Contribution of Shell Eco-Marathon engineering design experience to soft skills development: A qualitative analysis in the Asian context

Abstract

Recent studies emphasize the needs of a wider set of skills engineers require than ever thought. Engineering curricula have been frequently criticized. Engineering design experience is one remedial way of heavy theory oriented curriculum. Many Universities started to integrate more design experiences in their curriculum. While a straight forward implication of integrating engineering design in engineering education is the development of higher order of technical and core engineering skills, a significant side outcome of impact of engineering design on soft skills development is barely investigated. Shell Eco-Marathon is a complex engineering design process, and is a competition oriented learning experience. This paper reports on the findings of qualitative investigation of the SEM impact on soft skills development of engineering students, with a case conducted within the Asian context