CGHE webinar series | Webinar 3 – Professional expectations and personal motivations: Science and engineering graduates’ reflections on their role in society
- Nicole Pitterson, Department of Engineering Education, Virginia Tech
- Alaa Abdalla, Philosophy and Ethics Group, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)
Event Materials
This event is now archived and we are pleased to provide the following event media and assets, along with the original event overview.
What happens when students graduate from their degree programs and transition to work? What roles do students see for themselves in society beyond the expectations of their job? Research indicates that as students make the school to work transition a shift in their orientation towards disciplinary identities happens. This growing identity, influenced by the context of their jobs, can illuminate students’ current view of themselves upon entry to the workforce and support future exploration of their perceptions of their role in society. In this longitudinal qualitative inquiry of engineering and science graduates, we seek to understand how students’ perceptions of their societal roles develop over time. Current trends from our analysis indicate that students tend to describe an overarching view of their discipline rather than a more focused approach one would see while they are actively pursuing their degrees. Additionally, we see evidence of students discussing developing personal transferable skills that they are leveraging in their jobs that they can in turn use to positively impact the contexts in which they work and the wider society. This webinar will explore how students describe their role in society beyond graduation particularly highlighting their broader narratives around the interplay between the professional expectations and personal motivations.
Event Materials
This event is now archived and we are pleased to provide the following event media and assets, along with the original event overview.
Event Notes
This webinar is part of the CGHE webinar series on ‘Exploring the outcomes of educating scientists and engineers’. Find out more about the other webinars here.
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Nicole Pitterson is an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Her research interests include fostering conceptual understanding of foundational engineering concepts and the role of language in connecting technical content with students’ backgrounds and prior experiences as well as how engagement with disciplinary knowledge transforms students’ identity. Nicole holds background degrees in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering and Engineering Education.
Alaa Abdalla is a postdoctoral researcher at the Philosophy and Ethics group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Her primary research focus is understanding epistemological perspectives in engineering education systems. She is also interested in intercultural competence, systemic epistemology, and designing effective formal and informal learning environments. She completed her PhD in engineering education at Virginia Tech.
