IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i12p9711-d1173411.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evaluating the Role of the Communication Skills of Engineering Students on Employability According to the Outcome-Based Education (OBE) Theory

Author

Listed:
  • Ying Wu

    (School of Foreign Languages, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China)

  • Lin Xu

    (School of Foreign Languages, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China)

  • Simon P. Philbin

    (School of Engineering, London South Bank University, London SE1 0AA, UK)

Abstract

With the advent of the digital age and Industry 4.0, the communication skills of engineering students has been exerting gradually increasing influence on the need for enhanced student employability. To address this issue, this study evaluates the influence of communication skills on the employability of engineering students from the aspects of verbal and non-verbal skills through the four key elements of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) theory. A total of 130 college engineering students and practitioners participated in the questionnaire survey, and the hypotheses were tested by regression analysis and a structural equation model (SEM). The results show that in the digital age, the verbal ( p < 0.01) and non-verbal ( p < 0.001) components of students’ communication skills play a significant role in the employability of engineering students. Meanwhile, the employer’s assessment simultaneously makes a significant contribution to the further improvement of students’ communication skills, which can help educators further cultivate and improve students’ communication skills through the assessment of their employability by employers. Therefore, this research has theoretical and practical significance, which not only enriches the basic theoretical knowledge, but also broadens the training methods of engineering students in the digital age, thus enhancing their employability.

Suggested Citation

  • Ying Wu & Lin Xu & Simon P. Philbin, 2023. "Evaluating the Role of the Communication Skills of Engineering Students on Employability According to the Outcome-Based Education (OBE) Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-26, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:12:p:9711-:d:1173411
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/12/9711/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/12/9711/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Abdullah M. Almuhaideb & Saqib Saeed, 2020. "Fostering Sustainable Quality Assurance Practices in Outcome-Based Education: Lessons Learned from ABET Accreditation Process of Computing Programs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-26, October.
    2. Mirjana Kovac & N. Sirkovic, 2017. "Attitudes towards Communication Skills among Engineering Students," English Language Teaching, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(3), pages 111-111, March.
    3. Mahbub, Md Shahriar & Cozzini, Marco & Østergaard, Poul Alberg & Alberti, Fabrizio, 2016. "Combining multi-objective evolutionary algorithms and descriptive analytical modelling in energy scenario design," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 140-151.
    4. Wei Zheng & Shiting Wen & Bin Lian & Ya Nie, 2023. "Research on a Sustainable Teaching Model Based on the OBE Concept and the TSEM Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-21, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Miao Tian, 2024. "Nurturing Entrepreneurial Mindsets and Talent Training for English Majors: An Outcome-Based Education Paradigm," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(3), pages 10485-10515, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Østergaard, P.A. & Lund, H. & Thellufsen, J.Z. & Sorknæs, P. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2022. "Review and validation of EnergyPLAN," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    2. Prina, Matteo Giacomo & Lionetti, Matteo & Manzolini, Giampaolo & Sparber, Wolfram & Moser, David, 2019. "Transition pathways optimization methodology through EnergyPLAN software for long-term energy planning," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 356-368.
    3. Jean-Nicolas Louis & Stéphane Allard & Freideriki Kotrotsou & Vincent Debusschere, 2020. "A multi-objective approach to the prospective development of the European power system by 2050," Post-Print hal-02376337, HAL.
    4. Javed, Muhammad Shahzad & Ma, Tao & Jurasz, Jakub & Mikulik, Jerzy, 2021. "A hybrid method for scenario-based techno-economic-environmental analysis of off-grid renewable energy systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    5. Mohammed Gollapalli & Atta Rahman & Mariam Alkharraa & Linah Saraireh & Dania AlKhulaifi & Asiya Abdus Salam & Gomathi Krishnasamy & Mohammad Aftab Alam Khan & Mehwash Farooqui & Maqsood Mahmud & Reha, 2023. "SUNFIT: A Machine Learning-Based Sustainable University Field Training Framework for Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, May.
    6. Chévez, Pedro Joaquín & Martini, Irene & Discoli, Carlos, 2019. "Methodology developed for the construction of an urban-energy diagnosis aimed to assess alternative scenarios: An intra-urban approach to foster cities’ sustainability," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 751-778.
    7. Chang, Miguel & Lund, Henrik & Thellufsen, Jakob Zinck & Østergaard, Poul Alberg, 2023. "Perspectives on purpose-driven coupling of energy system models," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    8. Finke, Jonas & Bertsch, Valentin, 2022. "Implementing a highly adaptable method for the multi-objective optimisation of energy systems," MPRA Paper 115504, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Syed Ali Abbas Kazmi & Muhammad Khuram Shahzad & Akif Zia Khan & Dong Ryeol Shin, 2017. "Smart Distribution Networks: A Review of Modern Distribution Concepts from a Planning Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-47, April.
    10. Bellocchi, Sara & Manno, Michele & Noussan, Michel & Prina, Matteo Giacomo & Vellini, Michela, 2020. "Electrification of transport and residential heating sectors in support of renewable penetration: Scenarios for the Italian energy system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    11. Song, Tangnyu & Huang, Guohe & Zhou, Xiong & Wang, Xiuquan, 2018. "An inexact two-stage fractional energy systems planning model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 275-289.
    12. Saqib Saeed & Abdullah M. Almuhaideb & Yasser A. Bamarouf & Dina A. Alabaad & Hina Gull & Madeeha Saqib & Sardar Zafar Iqbal & Asiya Abdus Salam, 2021. "Sustainable Program Assessment Practices: A Review of the ABET and NCAAA Computer Information Systems Accreditation Process," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-14, December.
    13. Kouhia, Mikko & Laukkanen, Timo & Holmberg, Henrik & Ahtila, Pekka, 2019. "Evaluation of design objectives in district heating system design," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 369-378.
    14. Mahbub, Md Shahriar & Viesi, Diego & Cattani, Sara & Crema, Luigi, 2017. "An innovative multi-objective optimization approach for long-term energy planning," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 1487-1504.
    15. Matteo Giacomo Prina & Giampaolo Manzolini & David Moser & Roberto Vaccaro & Wolfram Sparber, 2020. "Multi-Objective Optimization Model EPLANopt for Energy Transition Analysis and Comparison with Climate-Change Scenarios," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-22, June.
    16. Li, Pei-Hao & Pye, Steve, 2018. "Assessing the benefits of demand-side flexibility in residential and transport sectors from an integrated energy systems perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 965-979.
    17. Nurwidiana Nurwidiana & Bertha Maya Sopha & Adhika Widyaparaga, 2022. "Simulating Socio-Technical Transitions of Photovoltaics Using Empirically Based Hybrid Simulation-Optimization Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-25, April.
    18. Diego Viesi & Gregorio Borelli & Silvia Ricciuti & Giovanni Pernigotto & Md Shahriar Mahbub, 2024. "Modeling the Optimal Transition of an Urban Neighborhood towards an Energy Community and a Positive Energy District," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-30, August.
    19. Parrado-Hernando, Gonzalo & Pfeifer, Antun & Frechoso, Fernando & Miguel González, Luis Javier & Duić, Neven, 2022. "A novel approach to represent the energy system in integrated assessment models," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    20. Yuan, Yi & Ding, Tao & Chang, Xinyue & Jia, Wenhao & Xue, Yixun, 2024. "A distributed multi-objective optimization method for scheduling of integrated electricity and hydrogen systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 355(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:12:p:9711-:d:1173411. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.