Good practice in collaboration with employers

Good practice in collaboration with employers Barbara Karleuša (barbara.karleusa@gradri.hr), Aleksandra Deluka Tibljaš University of Rijeka, Croatia P069 ABSTRACT As a component of the University of Rijeka, the Faculty of Civil Engineering was actively involved in the reform of studies according to the Bologna declaration. The collaboration between the Faculty and civil engineering employers existed even prior to the reform so that this good practice was kept and improved in the reform process. The work based learning in collaboration with employers (practical work) has been adapted to new programmes within introduced study cycles. In order to improve the success of studying and to prepare the students better for the labour market, new activities were also implemented. In the year 2006/07 the Civil Engineering Faculty Student Week was organised at the Faculty in co operation with the student union and local civil engineering employers. During this week meetings between students and employers representatives and different workshops about career development and job requirements were organised. Simultaneously with the reform, the quality assurance system was established at the Faculty. One of the first activities of this system was the questioning of civil engineering employers and graduated students (alumni) about their perception of readiness of Faculty graduates for the labour market. The research results pointed out both positive and negative aspects of the study at the Faculty and were very useful for the future development of the institution. The goal of this paper is to present models of collaboration between faculties and employers implemented at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Rijeka as examples of good practice and possible approaches for improving the quality of studying. KEY WORDS: Bologna declaration, civil engineering, employers, students, work based learning, quality assurance 1. INTRODUCTION The Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Rijeka has a thirty year tradition in organizing university and vocational studies in civil engineering. During those years different forms of collaboration between Faculty and employers from the surrounding area have been developed. The reason to intensify the already existing collaboration and introduce new forms of collaboration is the implementation of Bologna principles. The goal of this paper is to present models of collaboration between faculties and employers implemented at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Rijeka as examples of good practice and possible approaches for improving the quality of studying. The Faculty of Civil Engineering is one of ten faculties that constitute the University of Rijeka. Other faculties are: Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Maritime Studies, Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Law, School of Medicine, Teacher Training College, Academy for Applied Arts, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management. The University has also three departments: Physics, The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre and the UK Centre for Materials Education 1

Mathematics and Informatics. Presently around 18.000 students are enrolled at the University. The Faculty of Civil Engineering was founded in year 1976. Since then around 1100 students have graduated from the University study and around 1400 from the Vocational study. Both programmes were reformed according to the principles of the Bologna declaration in 2005 (European Commission 1999). Currently there are about 850 students enrolled and 45 teachers employed at the Faculty. The Faculty is organised in four sections (Hydraulic and Geotechnical Engineering; Transportation Engineering, Organization and Technology of Building and Architecture; Structural Engineering and Mechanics; Computer Modelling of Materials and Constructions). 2. REFORMED STUDY PROGRAMMES Croatia signed the Bologna declaration in the year 2001 with the aim to harmonize the higher education area with the standards and quality level of the European higher education and to become part of the European high education area and labour market. The implementation of Bologna principles has been carried out in three phases, the first phase changing the structure of study programmes (introduction of new educational cycles, new curricula creation, introduction of ECTS European Credit Transfer System, establishment of the quality assurance system, etc.), the second phase introduction of new teaching and assessment methods (problem based learning, project work, teamwork, mid term exams, etc.) and the third phase ensuring higher education based on the introduction of learning outcomes with accurate definition of students competences after each studying cycle as the base for the qualification framework. Since 2005 the Faculty has implemented the first two phases. The third phase will have been introduced by 2012 (University of Rijeka 2007). In structuring the new study programmes according to Bologna principles the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Rijeka has used the experience in educating civil engineering professionals (Faculty of Civil Engineering 2005). The needs of the labour market have been considered and the demands on the prospective students, the Faculty, its staff and specialists in civil engineering, have been assessed for the purpose of integrating Croatia into the European higher education and labour area. In definition of necessary knowledge and skills recommendations from the international professional organizations like European Civil Engineering Education and Training (EUCEET) and Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) have been taken into consideration (EUCEET 2008, ABET 2008). The scheme adopted for university programmes according to education cycles is «3+2+3» and for vocational programmes 3+1,5 as shown in Figure 1. The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre and the UK Centre for Materials Education 2

University programmes Vocational programmes UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMME IN CIVIL ENGINEERING 180 ECTS University Bachelor in Civil Engineering GRADUATE PROGRAMME IN CIVIL ENGINEERING 120 ECTS Master in Civil Engineering VOCATIONAL PROGRAMME IN CIVIL ENGINEERING 180 ECTS Professional Bachelor in Civil Engineering SPECIALISATION GRADUATE PROGRAMME 90 ECTS Specialist in Civil Engineering POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMME IN CIVIL ENGINEERING 180 ECTS Doctor of Sciences in Civil Engineering Figure 1: Structure and basic data of the study programmes at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Rijeka The proposed University undergraduate programme represents in its core part the continuation of the traditional University graduate programme delivered until 2005. The curriculum is adapted to the standards of the Bologna process and brought up to date in terms of content and methodology. The University undergraduate civil engineering programme is the necessary first step in the process of educating highly qualified personnel in civil engineering and other engineering professions. The proposed graduate programme is organised through the modules of the particular civil engineering field (hydraulic engineering, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, transportation engineering, engineering modelling and urban engineering). When compared to the previous programme in a particular field new scientific and practical knowledge has been applied for the new programme in the field by introducing new courses and modifying the curricula of the current courses. The programme offers the possibility of combining the modules from two different fields of civil engineering, thus enabling students flexibility in creating their own study programme and choosing from a large number of optional courses. Students are also enabled to broaden the acquired knowledge and skills within the next level of education that is offered to them in the frame of Postgraduate doctoral study. The Faculty presently organises the Postgraduate doctoral study programme in the fields of structural engineering, hydraulic engineering and geotechnical engineering. The reformed 3 years Vocational programme was also organized within the Faculty of Civil Engineering. This programme can be considered as practical with The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre and the UK Centre for Materials Education 3

necessary proportion of core curricula and a great number of expert ones. This study gives students the opportunity to acquire the knowledge that would enable them for quality participation in elaboration of projects for all types of complex constructions, for managing or supervising building of smaller objects, for careers in companies trading with construction materials and equipment and other jobs that do not require high level of theoretical knowledge. The Vocational programme can be continued through Specialisation graduate programme Civil engineering in coastal regions and communal systems. The programme of this professional specialist study is focused on communal systems in general, but its optional part is focuses on civil engineering in coastal regions and managing of communal systems with particularities of coastal areas. The need for such profiled study arose with intensive building and revitalization of coastal regions (smaller towns) that need educated engineering staff to prevent further spatial devastation. Today we have about 250 students finishing the traditional University graduate study programme, 300 students enrolled in the University undergraduate programme, 220 enrolled in the Vocational study programme, 50 in the Specialisation graduate programme and 25 in the Postgraduate doctoral programme. 3. EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE IN COLLABORATION WITH EMPLOYERS 3.1. DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCES THROUGH WORK BASED LEARNING AS PART OF THE CURRICULA One of the most important goals in establishing new ( Bologna ) programmes was to assure development of professional and generic skills that individuals need in order to be effective members of a flexible, adaptable and competitive workforce and for life long learning. In that context the work based learning is an effective way of improving primarily professional competencies but also some of the generic competencies proved to be relevant in engineering education. In traditional programmes (delivered until 2005) students had to cooperate with civil engineering employers during their practice period in which they had to spend a certain period of time working in firms in the area of civil engineering (design, construction, management, etc.). During this working time students have the opportunity to solve real civil engineering problems and find ways to implement their, till then, mostly theoretical knowledge and to be prepared better for the labour market requirements. In the reformed study programmes this collaboration in the form of work based learning has been also implemented but the changed study structure demanded the structure of the practical work activities to be adapted as well as broadened. The type and scale of activities implemented in work based learning depends on the cycle (first, second, third) and type of the study programme (University or Vocational) (Faculty of Civil Engineering 2005). Depending on the programme the students have enrolled they can acquire from 5 to 12% of ECTS directly through work based learning and it is yet to be evaluated whether it is enough. The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre and the UK Centre for Materials Education 4

In the actual University undergraduate programme students have to attend organised excursions to the construction sites and infrastructural objects (bridges, tunnels, dams, etc.) by which they acquire 3 ECTS (Figure 2). Figure 2: Students visiting the construction site flow velocity Figure 3: Students measuring the For the University graduate programme the practical work can be a part of the preparation of the graduation thesis. In preparation of the graduation thesis students can acquire up to 15 ECTS on the basis of practical work in laboratories, the field, construction sites, design firms etc (Figure 3). In the Vocational programme (first cycle) students have the obligation to spend 42 days on construction sites during which they have to keep a diary with all activities that were occurring during that period. After finishing the practice period students have to pass an oral examination based on their field experience. In this way they acquire 15 ECTS. All site visits which are part of the curricula of different courses (e.g. technology of construction, road design, hydraulic structures, etc.) are planned at the beginning of every academic year. This practical part of the programme which students have to do before they graduate can be organized because of the good collaboration between the Faculty and civil engineering employers from the surrounding area. All involved parties benefit from this collaboration. Students, because in this way they prepare themselves better for their future employment they develop competences such as the ability to apply the knowledge and skills imparted by education to real life situations and get the real picture of the civil engineering. The Faculty, because this collaboration tightens the string with the practice and the teaching at the Faculty is implemented on real problems. Employers can benefit by finding and preparing potential employees. This is very important because the improvement and development of firms is also related to the quality of professionals employed. The further collaboration between the Faculty and employers can be established in the Postgraduate doctoral programme where PhD students try to solve complex civil engineering problems and implement their research results in practice in order to improve different aspects of civil engineering (Balogh and Koos 2006, Jamshidi and Brown 2006). The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre and the UK Centre for Materials Education 5

3.2. STUDENTS MEETING POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS To prepare the students better for the labour market and to increase their motivation for the study in the academic year 2006/07 the "Civil Engineering Faculty Student Week" was organised. Student Week was organised by the Faculty staff (mostly teachers), students (students union) and local civil engineering employers. During this week many interesting activities took place (for the first time at the Faculty): meetings between students and potential employers, workshop How to start your career after graduating? Practical aspects presentation Possibilities for professional development after graduation at the Faculty of Civil Engineering?, exhibition of employers (civil engineering firms) promotional material that remained in the Faculty building for 3 weeks. The meetings between students and potential employers were organised as employers representatives presentations after which students asked each representative questions about their firm activities, future plans, criteria to meet to enter their firms, salaries etc. Employers representatives were from firms that cover one or more different areas of civil engineering (project and design, construction and maintenance of different constructions: roads, railways, bridges, buildings, water supply and sewage systems, dams, offshore installations, etc.). The workshop How to start your career after graduating? Practical aspects was held by one employer representative. At this workshop students from other faculties of the University of Rijeka were also invited to participate, so this was a way to discuss this topic from different points of view and with future professionals in different fields. The presentation Possibilities for professional development after graduation at the Faculty of Civil Engineering? was held by a faculty member an assistant professor with great experience in civil engineering design and construction. Students participation in the activities was very good. They were very active in communication with employers representatives trying to get specific information about their future perspective. The Student Week has proved to be an excellent way to motivate students from the first, second and third year for the study and to establish a good and direct communication between final year students and employers. Students found out many specific data about job opportunities and potential employers requirements which will certainly facilitate their entry in the labour market. It was also the opportunity for students to reflect on their future profession. Students participating in the Student Week activities were asked to evaluate the event. Results of student s evaluations are shown in Table 1. The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre and the UK Centre for Materials Education 6

Evaluate in the scale 1 5; 1 very bad, 5 excellent The program of activities for preparing students for the labour market 4,12 The benefit that you gained form presentations and workshops that you 3,81 participated in The impact of those presentations and workshops on your motivation for the 3,72 study How did these activities explain or help you deal with issues about the study 3,84 and the future work? Table 1: Evaluation of the Student Week activities Students evaluation It is important to mention that 88% of the questioned students think that similar programme should be organised on a regular basis (preferably once a year). 3.3. EXTERNAL EVALUATION OF STUDIES (PROGRAMMES) AS PART OF THE QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM 3.3.1. QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM Cooperation in the quality assurance with the view to develop comparable criteria and methodologies is one of the basic principles of the Bologna declaration (European Commission 1999). The quality assurance system at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Rijeka was established with the great financial support from The National Foundation for Science, Higher Education and Technological Development of the Republic of Croatia. During the academic year 2005/06 the Foundation financed The project of monitoring and improvement of quality of studying at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Rijeka, which aimed at establishing institutional mechanisms and defining appropriate measures for the monitoring and improvement of quality and success of the studies at the Faculty. A suitable quality assurance system was created through the establishment of the faculty quality assurance (QA) units and their responsibilities: The Quality assurance Board (QA Board), The Office for student affairs, The Office for monitoring and improvement of the quality and success of studying. Members of these offices are appointed from the ranks of academics, students and administrative staff. The main result of the project was the publication of the Quality Assurance Rule Book and Quality Assurance Hand book (with defined procedures for evaluation of teaching process, administrative support, success on exams, external evaluation, etc.) as well as an internal publication stating all the activities performed and the The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre and the UK Centre for Materials Education 7

results obtained throughout the duration of the project (Faculty of Civil Engineering 2006a,b). One aspect of the research done during the project time that was particularly interesting and useful for the institutional development was the external evaluation of the quality of studying done by the employers in civil engineering and their employees former students from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Rijeka. The goal of the external evaluation was to establish strengths and weaknesses in civil engineering education at the Faculty in order to improve the quality of studying at the Faculty and consequently improve the proficiency of engineers educated at the Faculty. The starting point for achieving this goal was establishing the proficiency of engineers who have graduated from the Faculty in the past, setting up their strengths and weaknesses and developed competences, and consequently to start improving the study process from that point. 3.3.2. EXTERNAL EVALUATION The external evaluation of the Faculty carried out in the 2005/06 included questioning employers (from the field of civil engineering) and their employees. The main goals of the research were: improving certain aspects of civil engineering education on the Faculty level, strengthen bonds with civil engineering employers in the surrounding area, increase alignment between higher education and the needs of the labour market. The research involved 30 employers from the Primorsko Goranska County (in which University of Rijeka is situated) in order to get indicative and quality feedback information about the quality of the study and the alumni (recent graduates from the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Rijeka) characteristics and competences. Questioned employers cover one or more different areas of civil engineering: construction, design, control/survey, maintenance, production, laboratory work, spatial planning and consulting. Employees included in the research were former students of the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Rijeka who graduated after year 2000 (alumni). Two types of questionnaires were sent to firms: the questionnaire for the employers supposing to be filled by employer s representative (director, principal, manager, etc.), the questionnaire for employees. All together, 15 employers questionnaires and 53 employees (graduates) questionnaires were collected and elaborated. 62% of employees questioned were alumni of the University study and 32% were alumni of the Vocational study. In order to get the average evaluation of the proficiency of graduates from the Faculty, employers were asked to estimate graduates preparation for the labour market. Meanwhile employees (graduates) were asked to evaluate themselves. The questionnaires for employers and their employees were the same in order to have the possibility of comparing their perception of the same characteristics: engineering competences (practical knowledge and skills, informatics skills, ability for solving civil engineering problems) and generic competencies (autonomy in work, team work, motivation for work and further education) (Martin at al 2005). The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre and the UK Centre for Materials Education 8

Both employers and employees were asked to give their estimation of all above mentioned characteristics in the scale of five grades (1 very bad, 5 excellent). The results of the evaluation are shown in Table 2 and the graphical interpretation of the results for the University study is shown in Figure 4. Alumni characteristics By employers By employees (alumni) UniversityVocationalUniversityVocational Practical knowledge and skills 3,00 2,75 2,52 2,88 Use of computer 4,09 3,78 3,48 3,29 Use of computer packages software (Word, ACAD, ) 4,27 3,67 3,57 3,00 Autonomy in work 2,92 2,78 3,38 3,71 Ability for solving practical problems in the CEng domain 2,83 1,78 2,67 3,29 Ability for team work 3,67 3,56 3,47 3,47 Motivation for work 3,83 3,78 3,47 3,65 Motivation for further education (workshops, courses, ) 3,75 4,00 4,14 3,47 Table 2: Results of alumni (students who graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering University of Rijeka after year 2000) characteristics evaluation 4,5 4 3,5 3 2,5 2 Practical knowledge and skills Use of computer Use of computer packages Autonomy in work Ability for solving problems Ability for team work Motivation for work Motivation for further education Employers evaluation Employee/alumni evaluation Employers evaluation average = 3,55 Employee/alumni evalution average = 3,34 Figure 4: Graphical interpretation of evaluation results for the University study The results have shown some positive aspects of studies: The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre and the UK Centre for Materials Education 9

students are very well prepared for the use of computers and informational technologies, students do have motivation for their work and improvement and for team work. It was realized that the students, when starting their career, lack the autonomy and ability to solve problems. Possible solution to this problem can be the new reformed programmes which implement new teaching methods including work based learning as described in paragraph 3.1. Parts of courses are organized on the basis of project work where student must give their own solution to real practical engineering problems. That kind of teaching method existed even before but its use was not of the crucial importance for acquiring knowledge and competences in the subject. However, the implementation of Bologna declaration has changed it. From the results of evaluation based on defined alumni characteristics shown in Table 2 the average evaluation of the preparedness of students from University and Vocational study was calculated (Table 3). Evaluation average grade Persons questioned University study Vocational study Employers 3,55 3,26 Employees 3,34 3,35 Table 3: The average evaluation of the preparedness of students from University and Vocational study for the labour market The average grades showed that employers have better (University study) or almost equal (Vocational study) perception of their employees competences than they have about themselves. An important part of the questionnaires were the blank spaces in which employers and alumni were asked to write their own comments, thoughts, recommendations in order to improve the quality of studying at our Faculty. The most important suggestions pointed out the importance of: improving the practical knowledge of students by including more practical examples in teaching, presenting specific projects (during construction and maintenance) and specific details of construction and construction management, more work based learning, including financial aspects of civil engineering in the study, insisting even more on developing students team and group work skills etc. This research will be upgraded and repeated after the first alumni from new studies reformed on the basis of Bologna declaration will have graduated (in approximately 3 5 years). The information gathered form this research is used for the improvement of study programmes and also as a starting point of future analysis dealing with improving the quality of studying at the Faculty, through the quality of graduates. The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre and the UK Centre for Materials Education 10

4. CONCLUSION The Bologna process brought many changes to the teaching process. Learning outcomes (defined as skills and knowledge acquired by students) became more important than teaching hours, being the measure of students work load before. The Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Rijeka has been trying to implement all the Bologna requirements in order to assure students proper education including enough practical skills. In reformed programmes it is assured that students have the opportunity to get in contact with real civil engineering problems partly during the courses (applying theory on practical problems, project work, etc.) and partly using work based learning in collaboration with civil engineering employers. Students are offered extra curricular activities organized by the Faculty in collaboration with employers with the aim to motivate them for their future profession and prepare them for the requirements in the work market (e.g. Student week). Research related to the preparedness of graduates form the Faculty for the labour market indicated their insufficient preparedness for solving real practical problems. Different activities related to the development of practical skills were introduced in order to give students the opportunity to experience and reflect on the profession, to relate theory and practice and apply skills in different situations. The information gathered form research is used for the improvement of study programmes and also as a starting point of future analysis dealing with improving the quality of studying at the Faculty, through the quality of graduates. All mentioned curricular and non curricular activities should lead to a better preparation of civil engineers for their future careers after graduating from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University in Rijeka and can be used as an example of good practice in educating engineering students and implementing all of the Bologna principles. REFERENCES: Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, www.abet.org, accessed 29 th January 2008. Balogh, T.; Koos, A.: What do Industrial Enterprises Expect from University Education?, Proceedings of the 7 th WFFEO World Congress on Engineering Education Mobility for Engineers, Budapest, March 4 8, 2006, 170 175. European Commission, Education and Training, Bologna Process, http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/educ/bologna/bologna_en.html, accessed 5th October 2007. European Civil Engineering Education and Training, www.euceet.utcb.ro, accessed 29 th January 2008. Faculty of Civil Engineering University of Rijeka: Programmes in Civil Engineering, Rijeka, 2005. (www.gradri.hr/en) The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre and the UK Centre for Materials Education 11

Faculty of Civil Engineering University of Rijeka: Quality Assurance Rulebook and Handbook, Rijeka, 2006. (www.gradri.hr/kvaliteta) Faculty of Civil Engineering University of Rijeka: Publication of the results of The project of monitoring and improvement of quality of studying at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Rijeka, Rijeka, 2006. (www.gradri.hr/kvaliteta) Jamshidi, M.; Brown, L.: Engineering Education in USA: Industrial Co ops and Diversity, Proceedings of the 7 th WFFEO World Congress on Engineering Education Mobility for Engineers, Budapest, March 4 8, 2006, 248 254. Martin, R.; Maytham, B.; Case, J. and Fraser, D.: Engineering graduates perception of hoe well they were prepared for work in industry, European Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 30, No. 2, May 2005, 167 179. University of Rijeka: Strategy of the University of Rijeka 2007 2013, Rijeka, 2007. (www.uniri.hr) The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre and the UK Centre for Materials Education 12