Transitioning students to the workplace in an academic environment
Senra, Michael; Fogler, H. S.
In their collegiate studies, students are given a wide array of concepts, theories and
equations to assist them in their future endeavors. However, students entering the workforce are
often not prepared for the soft skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. Additionally,
students have not been sufficiently exposed to practical critical thinking methodologies that will
benefit them as they encounter open-ended problems that can be conveniently answered using a
few equations. A course developed at the University of Michigan exposed upperclassmen
undergraduates in a wide range of engineering majors to a vast array of ideas to develop their
creativity, to enhance their problem solving abilities and to make them aware of issues they will
most likely confront in the workplace. The use of real-world examples, guest lectures from
industry and a course project allowed students to directly apply the problem solving heuristic
discussed in lecture and recognize that these concepts are not solely academic and can be used in
their daily lives. Initial feedback from the students has indicated that the students have improved
their abilities in teamwork, time management and communication skills, skills crucial to a
professional engineer, but often underemphasized in academic settings.
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