Sports, arts and concrete canoes: Engineers learning to lead outside the formal curriculum

Abstract

Leadership has historically been part of professional engineers’ work life, but until recently it was not integrated into the formal engineering curriculum. With the support of the National Academy of Engineering and Engineers Canada along with regulatory pressures from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board, committed engineering educators with ties to industry have begun to take up this curricular challenge in greater numbers. Unfortunately, many of these programs touch only a small segment of the student body because they remain on the periphery of engineering faculties. As a result, we know little about the leadership learning opportunities and experiences of undergraduate engineering students as a whole. Our study fills this gap by examining how 1203 undergraduate engineering students at a large, Canadian, research-intensive university have used non-formal learning spaces—co-curricular and extra-curricular activities—to hone their leadership and engineering skills and identities. Our quantitative analysis of survey results suggests that explicit leadership programing, student government and industry-based professional development activities were most effective at helping engineering students develop their leadership skills. When it came to catalyzing their engineering skills development, we found that internships, design competitions and professional development activities with an industry focus were most effective. We conclude the paper by identifying practical and theoretical implications for engineering educators, student life professionals, engineering deans and student engagement researchers.