Analysis of evolving graduate/transferable skills in aircraft engineering education

The specification of the degree in aircraft engineering defines a set of skills and attributes that are underpinned by industry demand. Implementation of appropriate teaching and learning strategies to achieve such skills has been a key success in the evolvement of the skills in university education. In addition, evaluation procedure for determining the importance and acquisition of skills and competencies by students was a key focus in the current study. To evaluate students' self-reflection in skills development, and the way they acquire the identified skills and abilities, a purpose-made survey was designed and conducted. The survey consists of a score-based questionnaire, where students gauged their perception of skill development through the teaching and learning methodology implemented within the course of study. The survey (and its results) demonstrated the opportunity given to students to self-reflect and recognise the importance of skills audit. Furthermore, in the case of subject-specific skill set there is a strong correlation between the development of the skills and the learning contents. The input of industry to the teaching contents partially justifies such correlation.