Holistic Success in Higher Education in Engineering and Technology: A Coaching Approach Towards Developing Complete Graduates

The current shortage of engineers in Australia hasbeen attributed to a gap between engineering education andpractice. Despite the demand for engineers, there is asignificant percentage of engineering graduates withAustralian degrees who do not secure employment asengineers, especially amongst foreign graduates. Given theimportance of Australian engineering education in light of theincreasing intake of international engineering students byAustralian universities especially from Asia, a clear correlationneeds to be made between engineering higher education, futurejob performance, job progression and success in a globalcontext to close this gap. The coaching approach to learningand teaching has been proven to be an effective way to developpeople in the workplace. A pilot coaching program is offered toEngineering and Technology students in QueenslandUniversity of Technology to enable holistic growth in order tobetter integrate them to the work force and society at large. Itis hoped that the results and findings of this program will shednew insights into the holistic development of graduates in thesedisciplines