Combining Professional Development Activities and Service Learning/Community Service: A Scholarship-Based Project Impacting Engineering College Students
The authors present data on a college-level project performed with engineering undergraduate students. The project or program has community engagements, professional development activities, and general soft skill developments all as elements in the project. Students showed overwhelming support for the elements of the project and embraced the intended benefits of its elements. Student data was obtained through survey mechanisms and testimonials. This multi-year project supported findings in literature and the current knowledge base but added to it a unique combination of elements (community engagements, professional development activities, and general soft skill developments) that all homed in on improved soft skills of students (e.g., teamwork, communication with non-technical audiences, project management) and improved technical skills via open-ended community projects.
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