A Framework of Global Competence for Engineers: The Need for a Sustainable World

Isabel Ortiz-Marcos, Valeria Breuker, Rocío Rodríguez-Rivero, Björn Kjellgren, Frédéric Dorel, Marco Toffolon, Diego Uribe and Virna Eccli
Additional contact information
Isabel Ortiz-Marcos: Department of Organization, Business Administration and Statistics, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Valeria Breuker: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Universitá di Trento, 38122 Trento, Italy
Rocío Rodríguez-Rivero: Department of Organization, Business Administration and Statistics, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Björn Kjellgren: KTH Royal Institute of Technology; 114 28 Stockholm, Sweden
Frédéric Dorel: École Centrale de Nantes, 44300 Nantes, France
Marco Toffolon: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile Ambientale e Meccanica, Universitá di Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
Diego Uribe: Department of Organization, Business Administration and Statistics, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Virna Eccli: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile Ambientale e Meccanica, Universitá di Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 22, 1-25

Abstract: This paper presents the results of the first part of the Tools for Enhancing and Assessing the Value of International Experience for Engineers (TA VIE) project, launched in 2018, and outlines a contemporary understanding of global competence for engineers, as understood by European engineering companies. Striving to make engineering education more comprehensively aligned to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and thereby meeting demands from industry and society, the notion of “global competence” has attracted more and more attention from engineering schools. While there is no universally agreed on definition of global competence, the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) definition, which explicitly combines global awareness and intercultural communication competence with sustainability efforts, seems potentially well positioned to inform higher education institutions’ (HEI) global competence education. This is perhaps especially so when it comes to international student mobility, an area which is regularly seen as an important means to enhance global competence while all too often being assessed not in terms of qualitative student development, but in terms of structural indicators. However, in order to assess and improve curricula and mobility programs, the desired learning outcomes must first be specified. Based on research in five European countries (Spain, Italy, Sweden, France and Hungary), this paper details the understanding, requirements and perceived skill gaps of companies hiring engineering graduates, a first step towards improved and assessable global competence education for engineering students.

Keywords: global competence; internationalization; engineering profession; qualitative research; European comparison (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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