PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR THE ENGINEERS OF THE FUTURE

Preparing better equipped engineers through the acquisition of new competences, including skills, knowledges, attitudes and leadership. That is the mission of Engineers4Europe (E4E), a consortium of 13 higher education institutions and companies. Among them also KU Leuven. On 6 February 2025, De Nayer Campus researchers presented the results of their work. The 'moment de gloire' was the launch of a new online course for professional development.

For Professor Greet Langie and her collaborators at the Engineering Technology Education Research Group (ETHER), it was a top day. There are now 20 of them and their research covers the engineering student's entire learning trajectory: from the transition to university to the transition to professional life. Between the two transitions are those other important research areas: the growth in professional competences, the technologyenhanced learning environment and the digital scholarship that focuses on the digital competences of teachers and staff.

Skills Strategy

The E4E project is situated in ETHER's 'Transition to Professional Life' domain. In his opening speech, Dirk Bochar, Secretary General of E4E, explained the challenges engineers currently face. These challenges are not only technological, they are also the result of social needs and unforeseen problems caused by global crises. This evolution means that engineers must not only be technical experts but also innovators and leaders capable of addressing these issues. According to the Secretary General, this also has implications for engineering education. The curricula should not only incorporate the emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning, IoT and advanced manufacturing techniques. There should also be room for professional skills such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking- and project management, all of which are crucial in the workplace.

Professional Roles

After the introductory talk, there was a focus on ETHER projects closely involved with E4E. The most well-known is Sofie Craps' PREFER (Professional Roles for Young Engineers) project. She found that young graduates are often unaware of the range of possibilities on the job market. Consequently, they often misjudge the skills required for many jobs. Three professional roles were identified with a focus on respectively innovation, optimisation and customer-tailored solutions. Through a series of expert panels in different companies, essential professional competences were identified that are required to be successful in each role. PREFER presents a model and two tests. PREFER Explore gauges personal preferences. PREFER Match consists of three situational judgement tests (one per role) that gives feedback on role alignment and strengths and weaknesses. PREFER is currently already in use in the Faculty of Engineering Technology at KU Leuven and in a number of companies.

Lifelong Learning

Another key player is TRAINengPDP, which stands for Training Engineers for Lifelong Learning (LLL) through a Personal Development Process, realised by Lynn Van den Broeck. No one will dispute that LLL is a necessity for engineers, but how do you motivate them to keep working permanently on their personal development? And what competences should they acquire to do so? According to Lynn, the LLL process stands or falls with learning to reflect. In order to trigger this reflection, other steps need to be introduced: identify, prepare, act and monitor. Combining these five steps results in a personal development process. Note that there is no mention of a personal development plan here. TRAINengPDP goes beyond the static approach and opts for a dynamic and interactive development process.

Three modules

Postdoc Kurt Coppens had the privilege of introducing the new online course. In it, young graduates learn to engage in selfreflection, deal with feedback and develop self-regulating skills. The MOOC uses insights from both young and experienced engineers and the results of the ETHER research. The course consists of three modules, each addressing a specific question: what type of engineer am I now? What do people around me think? What type of engineer would I like to become? The successive reflective exercises form the building blocks of the personal portfolio. It serves as a primary learning outcome but also is still a valuable tool throughout the rest of your career.

Sustainable investment

The conference concluded with a panel discussion. Experts from academia and industry debated LLL. According to Klaus Thürriedl, Secretary General of the European Council of Engineers Chambers, LLL should be put on equal footing with basic academic training. Prof Livio Mazarella of the Politecnico di Milano argued that as technology penetrates deeper and deeper into everyday life, the need for LLL increases correspondingly. Natalie Dewulf, General Manager of Smart Buildings at Equans, called LLL the best guarantee for the future and a sustainable investment in yourself. Margot Vander Elst, alumna of De Nayer Campus and Process Engineer at TotalEnergies, pointed out the importance of coaching in LLL. And Bram Dehaene, P&O Country Head at Siemens, summed it up: "For medical doctors and lawyers, LLL is a mandatory part of their job. When LLL competences are already taught during engineering training, no obligation is needed. Continuous learning becomes the engineer's profession".

-Yves Persoons

 www.fet.kuleuven.be/e4e