A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

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Teaching in the disciplines
by graduates (covered explicitly within the curriculum), as well as what engineers view
as the ‘softer (or transferable) skills’, such as an awareness of ethical and environmental
issues. Employers want graduates who demonstrate a wide range of attributes including
analysis, reflection, critique and synthesis, but they also value the ‘soft’ personal skills,
including communication and presentation skills (Harvey, 2003; Engineering Subject
Centre, 2007a). This is a challenge for engineering academics as they seek innovative
ways of integrating these into an already packed curriculum.
The most effective way of providing opportunities for students to develop these skills
is by embedding them within a discipline context in a module. Not only does this help
to overcome difficulties of fitting new material into an already full curriculum, but it also
helps the students to learn within a context that is relevant.
• Communications skills occur within a context of giving a presentation about project
work.
• Enterprise and entrepreneurship skills (risk assessment, risk-taking, creativity skills,
business planning and overcoming fear of failure) may be included as part of a team
project to design and develop an innovative product.
• Intellectual property awareness should be raised during the first year. Students can
be encouraged to review IP of consumer items, technical assignment and patents
and trademarks policy of their placement company (Engineering Subject Centre,
2007b).
• Ethical aspects of engineering are becoming an increasingly important theme. The
curriculum map (Royal Academy of Engineering and the Engineering Professors’
Council, 2005) provides a framework for ethics across each level of an undergraduate
programme, defining the location within the curriculum, the learning outcomes,
content and process. Case studies to support the teaching of ethics to engineering
students have been developed by the Inter-disciplinary Ethics Applied CETL (IDEAS,
2007).
• Education for sustainable development should be a component of all courses to
ensure students develop the skills and knowledge that will enable them to think and
act critically and effectively about sustainability issues. This is often taught within
design courses and a toolbox with teaching materials is available (Loughborough
University, 2004).
Engineering departments would not usually expect their staff to have the expertise to
cover all these areas, but delivery can be provided jointly with departments and services
within the institution (business schools, enterprise units and careers services may be able
to help with entrepreneurship; a law department will have experts on IP; a philosophy
department may have ethicists to support teaching of ethics). External speakers from
industry, professional bodies, government organisations and alumni can provide
additional interest and expertise.
An audit of what you already do in the curriculum with respect to employability may
help to highlight strengths and areas for improvement (Engineering Subject Centre,