This full paper builds on the work of the first author's PhD dissertation that explores undergraduate ChemicalEngineering students' perspectives on why they chose to enroll at a higher education institution in the US. The research brings together capabilities approach and engineering higher education literature in the aim of highlighting students voices. Current literature tends to discuss engineering as a profession, and the history of that profession, and less focused on the purpose of engineering as a degree in itself, which this work aims to change. Capabilities Approach framework, also referred to as the Human Development Approach is concerned with the question of what a person is able to do and be. It also provides a perspective on thinking about purpose of education in terms of instrumental, intrinsic, and social values.The paper draws on data from a larger project which is focused on the experiences of students studying Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in England, South Africa and the United States of America. We use some of the data from the Chemical Engineering students in the United States in order to explore students' perspectives on the purpose of enrolling in a higher education institution and obtaining an engineering degree. Each case is built around a higher education institution, whereas the embedded units of analysis focus on the students' narratives. The study particularly explores the phenomena from a longitudinal perspective by analyzing data from four different students from the time they enroll in those institutions to the time they graduate, summing up to a total of sixteen interviews. The paper particularly focuses on answering the following research question: RQ: What are the held perspectives of undergraduate Chemical Engineering students towards the purpose of higher education in the US? Primary results show a variety of perspectives and reasoning why students pursue an engineering degree. Conforming to societal expectations, securing a job, as well as learning and developing on personal levels all came up and will need to be further investigated. This research is set to address the problem of the neglect of the students' voices in the literature, and to address the lack of research on higher education within the engineering education space.

There is limited contemporary evidence around students' experience of lectures, notwithstanding critiques of their value. This study focuses on second year chemical engineering students across four institutions in England and South Africa. The analysis of student interviews identified three themes describing what students value in lectures. In terms of interaction they valued simply being able to ask questions. In terms of explanations, pacing was key and working through problems by hand was valued, while the use of powerpoint often received critique. The final theme shows how resources form a crucial link from the lecture into students' private studying. This study also drew on lecturer interviews, and the comparison shows considerable coherence between lecturer intentions and students experiences. The final aspect of this study compared across institutions, and here we see the structural impact of the high levels of contact time in the South African programmes.

Besides engineering she enjoys learning theoretical Math and Physics concepts. She pursued a minor in mathematics alongside her bachelor's degree. She is also actively involved in writing and reading initiatives on campus. Currently, she is working on her undergraduate research thesis that looks at the language diversity of engineers in Qatar. Her primary research interests are cultural factors in engineering learning, assessment methods, and project-based learning.

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is a first year PhD student in Engineering Education with a background in Mechanical Engineering. Her primary research interests are culture and identity, teaching and learning, and design of learning spaces. Her ultimate career goal is to bring together engineering, education, and design thinking.