Engineering students at Linköping University are given the opportunity to improve their soft skills through the course Professionalism for Engineers. Soft skills are becoming more and more important in succeeding professionally as well as personally, especially among engineering students, who are more used to improving their hard skills. The course presents the students with a mixture of in-class and out-of-class activities, in which the latter makes use of three different platforms to provide the students with necessary information regarding the course.  This study has focused on combining the three platforms by creating a new E-learning platform, where further improvements and additions have been added to create a more supporting environment, in which the out-of-class activities are at the centre. The platform was evaluated through qualitative user tests and the quantitative User Experience Questionnaire, in which four students, enrolled in the course Professionalism for Engineers, participated. Every category in the User Experience Questionnaire received a positive value, implying that the users were overall pleased with the platform and experienced it as being intuitive, efficient and motivating.  The proposed platform, with the added functions and design elements, has the potential to support the students in doing their out-of-class activities, and the circumstances whilst doing these activities has been changed to enhance the students' active learning experience.

Those working in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields are delivering world-changing solutions to the problems we face and are saving lives every day. Some of them do surgeries, some design airplanes and cars, others study the wildlife around us, and others create processes to facilitate the manufacturing of devices we use often. In order to do this, the engineers, scientists, doctors, and other professionals in STEM disciplines need to possess hard skills. Hard skills are often called technical skills and are measurable abilities and skills that are needed to perform tasks effectively. The tasks done share something in common: they are intended to improve the lives of those around us. Additional examples include the work done to protect us from nuclear threats, the research done during pandemics to find vaccines, and learning about animal in the ecosystem. While the hard skills are important and essential to have, paired with soft skills, we have a more powerful and stronger combination of skills. Soft skills are often called interpersonal skills or people skills. They are related to how we build relationships and interact effectively with others. They enhance our ability to do both technical and nontechnical work. If the work those in STEM disciplines do is intended to help individuals, society, and people, how can we do this effectively if we do not have strong people skills? How are we to improve the lives of individuals through the work we do in STEM if we cannot fully interact effectively with those individuals? This study will explore how participants from STEM disciplines at an educational and industry level rated themselves in their effective use of soft skills and provide suggestions based on their feedback on how we can improve our soft skills.

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Recently, in the United States and worldwide, the excellence of soft skills competencies among entry-level employees has become a priority task of education. Construction employers are encountering a significant gap between the soft skills possessed by the entry level construction graduates and those needed by construction employers, thereby becoming a major challenge for both industry and academia. This research proposed a soft skills instructional curriculum that aims to increase cultivation of soft skills among construction students by exploring the soft skills needed in the construction industry and improving the soft skills educational tools in construction schools. Moreover, the research will answer broad questions such as: Which soft skills matter the most? What is the magnitude of the soft skills gap? And, how do students get help to cultivate soft skills? A stakeholders-driven exploratory embedded mixed-design research approach was adopted utilizing Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) framework. The DFSS framework is comprised of five phases: Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify. Therefore, the research defined and organized the construction related soft skills into 12 clusters. The 12 clusters were used to benchmark the soft skills clusters performance among construction graduates using a survey instrument. Simultaneously, the research identified 40 instructional strategies and then defined the relationships between each soft skills cluster and the 40 instructional strategies using structured interviews with experts from academia. The survey data was used to measure the gap in each skill cluster using Gap Score Method and prioritize them into four sets: Critical Clusters, Ideal Clusters, Lowest Priority Clusters, and Least Clusters. Then, the research implemented four Quality Function Deployment matrices using the data acquired from the survey, structured interviews, and the analysis. The four matrices were used to develop a soft skills instructional curriculum comprised of four instructional models in which each soft skills clusters set was matched with the effective instructional strategies. Finally, the research added the values of Gap Score and the value of Sigma Level for each cluster to the proposed curriculum to be used as indicators to measure the future changes in the industry's soft skills need. The proposed curriculum was shared with four experts from academia and they verified the results. It is expected that the research results will pave the road for launching any future soft skills initiatives in construction education. They revealed significant evidence of the existence of soft skills gaps among construction graduates and proposed an effective soft skills instructional curriculum. It is expected that through utilizing this curriculum, the teaching activities of construction will improve and broaden the soft skills taught in the classrooms to correlate with those needed in the marketplace. Consequently, this will help bridge the gaps between construction graduates and their employers and ultimately facilitate the recruitment of construction graduates. / Ph. D.

Purpose – SUFUvet is a cross-disciplinary teaching-learning project designed to adapt students’ soft skills and track usability and the concrete surplus value of work techniques in the field of visual media design. Design/methodology/approach – For SUFUvet, a collaboration between the Institute of Food Hygiene/University of Leipzig and the Media Center/Technische Universität Dresden was initiated. Bachelor students of media informatics generate 3D visualisations in the framework of SCRUM: Undergraduate veterinary students issue instructions in order to create an e-learning class. During the project, questionnaires, group discussions, and feedback methods are used to detect changes in selected soft skills. Originality/value – This design is meant to increase knowledge and employability by adapting student’s media, communication, and project management competences. Using SCRUM appears to be a new approach, not only in the field of programming, but for media production as well. Additionally, it offers an interdisciplinary work environment, which is rare but considered fruitful within university studies. Practical implications – The outcomes of the application are a 3D-visualised meat inspection e-learning class for veterinary students plus a documentation of SCRUM as a framework for visual media design. It is seen as an experiment for future applications in a variety of cross-disciplinary learning and media design cases.

Aim. In close cooperation with an international automotive supplier we developed the “C2” business simulation game in order to meet real work practice needs. Based on the example of a site-location decision and the setup of a new factory in China, the participants of the game experienced the challenges of an interdisciplinary project team as well as project management in complex and rapidly changing situations. During the game we used the creative learning method LEGO® Serious Play®,1 which helps to express different understandings through hands-on modelling. The aim of the game is to acquire and improve both technical project management knowledge and soft skills of the participants. Method. In total, 47 students participated in one of six two-day game sessions. They reported self-perceptions about their skill level through pre- and postgame questionnaires. Further data were collected during the simulation game based on observations, lessons learned reflections of the participants and evaluation questionnaires. Results. Results from our pre- and post-game self-assessment questionnaires show that the “C2” business simulation game improves not only conceptual knowledge about project management but also team working and the participants’ other soft skills. Results indicate that the students’ reactions to the simulation game were positive, and students felt that the LEGO Serious Play method helped them to better cope with challenges of teamwork, influences of stakeholders, risk factors and unpredictable project situations. Conclusion. These results suggest that our business simulation game has the potential to be an effective learning and training tool to provide students with relevant skills necessary for project managers. By giving students the opportunity to act in an authentic scenario based on a real project case, we can support their action-oriented as well as their trial-and-error learning, or in short their learning through experience.

The relevance of this master's thesis lies in the fact that in the conditions of high competition in the labor market, organizations need trained highly qualified personnel. Soft skills of specialists are valued on a par with professional skills, they are amenable to development, if you use the necessary technologies correctly. This paper was the first time that technologies and applications for soft skills were classified. The study shows the benefits of active participation of students in the activities of public organizations, in extracurricular activities, for the development of soft skills of the future specialist. Among the most significant practical results are recommendations to improve the soft skills technologies of participants of public organizations of UrFU and "Soft skills development program for participants of student groups." / Актуальность данной магистерской диссертации заключается в том, что в условиях высокой конкуренции на рынке труда организациям необходим подготовленный высококвалифицированный персонал. Мягкие навыки специалистов ценятся наравне с профессиональными, они поддаются развитию, если грамотно использовать необходимые технологии. В данной работе впервые была проведена классификация технологий и вариантов их применения для развития soft skills. Проведенное исследование свидетельствует о пользе активного участия студентов в деятельности общественных организаций, во внеучебной деятельности, для развития мягких навыков будущего специалиста. К числу наиболее значимых практических результатов следует отнести рекомендации по совершенствованию технологий развития soft skills участников общественных организаций УрФУ и «Программу развития soft skills у участников студенческих отрядов».

There are various factors that accounting educators should consider when involved in accounting education. These include: A continuous changing business environment; A new generation of learners studying at universities; A lack of skills among learners; Accounting educators resisting changes in accounting education; and The requirements for continuing professional education. From the literature it seems that much research has been done in the field of accounting education, but that it did not find practical application in the classroom. It is therefore necessary to think creatively in order to find practical solutions for the challenges facing both lecturers and facilitators. In the study the following elements of the teaching-learning environment were identified: Learners; The lecturer/facilitator; The milieu; The subject content (including technical content and competencies); and the Teaching methodology. Each of these elements were investigated during the research in order to identify factors from literature that could be included in an improved teaching plan. As part of the plan (methodology) a board game "Commercium™" was developed to meet the requirements of the teaching-learning environment. The board game was evaluated by first year learners at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. The evaluation proved to be very positive. The learners indicated that technical skills, understanding of the roles of the accountant, soft skills as well as knowledge of the subject content improved as a result. What should especially be noted is their positive reaction due to the fact that the game simulated the business environment and linked theory to practice. They also enjoyed the social and group work aspects of the assignment. The learners further had a general positive attitude towards the game. The highest evaluated positive experiences were described as good, exciting and fresh. On the negative side words such as unhappy, uncomfortable and tensed were recorded. The learners were thus required to move outside their comfort zones. Learners were also required to summarise the project in one word. Two thirds of the remarks were positive, with the number one remark being the word "interesting". The largest negative comment was that the project was confusing at the start. This could, however, be addressed in future projects. In conclusion it can thus be said the Commercium™ game meets the requirements of an effective teaching-learning environment by providing an effective teaching methodology. Lecturers now have an empirically proven effective teaching tool for introductory accounting, based on research of the requirements of the teaching-learning environment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Accounting))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

This thesis is devoted to the theme of the development of soft skills trainers' competencies. A special attention has been paid to the various roles that a trainer has when performing his/her job and the related competencies that are essential for high-quality mastering of this profession. The focal points are the possibilities of trainers' teaching competence development within formal and informal education that a trainer has during preparatory as well as further education with special emphasis on the methods that can be employed to achieve this education. The empiric part of this thesis maps the ways of acquiring trainer's competencies as they occur in practice, their connection with further professional development. At the same time it verifies the suitability of the methods that are used to develop competencies. Based on the interpretation of information provided by the respondents and study of relevant literature, a methodological concept of education of a trainer has been developed.