Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15516/cje.v17i2.1062
Transversal Competences of University Students of Engineering
Remedios Hernandez-Linares
; Centro Universitario de Mérida, University of Extremadura
J. Enrique Agudo
; Centro Universitario de Mérida, University of Extremadura
Mercedes Rico
; Centro Universitario de Mérida, University of Extremadura
Héctor Sánchez
; Centro Universitario de Mérida, University of Extremadura
Abstract
One of the key changes of the European Higher Education Area is the implementation of a competence-based educational system. Students are now more than ever the axis around which the university system orbits. The competences that students should acquire during their studies include transversal competences, which are those competences related to leadership skills, problem solving, and teamwork, highly
valued by labor market. This is particularly important in engineering, as these skills can influence the selection of one candidate over another. So, the evaluation and teaching of these kinds of competences are now some of the main challenges facing university professors as the corresponding learning objectives need to be set and assessed, both for study programs as well as for each individual subject, and this
process is new for teachers. Focusing precisely on this aspect, our work, based on an empirical study conducted with a sample of 102 engineering students from the University Center of Merida, uses a tool to measure the progress of such students in different transversal competences. This tool not only allows us to evaluate the level of
competence development, but also allows us to detect students’ areas of weakness in cross-curricular training that can then be addressed.
Keywords
the Bologna process; competence based education; engineering education; higher education; labor market
Hrčak ID:
141185
URI
Publication date:
29.6.2015.
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