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Article
Publication date: 1 September 2020

Hasirumane Venkatesh Mukesh, Nandana Prabhu, Navin Kumar Koodamara, Suman Chakraborty and Pallavi Kamath

The central purpose of this study is to investigate the relative effects of leadership styles, i.e. transactional leadership and transformational leadership, and achievement…

Abstract

Purpose

The central purpose of this study is to investigate the relative effects of leadership styles, i.e. transactional leadership and transformational leadership, and achievement motivation on the entrepreneurial potential of MBA and engineering students. This study also examines whether the MBA and engineering students differ in terms of their entrepreneurial potential.

Design/methodology/approach

This study has used a cross-sectional research design along with a quasi-experimental research method to investigate the study's objectives on a sample consisting of 952 engineering and business students. The study has also used the PLS-SEM approach to carry out the data analysis, and to evaluate the group differences among MBA and engineering students concerning the relationships investigated, i.e. leadership motivation-entrepreneurial potential, and achievement motivation-entrepreneurial potential.

Findings

This research has primarily made four findings. First, the study has found that there are statistically significant differences between students pursuing a business education, and those students who are seeking management education about their entrepreneurial potential. Second, this study demonstrates that leadership and achievement motivation are strongly associated with entrepreneurial potential. Third, this research shows that the achievement motivation-entrepreneurial potential is more substantial among engineering students than among business students. However, the leadership-entrepreneurial potential relationship is more influential among MBA students than among engineering students. Lastly, the effect size of leadership is small in comparison with the effect size of achievement motivation, which is substantially healthy.

Originality/value

This research has attempted to address the riddle of a leadership attribution error in the context of entrepreneurship. Accordingly, this study has demonstrated that the idea of leadership attribution error has empirical evidence in the context of entrepreneurship also. Further, this study has tried to address the “behavior-motive preeminence” dichotomy. The results of this research show that internal motivation is more reliable than external leadership behavior in cultivating the entrepreneurial potential of students.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 October 2016

Joaquín Fuentes-Del-Burgo and Elena Navarro-Astor

Aristotle’s concepts of “episteme”, “techne” and “phronesis” are used to understand the relevance of the education that Spanish building engineers receive to their subsequent work…

1958

Abstract

Purpose

Aristotle’s concepts of “episteme”, “techne” and “phronesis” are used to understand the relevance of the education that Spanish building engineers receive to their subsequent work as construction site managers. This paper aims to clarify the role of educational factors as they influence any disparities that building engineers who are working as site managers may feel. More specifically, the objectives are to explore the satisfactions and dissatisfactions they experience in doing their job; to describe the ways they find to cope with educational deficiencies; and to gather their suggestions for improving building engineering education.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an interpretive approach within the qualitative paradigm, this study draws on data obtained from semi-structured interviews with a sample of 34 building engineers working as site managers in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain).

Findings

According to the site managers themselves, Spanish universities mainly teach Aristotle’s episteme (abstract knowledge and general principles) and some techne (applied, technical knowledge and skills), which fall short of the expectations placed upon them by their employers.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the chosen research approach, the sample size is relatively small and results may lack generalisability.

Practical implications

The results have practical implication for building engineering curriculum design related to the enhancement of building engineers employability and job satisfaction.

Originality/value

The existing literature offers insight into job-educational mismatches of different occupations in different countries, drawing on survey questionnaires. There is, however, a gap in respect of Spain and the job of the construction site manager. This paper goes some way towards filling that gap, reporting on the experiences of some higher education “customers”: Spanish building engineers working as site managers.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 31 May 2022

Fethiye Ozis, Shannon Lynn Isovitsch Parks, Deborah Lynne Sills, Mustafa Akca and Christine Kirby

This paper aims to analyze how a tangram activity improved students’ abilities to explain sustainability, articulate a positive perception of sustainable design and relate…

1412

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze how a tangram activity improved students’ abilities to explain sustainability, articulate a positive perception of sustainable design and relate sustainability with innovation in engineering design.

Design/methodology/approach

The concept of paradigm shift was introduced in the classroom by using a tangram activity to help students understand that sustainable design requires out-of-the-box thinking. Instructors from three institutions teaching various levels of sustainability courses to engineering majors used the activity to introduce sustainable design, then measured the understanding and appreciation of the concepts introduced through the tangram activity with pre- and post-activity surveys.

Findings

Findings from the study indicate that students’ perceptions of sustainability significantly improved due to the activity, without regard to the institution. The activity also significantly improved students understanding of the connection between sustainability and innovation, across all three institutions, across all majors and across all years of study except second-year students. Improving engineering students’ views on sustainability may lead, over time, to changes in the industry, in which environmental performance is incorporated into the engineering design process.

Originality/value

Active learning approaches are needed for affective-domain learning objectives in the sustainability field for students to learn the necessary attitudes, values and motivations to implement sustainability in engineering design. Simple, easily implemented active learning techniques, such as the tangram activity presented here, can be implemented across the curriculum or to the public to introduce the paradigm shift necessary with sustainable design.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 23 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 April 2022

Maryam Emami, Sajad Rezaei, Naser Valaei and John Gardener

The objective of this study is to examine the structural relationship between creativity-relevant processes, domain-relevant skills, intrinsic task motivation, creativity and the…

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study is to examine the structural relationship between creativity-relevant processes, domain-relevant skills, intrinsic task motivation, creativity and the moderating effect of social environment (sufficient resources, workgroup support, realistic work pressure and lack of organizational impediments).

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 289 valid questionnaires were collected from engineering students in Malaysian universities to test the measurement as well as the structural model using partial least squares (PLS) path modelling.

Findings

This study reveals that while a high level of domain-relevant skills, intrinsic task motivation and creativity-relevant processes influence creativity among the sample of engineering students, social environment acts as an insignificant moderator to the creativity perception. While the statistical results support the structural relationships (direct effects), the social environment shows the insignificant moderating effect (except creativity relevant process to sufficient resource to creativity). Work-group support, sufficient resources and lack of organizational impediments, as the three factors of the social environment, will not have any effect on creativity of upcoming engineers.

Originality/value

While businesses in the emerging markets mostly neglect the concept of developing creative mindsets among engineering students, in the competitive world of business that is extremely fast-paced, being creative within a business setting will act as a paramount criterion to differentiate. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Details

Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-4323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2005

Richard A. Fenner, Charles M. Ainger, Heather J. Cruickshank and Peter M. Guthrie

The paper seeks to examine the latest stage in a process of change aimed at introducing concepts of sustainable development into the activities of the Department of Engineering at…

3949

Abstract

Purpose

The paper seeks to examine the latest stage in a process of change aimed at introducing concepts of sustainable development into the activities of the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University, UK.

Design/methodology/approach

The rationale behind defining the skills which future engineers require is discussed and vehicles for change at both undergraduate and postgraduate level are described. Reflections on the paradigms and pedagogy of teaching sustainable development issues to engineers are offered, as well as notes on barriers to progress which have been encountered.

Findings

The paper observes that the ability to effectively initiate a change process is a vital skill which must be formally developed in those engineers wishing to seek sustainable solutions from within the organisations for which they will work. Lessons are drawn about managing a change process within a large academic department, so that concepts of sustainable development can be effectively introduced across all areas of the engineering curriculum.

Practical implications

A new pedagogy for dealing with changes from the quantitative to the qualitative is required, as the paper questions where the education balance should lie between providing access to technological knowledge which can be applied to designing hard solutions, and training engineers to rethink their fundamental attitudes towards a broader, multiple perspective approach in which problem formulation and context setting play a vital role in reaching consensual solutions.

Originality/value

The paper reviews previously recognised key themes for engineering education for sustainable development, and proposes three further essential ingredients relating to an engineer's ability to engage in problem definition, manage change in organisations, and understand the nature of technical and business innovations.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 August 2015

Andrea Gatto, Elena Bassoli, Lucia Denti, Luca Iuliano and Paolo Minetola

The purpose of this paper is to report an interdisciplinary, cooperative-learning project in a second-year course within the “Enzo Ferrari” Master of Science Degree in Mechanical…

3584

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report an interdisciplinary, cooperative-learning project in a second-year course within the “Enzo Ferrari” Master of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering. The work aims to raise awareness of the educational impact of additive manufacturing and reverse engineering.

Design/methodology/approach

Students are asked to develop, concurrently, the design and the manufacturing solution for an eye-tracker head mount. A digital head model is reverse engineered from an anatomical mannequin and used as an ergonomic mock-up. The project includes prototype testing and cost analysis. The device is produced using additive manufacturing techniques for hands-on evaluation by the students.

Findings

Results of the presented case study substantiate the authors’ belief in the tremendous potential of interdisciplinary project-based learning, relying on innovative technologies to encourage collaboration, motivation and dynamism.

Originality/value

The paper confirms a spreading conviction that the soon-to-be engineers will need new practice-oriented capabilities to cope with new competitive scenarios. Engineering education must adapt to the social, rather than industrial, revolution that is being brought about by additive fabrication.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 21 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 June 2020

Naga Vamsi Krishna Jasti, Srinivas Kota and Venkataraman P.B.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of simulation laboratory on continuing education engineering students’ academic performance.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the impact of simulation laboratory on continuing education engineering students’ academic performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The investigation consists of establishing the student learning levels then mapping the student learning levels (knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation) through program outcomes with appropriate evaluation components. 270 continuing education students enrolled during six years were selected to be observed as part of this study. These students were divided into two subgroups, one with 135 students who were offered simulation lab (G2) and the other 135 students were not offered simulation lab (G1) in this investigation. Subsequently, a comparative analysis was carried out on these two groups to assess the student performance in multiple evaluation components with respect to student learning level and program outcome achievement.

Findings

It was identified that student performance in the application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation learning levels has improved for the group with simulation lab, and no change or minimal change was observed for the group without simulation lab. It was revealed that the simulation lab practice problems needs to be aligned with the theoretical concepts in the course to get a better performance from the students.

Originality/value

The study was conducted in one of the leading institutes with 270 students’ performance observed over a period of six years. It is the comprehensive work done on a complete program with data collated over a period of six years in multiple courses and multiple assessments.

Article
Publication date: 27 December 2021

Riddhi Thavi, Rujuta Jhaveri, Vaibhav Narwane, Bhaskar Gardas and Nima Jafari Navimipour

This paper aims to provide a literature review on the cloud-based platforms for the education sectors. The several aspects of cloud computing adoption in education…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a literature review on the cloud-based platforms for the education sectors. The several aspects of cloud computing adoption in education, remote/distance learning and the application of cloud-based design and manufacturing (CBDM) have been studied and theorised.

Design/methodology/approach

A four-step methodology was adopted to analyse and categorise the papers obtained through various search engines. Out of 429 research articles, 72 papers were shortlisted for the detailed analysis.

Findings

Many factors that influence cloud computing technology adoption in the education sector have been identified in this paper. The research findings on several research items have been tabulated and discussed. Based on the theoretical research done on cloud computing for education, cloud computing for remote/distance learning and CBDM, cloud computing could enhance the educational systems in mainly developing countries and improve the scope for remote/distance learning.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to papers published only in the past decade from 2011 to 2020. Besides, this review was unable to include journal articles published in different languages. Nevertheless, for the effective teaching and learning process, this paper could help understand the importance and improve the process of adopting cloud computing concepts in educational universities and platforms.

Originality/value

This study is a novel one as a research review constituting cloud computing applications in education and extended for remote/distance learning and CBDM, which have not been studied in the existing knowledge base.

Article
Publication date: 21 August 2023

Xiaowei Zhou and Yousong Wang

The increasing adoption of informatization in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries has raised the competency requirements for AEC practitioners…

Abstract

Purpose

The increasing adoption of informatization in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries has raised the competency requirements for AEC practitioners. However, existing research primarily focuses on the integration of emerging technologies in AEC education programs, with little attention to the development of informatization-related competencies. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the competency requirements in the information age of the AEC industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Taking a policy perspective, this study investigates the competency requirements within the context of AEC industry informatization. By employing a competency-based theoretical framework, content analysis is conducted on China's policy document, the Outline of the Development of Informatization in the Construction Industry.

Findings

The study identifies crucial emerging technologies in the AEC industry, such as building information modeling (BIM), Big Data, Internet of things, networking, and cloud computing, along with their application scenarios. It considers various market players, including survey and design institutes, construction companies, and general contracting enterprises. Comparative analysis reveals the technology application patterns of these market players, shedding light on their preferences and perspectives. Based on these findings, the study proposes recommendations for competency requirements in the AEC industry.

Originality/value

This study extends the competency-based theory to AEC education from a macro perspective. The findings enhance understanding of informatization by providing insights into the related technologies, their applications, and the market players utilizing them. Moreover, the study's results have significant implications for AEC education, particularly in the design of curriculum systems for emerging technology-related fields.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2024

Rajni Singh, Kuldip Singh Sangwan and Devika Sangwan

This study seeks insights into the engineering undergraduates’ knowledge of problem-solving process, teamwork characteristics and communication skills.

Abstract

Purpose

This study seeks insights into the engineering undergraduates’ knowledge of problem-solving process, teamwork characteristics and communication skills.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for the study were collected through consecutive sampling technique from 78 engineering undergraduates at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani Campus, India on a five-point Likert scale-based questionnaire.

Findings

Exploratory factor analysis results traced three stages of the problem-solving process. However, the results of teamwork characteristics and communication skills validated the literature-based results. An important finding was that all the three skills were correlated. This means that one skill can be used to develop and promote other skills. The paired sample t-test demonstrated that all the three skills were perceived with a difference, which indicates that these skills worked in collaboration without losing their individuality.

Research limitations/implications

This study supports that there is a need to engage learners in an active and collaborative environment to improve the engineering undergraduates’ knowledge of skills.

Originality/value

The conscious effort to make the engineering undergraduates aware would reduce the gap between the graduating engineers skills currently possessed in academia and the required skills at workplace.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

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