Assessing Engineering Global Competencies – Importance and Preparation

Abstract

In the last decade and a half, there has been particular interest and action towards globalization and preparation of undergraduate engineers for the practice of engineering in a global context. To support program change decisions, a study with the goals of 1) determine the relative importance of a defined set of eight competencies related to the practice of engineering in a global context, 2) determine the perceived level of preparation of recent engineering graduates related to the competencies, 3) collect suggestions for improvement from selected constituencies, and 4) gather both information about current company practices and employment conditions for recent graduates, was undertaken. By seeking ratings of both importance and preparation, both importance and a gap analysis can be used to set priorities for curriculum change. Eight competencies were arrived at by review of competencies from recent studies reported in the literature for engineering and those defined for all students of the University by the Office of International Affairs at Ohio State University. The eight are:1. Understanding of global cultural diversities and their impact on engineering decisions.2. Ability to deal with ethical issues arising from cultural or national differences.3. Proficiency in a second language. 4. Ability to communicate across cultural and linguistic boundaries. 5. Proficiency in working in an ethnically and culturally diverse team. 6. Understanding of the connectedness of the world and the workings of the global economy. 7. Understanding of the international aspects of engineering topics such as supply chain management, intellectual property, liability and risk, market and product design considerations, and business practices. 8. Familiarity with the history, government, and economic system of several target countries. Surveys were conducted using three populations: 1) 2 and 3 year engineering alumni, 2) 10 and 15 year engineering alumni, and 3) members of the departmental and college advisory committees. Respondents were asked to rank, using a Likert type scale, the eight competencies for both importance and preparation. From this a gap or difference was calculated. Summary observations include: Sequence of importance ratings shows some difference of opinion between groups.However all three highly rated both: 7. Understanding of the international aspects of engineering… and 5. Proficiency in working in … diverse team. Two of the three groups highly rated 6. Understanding of the connectedness…. The lowest two for all three groups were: 3. Proficiency in a foreign language and 8. Familiarity with the history….  Sequence for gap or difference (Importance-Preparation) ratings also shows some similarities and some differences. All three groups showed the largest gap, by some margin, for: 7. Understanding of the international aspects of engineering…. Across groups the next largest gaps would be 6. Understanding of the connectedness of the world… and 4. Ability to communicate across cultural and linguistic boundaries.