The Attributes of a Global Engineer Project

Stephen P. HundleyPatricia L. FoxLynn BrownAlan JacobsCatherine DidionDaniel SayreHans J. Hoyer

Goal: Enhance the employability of engineering graduates and increase the international competitiveness of ASEE’s members.

Objectives: To identify the attributes to prepare a globally-oriented engineer

capable of effectively living, working, or performing in a global setting

To use these attributes to target appropriate interventions at various stages of a global engineer’s educational and professional development

To refine and improve the attributes over time to reflect changing circumstances, stakeholder input, and cross-cultural norms

Attributes of a Global Engineer

Engineering Grand Challenges Engineer of 2020 ABET, Inc. Tuning Project (European Union) Association of American Colleges and

Universities’ Essential Learning Outcomes and Project Kaleidoscope

Lumina Foundation’s Degree Qualifications Profile

National Survey of Student Engagement (U.S.)

Alignment with Other Efforts

Process began in early-2008 and involved Corporate Member Council (CMC) members developing a list of competencies

Job descriptions, literature reviews, subject-matter expert input, etc.

Initial list of 48 attributes

After further review and validation from CMC members, a total of 20 attributes of a global engineer emerged

Attributes of a Global Engineer

Partnered with IFEES organizations/societies to translate survey into 13 languages

Launched via SurveyMonkey and collected over 1,000 usable cases

Analytic work centered on understanding the most important attributes at various stages of an engineer’s development◦ Upon completion from high school◦ Upon completion from college/university◦ Early-career professional

Attributes of a Global Engineer

1. Demonstrates an understanding of engineering, science, and mathematics fundamentals

2. Demonstrates an understanding of political, social, and economic perspectives

3. Demonstrates an understanding of information technology, digital competency, and information literacy

4. Demonstrates an understanding of stages/phases of product lifecycle (design, prototyping, testing, production, distribution channels, supplier management, etc.)

5. Demonstrates an understanding of project planning, management, and the impacts of projects on various stakeholder groups (project team members, project sponsor, project client, end-users, etc.)

Attributes of a Global Engineer

6. Demonstrates an understanding of the ethical and business norms and applies norms effectively in a given context (organization, industry, country, etc.)

7. Communicates effectively in a variety of different ways, methods, and media (written, verbal/oral, graphic, listening, electronically, etc.)

8. Communicates effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences

9. Possesses an international/global perspective

10. Possesses fluency in at least two languages

Attributes of a Global Engineer (continued)

11. Possesses the ability to think both critically and creatively

12. Possesses the ability to think both individually and cooperatively

13. Functions effectively on a team (understands team goals, contributes effectively to team work, supports team decisions, respects team members, etc.)

14. Maintains a positive self-image and possesses positive self-confidence

15. Maintains a high-level of professional competence

Attributes of a Global Engineer (continued)

16. Embraces a commitment to quality principles/standards and continuous improvement

17. Embraces an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary perspective

18. Applies personal and professional judgment in effectively making decisions and managing risks

19. Mentors or helps others accomplish goals/tasks

20. Shows initiative and demonstrates a willingness to learn

Attributes of a Global Engineer (continued)

1. Communicates effectively in a variety of different ways, methods, and media*

2. Possesses the ability to think both critically and creatively*

3. Shows initiative and demonstrates a willingness to learn*

4. Functions effectively on a team

5. Possesses the ability to think both individually and cooperatively

6. Demonstrates an understanding of engineering, science, and mathematics fundamentals

7. Demonstrates an understanding of information technology, digital competency, and information literacy

8. Maintains a positive self-image and possesses positive self-confidence

Most Important and Proficient Attributes Rankings

Early-Career Professionals 1-5

yrs

University Graduates

High School Graduates

* These 3 attributes are common across all career-levels and cultures

* The assumption is that students are given the tools and competency (knowledge) during the first stages of their education

Variation In Top 5 Most Important and Proficient Attributes

Early-Career Professionals (1-5 yrs):- Functions effectively on a team- Possesses the ability to think both individually and cooperatively

The global university graduate will demonstrate an understanding of:- engineering, science, and mathematics fundamentals- information technology, digital competency, and

information literacy

The high school graduate:-Demonstrates an understanding of engineering, science, and mathematics fundamentals-Maintains a positive self-image and possesses positive self- confidence

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Respondents

3 Categories of Qualitative Responses (non-bolded comments are respondent repeats)

Language - Missing Attributes How attributes might be used Additional recommendations

English • Cultural sensitivity• Tolerance to other People and perspectives• Open-mindedness and ability to adapt•Ability to behave ethically across cultures

• Improve the curriculum to reflect global attributes• Better prepare students for global workforce• Incorporate into existing initiatives (e.g., ABET)• Share results widely with various stakeholders

• Attributes project is a good initiative• Equip students with “real world” perspectives• Better prepare students for global marketplace• Involve business in preparing global engineers

Turkish • Tolerance to other people and perspectives• Social responsibility• Research and analytical thinking skills• Problem-solving and improvement capabilities

• Improve the curriculum to reflect global attributes• Better prepare students for global workforce• Use attributes as selection tool for students/employees

• Attributes project is a good initiative• Provide student exchange programs• Better prepare students for global marketplace•Involve business in preparing global engineers

Korean • Peer evaluation systems • Develop rubrics for evaluation of global attributes• Improve the curriculum to reflect global attributes• Emphasize the “soft skills” needed by engineers

• Attributes project is a good initiative• Develop “certificate of qualifications” to be used internationally• Ability to design systematically

Spanish • Social responsibility • Entrepreneurship• Tolerance to other people and perspectives• Cultural sensitivity

• Improve teachers’ attitudes toward global subjects• Improve the curriculum to reflect global attributes• Create guides that can be used to teach content• Share results widely with various stakeholders

• Attributes project is a good initiative• Conduct survey regularly to measure progress• Develop scenarios across various countries• Involve business in preparing global engineers

Findings from Analysis of Qualitative Comments

Missing Attributes

Cultural sensitivity; tolerance to other people/perspectives; open-mindedness and ability to adapt; ethical behavior across cultures; social responsibility; research/analytical thinking skills; problem-solving capabilities; ability to peer review; entrepreneurship

Uses/Recommendations

Improve curriculum; better prepare graduates for global work; alignment with ABET; selection tool for students/employees; develop learning modules and assessment rubrics; emphasize the “soft skills” needed by engineers; improve teachers’ approaches toward teaching international concepts

Summary: Missing Attributes and Uses/Recommendations

All attributes have been validated as being important for a global engineer; some attributes are more important than others and the proficiency-levels needed at different “stages” of a professional’s development necessarily vary

Considerable agreement across all languages on the “most important” and “most proficient” attributes needed, with some variance between order of importance and proficiency

The means for importance and proficiency of each attribute are lower for H.S. Graduates, increase for University graduates, and are the highest for Early-Career Professionals; thus, this results in a stair-stepping effect for attributes at each stage

There are statistically-significant language- and role-based differences for some of the attributes, although most of the differences are not in the top attributes

Most qualitative verbatim responses identify a nuanced or more specific discussion of missing attributes, how attributes might be used, and additional recommendations

Summary and Conclusions

Next Steps:2012-2014

Attribute outcome definitions, adaptation, and improvement Development of outcome statements for each attribute Validation of outcomes statement for attributes through

focus group research Create cross-cultural working groups to develop curricular

guides related to specific attributes Pursue grant funding to pilot-test implementation

Today’s Focus Group/Discussion

Group formation Instructions Deliverables

Wrap-up

Q&A / Discussion

Contact Information:Stephen P. Hundley, Ph.D.

Chair and Associate Professor

Department of Technology Leadership and Communication

Purdue School of Engineering and Technology

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

shundley@iupui.edu

+317-274-2876 (work)

+317-847-8383 (mobile)