Abstract:

We are living at a time of greatly accelerated anthropogenic change in which human activity has replaced nature as the dominant environmental force on Earth. These changes have generated complex existential and societal challenges on all scales. Technology had been seen as the solution to these challenges, but successful implementation of these advancements requires coupling with a cultural context. The Anthropology, Performance, and Technology (APT) Program at the Jacobs School of Engineering (JSOE) was created to serve as an interdisciplinary bridge to enhance the curriculum for undergraduate and graduate students and prepare them for the complex challenges society faces today. [1] As part of the development of the APT Program, a competency survey was conducted with 11 companies involved in curricular development. Each of the 22 respondents noted the desired and actual perceived competency proficiency levels on a 5-point Likert scale for new college graduates (NCG) and mid-career engineers (MCE) based on a Systems Engineering Competency Framework [2]. The difference between the desired and actual perceived competencies is the competency gap that each company experiences. The results of the survey showed the top three gaps for NCGs were in the areas of: Systems Thinking, Ethics & Professionalism, and Communication. Among MCEs, the top five competency gaps were: Systems Thinking, Communications, and Facilitation. An interactive APT Ethics Module was introduced in an Aerospace Engineering Course at UCSD in the winter of 2022 with positive responses from students and faculty to address a competency gap in the area of ethics. [3]. As a result, a Special Topics course was created in the Mechanical and Aerospace (MAE) Program to address the competency gap for graduate students in the areas of: Communication, Professionalism, Negotiation, Ethics, and Emotional Intelligence. The course was structured to provide theoretical foundations in each of the five social skills areas, as well experiential performance laboratory sessions for students to apply theory to practice. The introduction of interactive, performance “laboratory” sessions was a novel way to form social cohesion among the group and to encourage open conversation about difficult issues around race, gender disparity, unconscious bias, imposter syndrome, representation, intersectionality, and positionality. Exit surveys offered to the students revealed the relevance of the course and an interest to delve deeper into the subject matters covered over the 10-week period. This paper describes the student outcomes and the effect of generating an experiential approach to introducing professional skills, addressing complex social challenges and arriving at transdisciplinary solutions.

References:
[1] H. Gerardo, "Educational Convergence: The Anthropology, Performance, and Technology (APT) Program," 2021 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), Lincoln, NE, USA, 2021.
[2] J. Wade, H. Gerardo, and H. Sorenson, “Systems Engineering Competency Expectations, Gaps, and Program Analysis,” INCOSE International Symposium, Detroit, MI, 2022.
[3] H. Gerardo and R. de Callafon, “Instituting a praxis of change: a case study on the instruction of engineering ethics in the Anthropology, Performance, and Technology (APT) Program,” 2022 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), Uppsala, Sweden, 2022.

Keywords:

Communication, Professionalism, Negotiation, Ethics, Emotional Intelligence, Professional Skills.