Soft & Human Skills
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SOFT & HUMAN SKILLS - SHS Alexandra Hull [email protected] 1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..…2 1.1 General presentation…………………………………………………………………………………………….2 1.2 Learning objectives……………………………………………………………………………………………….2 1.3 Course design & conferences calendar……………………..…………………………………………….3 2 Course content……………………………………………………………………………….4 2.1 Soft & Human Skills overview....……………………………..………….…………………………………..4 2.2 Languages & Intercultural Communication………………………………………………………….…8 2.2.1 Professional English…………………………………………………………………………..….…8 2.2.2 Foreign Languages (« LV2 »)……………………………….....……………………...……….10 2.3 Leadership & Management …….…………………………………………………………………………...11 2.3.1 L3: Design Thinking Your Life………………………..……….…..………………….…...….11 2.3.2 L3: Intercultural Teamwork & Project Management…………..…………………....12 2.3.3 L3: Civic Engagement & Outreach……………………………………….………………….14 2.3.4 L3: ePortfolio.….…...……………………………………………………………………….……….15 2.3.5 M1: Company Management & Organization...…………………………………………..16 2.3.6 M1: Personal Professional Project (PPP V2)………………….....………..…………….18 2.3.7 M1: Professional Ethics………………………...………………………………………………..19 2.3.8 M1: Financial Acumen……………………………………………………………………...…….20 2.3.9 M2: Strategic & Critical Thinking….…………………………………………………………21 2.3.10 M2: Information Technology Law……..…………………………………………………..22 2.4 Sport & Creativity……………………………………………………………………………………………….23 2.5 Entrepreneurship……………….…………………………………………….…………….…………………..23 2.5.1 #BuildYourNetworkN7…………………………………………………..………………………23 2.5.2 The Incubator « N Start »………………………………………….…………………………….24 2.5.3 Entrepreneurship option..…………………………………………………..………………….24 3 ePortfolio …..………………………………………………………………………………..28 3.1 Definition, purpose & objectives………………………………………………………………………….28 3.2 Resources…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..28 4 Annex…………………………………………………………………………………………..29 4.1 Organigramme, timetable, competence rubric...………………...……....…………………………30 1 Introduction 1.1 General presentation In 2016, Toulouse INP-ENSEEIHT School of Engineering (known as « N7 » or « n7 ») modified its general training objectives from « scientific & technical skills » to « scientific, technical & non-technical skills ». This extension of aims to include soft and human skills (SHS) in order to educate the whole person and embrace other ways of knowing intends to better respond to 21st century professional and personal requirements for engineering students. Since its inauguration in 1907, N7 has continually developed and expanded its teaching and research activities, updating its name 5 times in the past century, to respond to global changes and new needs. In 1959, N7 was the first ENSI engineering school in France to offer an Applied Mathematics option, renamed « Informatique » in 1967. In 2015, N7 was the first ENSI engineering school to design and create a cross-curricular Soft Skills Center, co-constructed in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, to offer pluri-lingual transversal training in key soft and human skill competencies, in alignment with global research findings1 for its student-engineers from September 2017. Soft skills training is intended to complement and support hard skills courses offered in the 3 new scientific departments: Computer Science (SN), Electrical Engineering (EEEA), Fluid Mechanics, Energy & the Environment (MFEE). SHS N7: Direction Team Head: Alexandra Hull, [email protected] Assistant Director: Thierry Bosch, [email protected] Administration officer: Sylvie Vaillant, [email protected] 1.2 Learning objectives The overall aim of the courses offered by the Soft Skills Center N7 is to prepare students for success in the future international workplace by: o completing the basic groundwork necessary for personal professional development planning and lifelong learning needs; o developing key professional skills and attitudes, as defined by accreditation bodies, industrial partners and research publications worldwide. The current 5 general learning objectives, as defined by the Commission réforme SHS N7 of 2016, are to: 1 Research publication examples : Collins, M. (2018). The Engineer of the Future, White Paper 2018 by Airbus Global University Partner Programme (AGUPP), Airbus Employment Marketing for the Airbus Global University Partner Programme; Maré, M. (2016). L'évolution de la perception des Soft Skills en fonction de l'expérience chez les ingénieurs. Mémoire de Master 2 Conseil et Ingénierie pour l'Enseignement Supérieur, ESPE Toulouse; Spar, B., Dye, C., Lefkowitz, R., Pate, D. (2018). 2018 Workplace Learning Report: The Rise and Responsibility of Talent Development in the New Labor Market, LinkedIn Learning. Soft Skills Center N7 for Soft & Human Skills – SHS, September 2019 Page 2 o develop physical, mental & social wellbeing (self and others), develop creativity and autonomy; o design and develop the groundwork for personal professional development planning; o effectively accomplish professional communication assignments (in French, English and in other foreign languages); o successfully complete project management tasks with international teams; o auto-evaluate performance and effectively communicate personal skills acquired and being developed. 1.3 Course design & conferences calendar All N7 students are offered a full day of weekly soft skills training designed and delivered by a team of 100+ multilingual, pluri-skilled teacher-trainers from a range of professional backgrounds. The Soft and Human Skills program consists of 3 main courses (Languages & Intercultural Communication, Leadership & Management, Sport & Creativity), proposed in 4 successive 1h45 slots on a set calendar consisting of two 12-week semesters per year. Sport and Creativity slots are scheduled either at the beginning, or at the end of the day, to allow for continuous on-site project work and/or all day pluri-competence evaluation activities. The course offers an annual total of 80 hours of annual face-to-face training, 20% of the total engineering course or 6 ECTS credits per semester. There are also a number of weeks scheduled throughout the annual Soft Skills Center N7 calendar for the programming of workplace conferences for students to discover their specific engineering sector’s profession (les semaines de Conférences Métiers Sectorielles). Soft and Human Skills courses (Languages, Leadership & Management, Sport) are NOT scheduled during these weeks. The annual SHS calendar is accessible on the Moodle n7 platform « SOFT AND HUMAN SKILLS ». Active participation in all Soft Skills courses and associated activities is required for soft and human skills development and (self-) evaluation. Active participation, collaboration and the development of reflexivity competencies are determining factors for the validation of all soft skills courses at n7. The design and creation of a personal ePortfolio is highly recommended to students in order to practice and develop reflexivity and showcase individual projects and associated skills development. Retake assignments are based on the learning objectives of respective semesters. All resources are available on the Moodle n7 platform « SOFT AND HUMAN SKILLS ». 2 Course content Soft Skills Center N7 for Soft & Human Skills – SHS, September 2019 Page 3 2.1 Soft & Human Skills overview The 3 main SHS courses (Languages & Intercultural Communication, Leadership & Management, Sport & Creativity) share the common goal of competence for the international workplace, as shown in the following Soft Skills n7 triptych diagram. 50% of Leadership and Management courses are delivered in English from L3. Key non-technical skills for success in a global workplace are depicted in the Soft Skills n7 Cloud illustration below. The cloud was created by an analysis of data collected through a 2016 research project carried out as part of an advanced Master’s degree in educational consultancy at the ESPE of Toulouse. Soft Skills Center N7 for Soft & Human Skills – SHS, September 2019 Page 4 The n7 Soft Skills radar, in Figure 3 below, was created in 2016 in collaboration with different internal and external n7 stakeholders to provide a non-technical competencies framework which can be adapted to different cases of personal professional project planning for future n7 student-engineers. Soft Skills Center N7 for Soft & Human Skills – SHS, September 2019 Page 5 Languages and Intercultural Communication play a consequent role in the SHS programme, representing 50% of soft skills courses in total. Most Leadership & Management courses are also delivered in English to afford students the opportunity to perfect (and adapt) their international communication skills for the workplace with a wide range of native and non-native, specialist and non-specialist, technical and non- technical speakers. The figure 4 table below gives a concise overview of the wide range of complementary courses and communication tasks (oral comprehension & production, written comprehension & production, interaction) in Professional English (PE) and Leadership & Management (LM) which together represent 50% of the 3 year SHS programme. Semester Professional English (SHS-PE) Leadership & Management (SHS-LM) L3 Professional Communication Design Thinking Your Life CVs, emails & letters HR Skype or phone interviews semester 5 Meetings & minutes Intercultural Teamwork Team project pitches L3 Constructive Criticism Civic Engagement & Outreach Team infographics, movies Team CE-teamwork presentations semester 6 & peer evaluation Constructive criticism