Student Perspective on Defining Engineering Leadership

Many definitions and theories of leadership that have evolved over the past few centuries. However, only recently has the term engineering leadership been introduced and there is a lack of a clear definition. A stronger understanding of the different perspectives of this term will help institutions to develop and improve engineering leadership education programs. The aim of this research project is to answer the following: from the perspective of engineering students, academics, and professionals, what is engineering leadership and what skills are required to be a leader in engineering? This paper provides a summary of the results from a pilot study conducted with a group of undergraduate students. Engineering students were surveyed to understand their perspective on engineering leadership as well as a self-evaluation of their own leadership skills. The engineering leadership definition responses were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Three main themes of engineering leadership were generated: Strong Character, Team Dynamics and Technical, and each of these three broad areas were equally emphasized by the students. The determined themes and the more detailed categories of engineering leadership could be used to develop and improve engineering leadership education programs. The self-evaluation results emphasized the need to teach leadership within an integrated learning experience, to help students have more confidence in the technical application of their leadership skills.