Survey Results: How Does Lifelong Learning Enable Alumni Careers?

Abstract

This paper presents findings from an engineering alumni survey intended to understand the role of lifelong learning in graduates’ careers. It builds on prior work aiming to clarify how engineering programs should address the important but nebulous CEAB graduate attribute. By contrasting alumni responses to the existing graduate attribute definition, we find opportunities to reconsider and clarify how the lifelong learning attribute is conceptualized.
 Survey respondents (n = 279) came from two undergraduate engineering departments at our institution and graduated between 1991 and 2020 (i.e. 1-30 years after graduation). Overall, respondents rated “maintaining competence in the field associated with your undergraduate degree” and “contributing to the advancement of knowledge in the field associated with your undergraduate degree” as less important than factors related to developing competency and advancing knowledge in domains outside of their undergraduate degree fields. Learning from others, learning for the purpose of innovating, and learning to develop empathy and emotional intelligence were additional factors that are not inherent in the CEAB definition of lifelong learning. These findings have implications for accreditation and licensure body intentions as well as the content and pedagogy of undergraduate curriculum.

Identifying curriculum factors that facilitate lifelong learning in alumni career trajectories: Stage 2 of a sequential mixed-methods study

“…This paper presents results from a sub-set of survey questions focusing on the relationship between experienced curriculum and lifelong learning orientations. Other results are presented in a separate publication that contrasts alumni perspectives on lifelong learning's role in careers with accreditation definitions [41]. We begin this section by briefly describing the sample's demographic and pre-university characteristics.…”

“…As part of the larger curriculum realignment project, we conducted exploratory semi-structured interviews with 24 alumni who graduated between 1991 and 2020 [28]. We analyzed the data to identify themes related to career trajectories, lifelong learning, and workplace learning motivations and strategies and integrated these with existing concepts and relationships from lifelong learning, education, and college/university impact literature to develop a conceptual framework (Figure 1) that addresses lifelong learning across and between undergraduate engineering education and career trajectories.…”

Evaluation of a Work-Integrated Learning Program for Undergraduate STEM Outreach Instructors

“…The future skills framework also aligns with recent literature on the importance of lifelong learning. For example, work assessing the lifelong learning priorities of engineering program alumni prioritized skills that align with future readiness, including general curiosity and desire to learn; learning from others who have expertise in domains other than your own; innovation to develop creative and effective products, processes and services; and solving novel scientific or technical problems [9]. Lifelong learning skills like "ability & eagerness to learn" and "self awareness" align with the need to work through the complex sociotechnical challenges that engineers face today [10], and support students in navigating an evolving labour system [11].…”