Humanities Education for Engineering Students: Enhancing Soft Skills Development
Engineering is a vital profession in our society as it provides innovative and creative solutions to problems faced by humanity to improve the quality of life. Engineering decisions and designs affect not only humans but they also affect the entire planet. While solving global problems around the wo...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Societies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/1/12 |
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| author | Fouzia Munir |
| author_facet | Fouzia Munir |
| author_sort | Fouzia Munir |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Engineering is a vital profession in our society as it provides innovative and creative solutions to problems faced by humanity to improve the quality of life. Engineering decisions and designs affect not only humans but they also affect the entire planet. While solving global problems around the world, engineers work with and for diverse people in varied contexts. That is why, in addition to their technical expertise, engineers need knowledge of the humanities. They need soft skills. Soft skills enable engineers to function effectively in teams and to design solutions considering the human perspective. While academics and professionals have acknowledged the importance of soft skills alike, the incorporation of these skills in engineering programmes has been slow. The aim of this study was to enhance the development of soft skills by incorporating literature in the form of a novel, <i>Lord of the Flies</i>, as part of a communication module for engineering undergraduates. The main research question was whether a novel can be useful in promoting soft skills among engineering students. Qualitative and quantitative data, in the form of interviews and a questionnaire, were collected from the students about the value of this novel in enhancing their soft skills. It was found that, as a result of this intervention, they became more aware of these skills and the application of said skills in their daily lives. This study argues for the inclusion of humanities education for engineering students to develop their soft skills and to inspire human values in them. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-74b2278354114588bbb687ab8d21dcb9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2075-4698 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Societies |
| spelling | doaj-art-74b2278354114588bbb687ab8d21dcb92025-01-24T13:49:35ZengMDPI AGSocieties2075-46982025-01-011511210.3390/soc15010012Humanities Education for Engineering Students: Enhancing Soft Skills DevelopmentFouzia Munir0Department of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth 6031, South AfricaEngineering is a vital profession in our society as it provides innovative and creative solutions to problems faced by humanity to improve the quality of life. Engineering decisions and designs affect not only humans but they also affect the entire planet. While solving global problems around the world, engineers work with and for diverse people in varied contexts. That is why, in addition to their technical expertise, engineers need knowledge of the humanities. They need soft skills. Soft skills enable engineers to function effectively in teams and to design solutions considering the human perspective. While academics and professionals have acknowledged the importance of soft skills alike, the incorporation of these skills in engineering programmes has been slow. The aim of this study was to enhance the development of soft skills by incorporating literature in the form of a novel, <i>Lord of the Flies</i>, as part of a communication module for engineering undergraduates. The main research question was whether a novel can be useful in promoting soft skills among engineering students. Qualitative and quantitative data, in the form of interviews and a questionnaire, were collected from the students about the value of this novel in enhancing their soft skills. It was found that, as a result of this intervention, they became more aware of these skills and the application of said skills in their daily lives. This study argues for the inclusion of humanities education for engineering students to develop their soft skills and to inspire human values in them.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/1/12humanities educationengineeringuse of literature for engineering studentsengineering studentssoft skills<i>Lord of the Flies</i> |
| spellingShingle | Fouzia Munir Humanities Education for Engineering Students: Enhancing Soft Skills Development Societies humanities education engineering use of literature for engineering students engineering students soft skills <i>Lord of the Flies</i> |
| title | Humanities Education for Engineering Students: Enhancing Soft Skills Development |
| title_full | Humanities Education for Engineering Students: Enhancing Soft Skills Development |
| title_fullStr | Humanities Education for Engineering Students: Enhancing Soft Skills Development |
| title_full_unstemmed | Humanities Education for Engineering Students: Enhancing Soft Skills Development |
| title_short | Humanities Education for Engineering Students: Enhancing Soft Skills Development |
| title_sort | humanities education for engineering students enhancing soft skills development |
| topic | humanities education engineering use of literature for engineering students engineering students soft skills <i>Lord of the Flies</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/1/12 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fouziamunir humanitieseducationforengineeringstudentsenhancingsoftskillsdevelopment |