Project-based learning (PjBL) framework in developing non-technical skills for engineering students

Abstract

Lack of non-technical skills has become an issue among employers nowadays as they found the engineering graduates are unable to adapt in a new environment and communicate with other people. Although these graduates were equipped with sufficient technical skills, they were unable to survive in industry for a long time as they did not have sufficient non-technical skills. There are also a lot of reports that claimed university only emphasized on the development of technical skills and little focus on non-technical skills development. Thus, university must play their role in ensuring they are able to give a balanced focus on the development of both skills. Project-Based Learning (PjBL) is a well-known approach in engineering education and a lot of researchers have proved that PjBL is effective in improving engineering students’ learning. Therefore, this research is aimed to identify the additional elements for PjBL in developing engineering students’ non-technical skills and create a new framework for PjBL. This research used qualitative method, which is based on interviews and observations. The respondents for this research consist of lecturers and students involved in PjBL in three different universities in Malaysia. The findings of this research found that there are three main elements needed to develop engineering students’ non-technical skills namely coaching and supervision, continuous assessment and real world experience. These elements are included in the PjBL framework and this framework can be used by other researchers and universities as an approach to solve the problem regarding the lack of non-technical skills among engineering students.