Course 16: Communications and People Skills Development for Engineering Leaders
Course 16: Communications and People Skills Development for Engineering Leaders (Syllabus)
Last Update: November 14, 2019
Course Objective: Technical excellence is always a trademark for engineering graduates, but their lacks of collaborative communication skills, people skills and understanding holistic picture, which are essential characteristics of a leader, often hinder their career success. This course aims to build engineering student competence in leadership communication skills and people skills. This course will train the engineering students on how to be a leader who can communicate effectively to facilitate the achievement of organizational goals and to motivate other members along the way.
Learning Outcomes: The students on the completion of this course would be able to:
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- Explain their works, thoughts, and ideas effectively
- Do both technical and non-technical written communication that ease understanding of audiences
- Make presentation professionally
- Develop emotional intelligence domains and competencies in different professional situations
- Work in a team environment in a complex workplace
- Apply people skills to support, lead, persuade, motivate and inspire others to achieve goals.
Prerequisite: None
Course Outline:
Flashback: Personalized Your Course (C.16)_flashback
Laboratory Sessions: None
Learning Resources:
Textbooks: No designated textbook, but class notes and handouts will be provided.
Reference Books:
- Anderson, C. TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking, Headline Publishing Group, 2016
- Goleman, D. What Makes a Leader: Why Emotional Intelligence Matters, More Than Sound, 2014
- Kerpen, D. The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills that will Get You Everything You Want, Penguin Random House, 2016
- Murray, K. The Language of Leaders: How Top CEOs Communicate to Inspire, Influence and Achieve Results, Second Edition, Kogan Page, 2013
- Shall G. R. and Moussa M. The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas, Penguin Books, 2008
Journals and Magazines:
- Journal of Engineering Education, Wiley
- Journal of Management in Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers
- Research in Higher Education, Springer
Teaching and Learning Methods:
This is an activity-based course. During lecture sessions, class discussion will be conducted. During workshop sessions, the students, to be active learners, will practice several skills including, but not limited to, decision making, problem-solving, critical thinking, written communication, oral communication, presentation, debate and teamwork.
Time Distribution and Study Load:
Lectures: 15 hours
Workshop: 60 hours
Self-study: 45 hours
Evaluation Scheme: The final grade will be computed according to the following weight distribution: Class discussions and participation (15%); Oral communication (15%); Written communication (10%); Presentation (10%); Simulation/Scenario (10%); Peer Assessment (10%); Powerful Public Speaking (10%) and Personal Development (20%).
An “A” would be awarded if a student can demonstrate clearly effective communications, people skills, and leadership.
A “B” would be awarded if a student can show good progress on communications, people skills and/or leadership.
A “C” would be given if a student can show reasonable progress on communications, people skills, and leadership.
A “D” would be given if a student shows a lack of improvement in communications, people skills and leadership.
Developer: Pisut Koomsap (AIT) and Duangthida Hussadintorn Na Ayutthaya (AIT)