Teaching Soft Skills to Engineering Students: A Case Study of BITs, Pilani

Engineering education in India largely focuses on imparting knowledge in the respective technical areas. Undoubtedly, technical expertise is important for students aspiring to become successful professionals at their workplaces; however, apart from their technical expertise, they have to work with people from varied backgrounds. Hence, presentation skills, teamwork, negotiations, emotional intelligence and leadership skills are some of the soft skills required by the technocrats in their respective arenas to discharge their duties successfully. Right from the moment, they appear for the interviews, their soft skills come to the driver seat. In fact, even the hiring officials place the soft skills as a top priority for the job. Moreover, acquisition of the skill to communicate persuasively, positive attitude towards work, teamwork, etc. impart a finishing school touch to the students undergoing engineering education. The present paper discusses the multifarious soft skills the engineering students need to possess and the various ways in which these skills are imparted to them. The paper also discusses the experience of handling such courses in one of the premier institutes of India — Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (Rajasthan).