Continuing Professional Development and Internships as influential factors in developing students J. Bjelica, M. Duarte, D. Manasova, S. Mihajlov, Y. U. Yildiz Introduction
Results
The Board of European Students of Technology (BEST) perceives students as one of the major actors in the development of Engineering Education and has been striving to bring the development of European Engineering Education (EEE) closer to students for more than 10 years. Its Educational Involvement Department works to increase the students’ awareness and involvement in EEE. This paper aims to introduce the students’ input on their future Continuing Professional Development via their progress and skills development through internships. The need for strengthening the presence of internships in the curricula was noticed, not only to bridge the gap between university and business but as a way to introduce students to the concept of CPD.
Should internships be provided by the university?
10% 30%
30%
Yes
The information which can be observed in this poster have been gathered from Event on Education (EoE) Ankara (2015), EoE Riga (2015), EoE Gdansk (2014), EoE Aveiro (2013), EoE Zagreb (2005) and EoE Cluj-Napoca (2014). EoEs aim to bring together students, professors and company representatives in order to discuss relevant educational topics.
Results Fig. 1 shows a diagram with the flow of our results. The starting point of our research is CPD which through the skills needed in one’s professional life, is associated with the skills of the successful graduate. One of the main focus points is that the successful graduate is someone who has completed a number of internships. This is further connected to the students’ needs, progress and developing mindset.
20% Yes
No
Neutral
In between
70%
No
40%
Fig. 2 Survey on “Should internships be provided by the university?” [2]
Methodology
Should internships be mandatory within the curriculum?
Fig. 3 Survey on “Should internships be mandatory within the curriculum?” [2]
The connection between internships and the development of the students’ mindset, thus the mindset of students in regard to CPD, is explained by connecting the benefits of the internships with the mindset of the newly and successful graduate they develop as shown in Table 1 [2][3]. Table 1. How the benefits of an internship develop the mindset of a graduate Benefits of internships [2] Mindset of a newly graduated engineer/ successful graduate [3] Hands-on/practical experience
Solution oriented; Able to give and receive feedback appropriately; Has professional experience for specific job
Teamwork
Solution oriented; Able to give and receive feedback appropriately; Has at least basic set of soft-skills: time management, communication, working in team
Self-development & growth
Is an active learner and continues to develop themselves as well after studies; Has realistic expectations; Works on their continuous development
Creating working habits
Is an active learner and continues to develop themselves as well after studies; Solution oriented; Works on their continuous development
Time management
Has at least basic set of soft-skills: time management, communication, working in team etc.
Conclusions • Internships can be tailored in such a way to both satisfy the quality needs and requirements by all three stakeholders of BEST (students, universities, and companies). • Internships develop the mindset of a new graduate towards CPD.
Fig. 1 Diagram of the results
References
Acknowledgments BEST would like to thank all the members involved in the organisation of EoEs as well as all the participants, partners and professors.
Contact information Board of European Students of Technology (BEST), Brussels, 1150, Belgium Jelena Bjelica (jelena.bjelica@BEST.eu.org) Dragana Manasova (dragana.manasova@BEST.eu.org) Yusuf Ulas Yildiz (yusuf.ulas.yildiz@BEST.eu.org)
• Both CPD methodologies and internships are closely connected in terms of the key benefits. • We reinforce the need for internships to become a subpart of study programmes across Europe guaranteeing a stepping stone from university to a job, and the trigger for a student’s CPD.
Miguel Duarte (miguel.duarte@BEST.eu.org) Sonja Mihajlov (sonja.mihajlov@BEST.eu.org)
[1] Flemming K. Fink, “Modelling Continuing Professional Development in an Innovative Context” Journal of Computing and Information Technology - CIT 9, 2001, 3, 167–175 [2] N. Cristofi, A. Balcázar Castell, Report of BEST Symposium on Education "Principles of Effective Teaching and Learning & Class and Course Organisation", Ankara, 13 - 20 September 2015 https://issuu.com/bestorg/docs/eoe_ankara_final_repor t [3] M. Stanojevic, O. Y. Zhou, E. Garklava, I. Bour, Report on BEST Academics and Companies Forum “Let’s Cement the Canyon! Removing the Gap between University and Profession”, Riga, 23 - 31 July 2015 https://issuu.com/bestorg/docs/eoe_riga_report [4] M. Cortesão, A. Millitaru, J. Pacheco, R. Couto, Report on BEST Academics and Companies Forum “LINK: Let’s Introduce the Network of Knowledge”, Gdansk, 28 June 5 July 2015 https://issuu.com/bestorg/docs/baco_gdansk_-_final_re port
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