Abstract:

Business acumen has been identified as an important attribute in development of well-rounded graduates. Malaysian higher education institutions now recognized the importance of business acumen in their curriculum. Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, inculcates business acumen skills among its graduates through the curriculum. This study examines the level of business acumen among interns with focus on gender, field of study and job scope. The study which uses a 37-statement questionnaire using a 4 point Likert scale was developed and distributed to the industrial internship supervisors to rate their interns’ business acumen skills. The result indicates moderately high mean scores among engineering and technology students. Findings from the study shows technical and non-technical job scope facilitate development of business acumen skills. The study can also be used to enhance the curriculum to not only produce technically competent students but also good business acumen skills.

Keywords:

Business acumen, internship, engineering education, PETRONAS, Malaysia.