Abstract
In EPS, communication is key. Project teams plan and develop projects involving stakeholders in internationalized contexts. Outcomes are defined in a written report and an oral presentation, both assessed for content and communicative value. The chapter situates technical and professional communication (TPC) in engineering education and identifies communication practices as part of the professional practices of engineers. Main approaches to TPC in engineering are presented, and how TPC is approached from a problem-solving perspective is discussed. The rationale and organization of the TPC course is presented with examples based on a practical methodology that promotes familiarization, practice, reflection, and dialogue. A proposal for integrating TPC in EPS and similar programs is made. From an interdisciplinary view, the chapter reflects on the importance of TPC in engineering education, the needs of globalized professional settings, and the ubiquity of digitalization to discuss how engineering students can effectively engage in international engineering communication.
TopThe Role Of Tpc In Eps At Upc-Vilanova
In EPS, which replicates a real-life engineering project and places emphasis on transversal (or soft) skills, communication is key. It is through continuous communication that project teams can plan and develop their projects, involving a number of stakeholders, such as collaborators, supervisors, companies and clients, in an internationalized context. Furthermore, project outcomes are defined in the form of communication artifacts, typically a written report and an oral presentation, both of which are assessed for contents and for their communicative value. As engineering students experiencing a real-world project for the first time, they also become aware of the importance of TPC, as engineering practice requires multiliterate engineers, who can grapple with the complexities of international professional communication. The role of TPC in engineering has attracted the attention of education and researchers, with a growing body of literature devoted to it over the years (e.g., Ford & Paretti, 2013; Cleary et al., 2017; Eggleston & Rabb, 2018; Yong & Ashman, 2019). Parallel to this interest among academics, TPC has also attracted the attention of corporate and professional sectors, where there is growing awareness of the importance of TPC in professional practice. Examples of this greater focus on TPC are found in the resources for learning technical writing created by Google (2021), preceded by the explicit motto “Every engineer is also a writer” or the resources provided by IEEE (2021), which stress the importance of technical communication in English for engineers on a global scale.
Key Terms in this Chapter
European Project Semester: A semester-long capstone learning program for engineering undergraduates based on project-based learning and integrating international and multidisciplinary teamwork.
Integrating Content and Language (ICL): An approach to teaching an academic subject (usually in higher education) in a foreign language, which includes both content and language learning goals (e.g., an engineering course taught in English).
Writing/Communication in the Disciplines (WID/CID): An approach that promotes the learning of disciplinary writing/communication by requiring students to produce writing/communication that reflects disciplinary practices and conventions, with the aim to help students become familiar and fluent with specific genres and formats typical of their discipline.
Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC): An approach that promotes and caters for students' academic writing and in every course offered in a program of studies.
Communication Skills: The presentation and exchange of information between individuals considering the context and the set of accepted symbols, rules and conventions.
English For Specific Purposes: The teaching and learning of English based on the language, activities and texts of the students' disciplines or contexts, which can be academic or professional.
Engineering Education: Training of future engineers, considering both hard and soft skills, to be able to solve future challenges affecting individuals, society and planet.