Outcomes for students working in industry

Context: Engineering graduates without industrial experience may find that work is difficult to obtain immediately after completing their studies. Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that work experience during an engineering course such as an industry-based learning (IBL) placement will assist in students' capstone projects, overall results in terms of grade point average (GPA), and employment prospects. As a result of their academic studies most engineering students have developed strong technical skills, and, as a consequence of their work experience, they may have developed 'soft' skills such as communication, teamwork, and interpersonal relations. In many tertiary institutes, 'soft' skills are often scaffolded all the way through the engineering program, but it is not until the IBL placement that students engage work in an industrial environment. The challenge within the tertiary environment is to determine if the students can translate their work experience to improve their academic performance. Purpose or goal: This study investigated the impact of two arrangements of work experiences; short term (over 12 weeks, STP) and long- term (over 52 weeks, IBL) on both final academic grades and capstone grades. The results from this work will inform future approaches of determining the benefits to students of the usefulness of industry based learning experiences (short or long term) as an indicator of academic performance, success in capstone project work, and employment. Approach: This work involved a study of a sample of undergraduate mechanical engineering students. The data was collected over two years (four semesters). The first and third semester mechanical engineering capstone unit had enrolments of approximately 20 each and the second and fourth semesters having capstone unit enrolments of approximately100 students each. All the students had completed IBL (usually undertaken in their penultimate year), or a short term placement (STP), which can be undertaken at any stage of the engineering course. Analysis of student academic results in the capstone project, as well as the overall GPA, was performed and related to the student's involvement with either IBL or STP. Actual or anticipated outcomes: Analysis of data between IBL and capstone project performance and GPA yielded a small but positive relationship. However, STP placements and associated overall GPA was inconclusive. Conclusions/Recommendations/Summary: This study found that students who spent time on work integrated learning or IBL in their penultimate year of their engineering course obtained better grades than those who did not undertake such a placement. One of the positive outcomes was that students' immediate employability was enhanced by the IBL experience, where a number were offered ongoing employment at the conclusion of their placement.