Engineering graduates for industry - Royal Academy of Engineering

It was frequently cited that the experience-led components allow students to acquire ‘soft’ skills at the same time as, not
at the expense of, the technical skills and this was seen as important. High priority given to group work in the curriculum
is apparent at every case study university, although this has also resulted in a need for universities to ensure that
assessment methods are appropriate for the increased use of group work. Both employers and students frequently refer
to the benefits of work experience and it is considered more should be done to encourage wider uptake of placements
or other experience of industry.
“The experience I have gained is experience that I couldn’t have gained in an academic setting and will be extremely beneficial
for my future employability.” (returning placement student, Aston University)
Table 3: How experience-led engineering degrees meet the graduate recruitment needs of industry
As shown in Table 3, experience-led engineering degrees help to meet the graduate recruitment needs of industry
(as identified in Section 3.1) by providing attractive courses, relevant high quality curricula and student experience of
industry. Opportunities for more widespread adoption of experience-led components in degree programmes exist in
all universities and accreditation is a powerful vehicle that could be used to ensure further take up of experience-led
activities. The Accreditation Standard gives universities freedom to plan and resource programmes, provided they
achieve the required outcomes and values design as a means to integrate knowledge and understanding.
42 The Royal Academy of Engineering