Developing professional skills at tertiary level: A model to integrate competencies across the curriculum

In the context of the European Higher Education Area, curriculum design needs to be based on the defined competencies of each degree programs, including both domain-specific and professional competencies. In this educational context, developing students' professional skills poses a new challenge we need to face. The present work proposes a model to globally develop professional skills in an Engineering degree program. Based on competency maps, this model allows careful analysis, revision and iteration for an effective integration of professional skills. We define each competency in terms of "dimensions" (or sub-skills), which are further defined according to three-level objectives. Competency maps are built showing the specific graded objectives, which allows to integrate them most finely into degree subjects. A global competency map is also designed including the objectives to be achieved throughout the degree. This global map becomes a useful tool for curriculum designers and coordinators. It allows them to optimize the workload, and to make adjustments most effectively, helping students develop the defined competencies as a global comprehensive experience. To illustrate our model, we explain how it has been implemented to integrate "Communication skills" into subjects, and how the model has been applied to assess "Appropriate attitude towards work" skills.