Research Student Project

Supervisor name & contact details:

Una Beagon

Assistant Head of School

School of Civil & Structural Engineering una.beagon@tudublin.ie

Research Center Name and Website

This project will be undertaken as part of the CREATE research group. The overarching goal of CREATE is to foster a community of STEM education research, in particular we aim to nurture and support excellence in STEM education research. https://sites.google.com/a/dit.ie/create/home

Please indicate if the intention is to transfer from the Masters programme to the PhD programme (if applicable)

MPhil and PhD opportunities available

Funding Arrangements

Self-Funded (Scholarship not available. Fees & Materials to be paid by the student. Materials costs not significant)

Funding Agency

N/A

Funding Details

N/A

Subject Area

Engineering Education Research Professional Skills

Title of the Project

Professional Skills in Engineering Programmes: An Assessment of student outcomes from pedagogical practices in Ireland.

Project Description (max 300 words)

Engineers of the future will be presented with complicated, complex problems and will need to consider multi-perspective views, whilst being conscious of long-term effects and the impacts of decisions on society. These engineers will most certainly need fundamental technical skills, but as the rate of change in technology increases, engineers must also become competent in other non-technical skills, what is termed here “Professional Skills”.

This study follows on from phenomenographic research which looked to investigate the variation in ways in which academics perceive professional skills. This work will involve a study of curriculum documentation from Irish HEIs to identify the extent of and variation of ways in which Professional Skills are implemented in engineering programmes and the resultant effect on student outcomes.

The main research question is therefore: “What effect do different approaches to teaching have on student outcomes relating to Professional Skills in Engineering Programmes in Ireland"?

The work will involve curriculum analysis, surveys and focus groups or interviews.

The outcomes will help shape curriculum design, inform accreditation policy and enhance pedagogical training for engineering academics.

Student requirements for this project

Minimum of a 2.1 honours degree.

Deadline to submit applications (only for funded projects)

If you are interested in submitting an application for this project, please complete an Expression of Interest and email it to phd@dit.ie.