This module introduces learners to a diverse range of the necessary ‘soft skills’ which are important contributors to a successful engineering career and a wide range of manufacturing situations both in a national and international setting. The learner will apply and practice these fundamental skills and get the opportunity to discover and apply ‘best practices’ in a range of ‘soft-skills’ relevant to their career. The practical exercises (and ‘real word’ situations) which underpin this module mean that the learner develops his/her communication (both written and oral), problem-solving and team-working skills through practice (and feedback on that practice). They also focus on preparing for their industrial placement from the application process (through a careers workshop), to understanding the working environment (site visits) to integrating effectively with working professionals in an engineering environment (practicing effective communication skills in a global context).
Effective Communication: 4 primary skills of communication communicating cross-culturally dealing with different types of communicators in a work environment aggressive, indirect, passive and assertive styles an approach to choosing assertive language non-verbal communication signals email etiquette Telephone etiquette Written Communication: language planning an engineering report researching a report structure of an engineering report referencing
Oral Presentations: planning the presentation (know your target audience and key objective of presentation) designing and creating the visuals (select appropriate medium – flipchart, Powerpoint, poster) delivering the presentation answering questions
Teamwork: stages in a group’s development: forming, storming, norming, performing. personalities in a team, how do I come across in a group situation Conflict and Conflict resolution decision making structured problem solving Team structure and management (assigning roles and responsibilities, action planning and control)
Meetings: agenda design, factors influencing effectiveness, preparation role and duties of chairperson and secretary encouraging participation, managing the discussion dealing with difficult individuals communicating effectively recording the proceedings Follow-up activities.
Project Management Fundamentals: Writing a Project Issue Statement and Project Aim/Objective statement, Goal setting and importance of target creating milestones/Work-breakdown-structure, creating a project plan/schedule, developing a stakeholder map, tracking and communicating progress throughout project life-cycle
Structured Design Process: overview of a structured design process the experienced v’s novice designer throughout the design process – approaches, challenges and practical techniques Customer needs and design specifications Idea generation and concept evaluation Testing and troubleshooting Design iteration
Engineering Ethics: identifying an ethical dilemma the Engineers Ireland code of ethics evaluating ethical consideration in engineering practice (case studies) sources of standards of ethical thinking for dealing with ethical problems
Industrial Placement Preparation: Careers Management Skills: Self Awareness: Exploring personality, skills, values and interests and the implications of these for career choice and development Occupational Research: Examining the benefits of information interviews, job shadowing, work experience, accessing paper and web based resources to carry out occupational research Job Search: Understanding the skills required to job hunt successfully, including networking Employer Contacts: Identifying skills which employers want, developing the ability to write professional CVs and cover letters Interview skills: Understanding the art of interviewing, preparing for an interview
