International Journal of Engineering Research

S. Bhaskar ¹, K. V. A. Balaji ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore, IN
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, S.J. College of Engineering, Mysore, IN

Abstract

Engineering graduates of today are required to possess a blend of hard and soft skills to perform productively in a working environment. The soft skills namely creative thinking, work ethics and learning habits (all three grouped together and called as "Personal Enrichment Skills (PLES)" in this paper) are required to a great extent by the corporate world. This study focuses on assessing the extent to which students and faculty perceive that opportunity is available for the students to enhance their Personal Enrichment Skills and the perceived extent of its utilization. Research instruments with a 05 point Likertscale and 11 items were developed (separately for faculty and students), its reliability with Cronbach's alpha measures and content validity were ensured. The data collected was analyzed using the software "Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)" by conducting two tests namely independent sample t-test and paired sample t-test, both item wise and dimension wise. Inferences were drawn and conclusions on the perceived availability of opportunities and the perceived utilization of the existing opportunities by UG engineering students to enhance their Personal Enrichment Skills were made.

Keywords

Soft Skills, SPSS, Creative Thinking, Work Ethics, Learning Habits.

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S. M. Anwar Halith ¹, S. Bhaskar ¹, M. Balaji ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore, IN

Abstract

Learning Improvement for student is a Massive challenge for Every Engineering Institution. Now a days employers are demanding engineering graduates with skills. So, identifying required improvements of learning skill-gaps, barriers of utilizing students supporting facilities are the huge challenges based on attainment of Graduate Attributes outlined by Washington accord. This work aims to identify student requirements to achieve graduate attributes. This study focuses on assessing the extent to which students perceive that opportunity is available for grooming their learning enhancement and the extent of its usage. Research instruments were developed (separately for faculty and students) to collect data. Questionnaire Based Data collection was used in this work. AHP to multiple criteria decision making for prioritizing students requirements. From this proposed method, the necessary improvements are identified to achieve the Graduate Attributes in classroom at an engineering institution. Using Saatty Scale integrating AHP with QFD Can help to prioritize Process Improvements. This works helps to suggest more key development aspects to enhance the quality of learning and increasing Productivity in an engineering education institution.

Keywords

Students Learning Challenges and Changes, Graduate Attributes (GA), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Quality Function Deployment (QFD).

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