Assessing Undergraduate Engineering Programmes using Alumni Feedback

A survey was conducted among the alumni of various engineering colleges affiliated to a technical university located in the eastern part of India. The survey intended to obtain alumni responses on three aspects – alumni’s own assessment on the attainment of learning outcomes from the curricular components; their views on the requisite knowledge and skills essential for an engineer to perform effectively in the workplace; and their opinion on the additional curricular components that could enhance the students’ employability skills. The results reveal that the respondents are dissatisfied with the learning outcomes they attained from the curriculum components. The respondents also perceive that adaptability, stress management, lifelong learning and teamwork are the key skills that need be acquired by an engineer. Additionally, they also opine that work-connected learning, group projects and career advice are some other curricular features that could enhance students’ employability skills.