Stimulating the professional development of introductory-level engineering students

A series of writing assignments, in-class presentations and focused discussions were developed to help students meet the following outcomes: preparation for future change; an ability to communicate effectively in written form; an understanding of options for careers and further education, and the necessary educational preparation to pursue those options; and an ability to learn independently. These assignments were tied together in the end, forming an overall picture of the options that the student uncovered, which ones they chose to pursue, and their plan for success. Reports were forwarded to the students´ academic advisors, who found them to be useful tools to get to know the students better and have the students obtain and provide information in way not usually available to advisors. Assessment was performed to determine what the students themselves thought that they gained from the assignments. These benefits are compared to the ´costs´ in terms of student, lecture and staff time.