Abstract:

From 2015 to 2019, two teachers from CY Cergy Paris Université and a high-school teacher, experimented an innovative way of developing the soft skills of the “Bachelor and Master in Engineering” (from French: Cursus Master en Ingénierie”, CMI) students of all specialisms: Biomaterials for Health, Chemistry, IT, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Geosciences [1]. It was designed as a three-step training, first making high-school students aware of the crucial role of soft skills in engineering during a study guidance session then challenging the 1st-year CMI students of all the specialisms through problem-based and project-based learning.

At all three steps, students were placed in teams of 5-6 students each to encourage them to actively interact and participate. For the last two steps of the training, the teams were multidisciplinary, constituted by 1st-year CMI students of different engineering specialisms to promote the development of their soft skills outside of their comfort zone. In the same way, teachers leading the teams came from different careers and professional backgrounds (a technology high school teacher, an English teacher and a scientific assistant professor) in order to explore the same experience as the students.

The three-step training consisted in:
- Step 1 of the training:
Place: Lycée Sédar Senghor (high school), Magnanville, France
Type of project: Study guidance session
Activity: After a short presentation of the teachers, the students brainstormed in teams about their representations of the engineer's competences and knowledges. Then, a restitution took place, during which each team was asked to present their top 5 ideas in turn, from most crucial to optional and to justify their choice in front of the all other teams. As a result, students were expected to become more aware of the importance of soft skills in engineering education and careers.
- Step 2 of the training:
Place: At university
Type of project: 2 days of integration before the beginning of the 1st-year courses during the “annual problem-based and project-based learning – into CMI”
Activity: Focusing on a different theme each year, it challenged multi-specialism teams of 1st-year students into collaborating in order to design a solution to a complex problem and into communicating about their solution without ever having attended a single related class. Through a playful project, students learnt to identify and share tasks, analyse their learning needs and find resources to complete the challenge.
- Step 3 of the training:
Place: At university
Type of project: 1st-year CMI Communication Project
Activity: Building on this experience, the “CMI Film Festival” was the next step to develop the students’ soft skills. Using an English song as a basis, students worked in multi-specialism teams to write the script and shoot a short film as well as to design its poster. Through a cinematographic project (art that appeals to young people), students explored their creativity, adaptability and their team work capacities.

In conclusion, through this three-step training experience, students, with the guidance of teachers acting as facilitators, developed a panel of soft skills that are essential for engineers. Nowadays, this first engineering training at CY Cergy Paris Université, the “CMI”, and its innovative pedagogy, have contributed to the launch of CY Tech, school of engineering, which was created in 2020.

References:
[1] https://reseau-figure.fr

Keywords:

Soft skills, problem-based and project-based learning, multidisciplinary, engineering training, playful and artistic approaches.