Poster Presentations Improve Engineering Students’ Communication Skills

Abstract

This research reports the procedures the writers have employed in teaching several academic and workplace communication skills through engineering multidisciplinary projects (EMDPs). In these projects students are divided into teams, with each team comprising a minimum of three and a maximum of four students from different engineering majors. The students choose and appoint a team leader, choose a research topic/problem in the surrounding environment that requires input from all team members and collaboration from all students, each in his/her respective discipline, in finding a solution to the situation/problem. Team members choose the topics, obtain approval of the topics from cooperating engineering faculty and the course instructor, and then prepare detailed research proposals. They receive specialist feedback on their proposals, and based on how detailed their proposals are, are given the go ahead to proceed with their research. The execution of the research project requires the use of several technical communication skills such as, internet searches; sending email messages; writing formal letters; meeting with officials, engineering academics and experts, as well as giving powerpoint supported oral presentations, EMDP poster presentations and submitting end of research written reports.