Industry Forum III: Towards A Common Language

Engineering Education literature acknowledges that the language Academia uses to assess the abilities of engineering students may not be the same as the language Industry uses to measure the abilities of new graduates at the time they enter the work force. It also suggests that the understanding and expectations of Industry may differ from Academia. If the language, perceptions and expectations are different, so too could be Industry’s assessment of the knowledge, skills and attitudes of new engineering graduates. Consequently, Industry may need to spend additional resources to develop the abilities of new hires to meet their own needs. The Industry Forum III was conducted in partnership with members of Manitoba Industry and members of Academia from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba with the objective to develop a common language that Industry and Academia can use in concert to measure the abilities of new engineering graduates. This paper details the findings from the forum, as well as the changes made to the University of Manitoba graduate attribute rubrics in the pursuit of a common language for our engineering stakeholders.