LIFELONG LEARNING AS EXPLICIT PART OF ENGINEERING PROGRAMMES: A CASE STUDY

Today’s workplace is characterized by continuous technological advancements and shifting requirements in the labour market, increasing the need for lifelong learning (LLL) competencies for engineers. By focusing on LLL in the curriculum, engineering students are made aware of the importance of LLL competencies, preparing them for their future as an engineer in the working field. To carefully and concretely formulate learning outcomes is considered good practice in education, especially for professional competencies. In this study, the learning outcomes of three engineering specialisation tracks were analysed. Firstly, the learning outcomes are mapped against five LLL competencies, namely (1) self-monitoring, (2) locating and scrutinizing information, (3) self-reflection, (4) creating a learning plan and (5) willingness, motivation, and curiosity to learn. Secondly, heat maps were created to visualise cold and hotspots of learning outcomes on LLL throughout the engineering programme. In line with the general view that professional competencies are only occasionally integrated into learning outcomes, findings show that LLL competencies are not fully embedded in the learning outcomes. Two out of five LLL competencies, namely creating a learning plan and willingness, motivation, and curiosity to learn, are not present in any of the learning outcomes. Additionally, hotspots of learning outcomes on LLL are limited to the first and/or final year of the programme. This case study is a first step towards enhancing our knowledge on how LLL is implemented in learning outcomes. The selected mapping technique and heat map visualisation can be used in future work to evaluate study programmes and to inform curriculum development.