strengthen relationships and ensure that students are prepared to meet the demands of the labour market. If current TVET actors do not act, current TVET trends and practices could impact the local economy and the availability of skilled workers. © 2025, Penerbit UTHM. All rights reserved.

Background and Aim: There have been significant higher education curriculum reform initiatives over the past 30 years across different global regions in response to a range of drivers such as employability, global citizenship, and sustainability. In professions such as engineering, a key focus has been on holistic graduate attribute development for scarce skills needs in increasingly complex socio-technical sectors. This paper sets out to explore the drivers of engineering curriculum reform in higher education institutions (HEIs) in a Global South context. Design/Method: Drawing on semi-structured, recorded focus group interviews with 28 program coordinators and academics across 15 of the 16 HEIs offering engineering qualifications in South Africa, the research team set out to determine what kinds of curriculum reform initiatives were being undertaken, who was responsible for initiating, implementing, and supporting these initiatives, and what were perceived to be challenges and successes. The emergent drivers were framed in relation to curriculum responsiveness theory analyzed using an overarching “critical realist” framework with structure, culture, and agency dimensions that systemically influence how curriculum reform is constrained or enabled. Results: The findings reveal both internal and external drivers that align with economic, institutional, and pedagogical responsiveness. The dominance of some levers over others is influenced by the underlying structural and cultural dimensions that affect agency. While some institutions show agency in curriculum reform, the dominant structure–culture dynamic often constrains innovation and maintains the status quo. Conclusion: The structure–culture–agency relationships that are presented highlight factors that constrain or enable curriculum reform, which has implications for practice and policy. To drive meaningful and sustainable reform, policymakers must develop frameworks that incentivize not only compliance with accreditation standards but also pedagogical innovation and social responsiveness, ensuring that curriculum transformation aligns with both economic demands and societal needs. © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of engineering education published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for engineering education.

Background: The demand for a highly skilled engineering workforce is escalating because of rapid technological change and global investments in STEM. Although education and industry systems are responding with new training models and policies, engineering education research has been slower to adapt. Despite its relevance, engineering workforce development (EWD) has remained a peripheral topic in journals such as the Journal of engineering education. Purpose: This editorial challenges the field to reposition EWD as a central domain of inquiry. We advocate for a broader and more inclusive definition of EWD that reflects diverse educational pathways, credentials, and professional roles. Scope: We draw from interdisciplinary research, global policy initiatives, and national workforce trends to highlight opportunities for deeper engagement. We analyze the current marginalization of EWD within engineering education research, especially in journal publication patterns, and point to promising efforts in professional societies and federal funding. Results: To move EWD from the margins to the center of engineering education, we recommend (i) expanding research agendas to reflect lifelong learning and diverse career pathways, (ii) embedding EWD within professional infrastructures such as journals and societies, and (iii) increasing dedicated funding for EWD research across education levels and sectors. Conclusions: engineering education must evolve in tandem with the changing workforce it serves. Centering EWD as a research priority will improve relevance, expand impact, and better prepare learners for the demands of modern engineering work. © 2025 American Society for engineering education.

The immense aim of education is not knowledge but action. Any education system should offer an opportunity to the student to adapt what she or he has learnt in practice and develop professionally. When the learning happens by implementing, the knowledge that is used becomes inerasable in the mind. In this context this paper discusses how a project- based learning approach adopted in Microcontroller course enhances the programming skill of a student and also how effectively this skill can be infused with CDIO standards. Courses like Microprocessor and Microcontroller involves both theoretical and practical classes. However, Reports and feedback say students were not successful in implementing big projects in companies using higher end processors with some hands-on exercises during their course learning. This work addresses this issue by introducing Project-based learning (PBL) enables students to gain critical competencies that support professional education and equip them for employment in the future. A project is a special undertaking that has uncertainties that must be effectively handled during execution. Instead of the usual essay- and exam-based traditional classroom learning, project-based learning is better able to tackle the challenges of training students to solve real-world problems. The students were insisted to do their own project which brings the applicability of PBL to implementation phase of CDIO standard. Through well-defined learning objectives of PBL, programming skill, debugging skill, readiness to adopt and implement by acquiring overall confidence in the course, were undoubtedly improved beyond the regular theory and laboratory classes. Also, the assessment methodology was changed on the basis of project implemented by the students. In the proposed method, PBL guarantees numerous opportunities for learning outside of the classroom. © 2025, Rajarambapu Institute Of Technology. All rights reserved.

The advent of the era of intelligence, digitalization, and intelligence is of great practical significance to the upgrading and transformation of education and teaching informatization in modern industrial colleges and universities. However, there are widespread problems such as fuzzy evaluation results, lack of digital characteristics, lack of informatization, lack of virtual simulation, and non-standard construction standards. In order to improve and optimize the construction effectiveness of modern industrial colleges and universities, Adapt to the changing needs of information technology to solve the current problems. Yaahp12 software is used to conduct an analytic hierarchy process to construct an evaluation index system, which is easy to cluster calculation according to expert opinions. Through the establishment of the evaluation index system, AHP is applied and Yaahp12 software is used to cluster the expert opinions to determine the weight of the index, and it is found that the talent training mode, management system mechanism, and professional construction quality have a greater weight. Through the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation results obtained by questionnaire survey, it is concluded that the effective evaluation results of course quality, teacher qualification, practice base, and industry-university-research information platform exist in modern industrial colleges and universities are low. Some measures such as upgrading a full simulation digital laboratory, leveraging enterprise intelligence technology and resources, and innovating classroom teaching based on real scenes are put forward to try to upgrade and transform modern industrial colleges. It is suggested that teachers should enhance the digital literacy of industry, teaching, and education, further highlight the role of the industry-university-research information service platform, and improve the construction of industrial colleges and universities. © 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).