An innovative pilot coaching program is building upon fourth-year QUT construction students’ leadership and communication skills as they guide teams of first-year students through real-world challenges.
QUT, with the support of Engineers Australia’s College of Leadership and Management Queensland Branch (CLMQ), launched the Developing and Leading Teams Using Coaching and Small Group Facilitation Skills program this year to equip fourth-year construction engineering students with industry-relevant skills based on solution-focused coaching methodology.
Training Facilitator and Program Advisor Patrick Albina said that the program is developing students’ “collaborative and agile mindset” as they “guide first-year students through design and build challenges”.
“Through a combination of interactive workshop learning, task-based activities and ongoing coaching support, the program is providing students with realistic experiences in building teams, fostering collaboration and being adaptable as the environment around them changes,” Mr Albina said.
In line with Engineering Australia’s strategic priorities to foster “tomorrow’s engineers” and provide engineers with a “professional home for life”, CLMQ representatives recently facilitated mock interviews and a group Q&A session for fourth-year students to better prepare them for job seeking.
Secretary of CLMQ Edward Szymanski FIEAust CPEng NER RPEQ APEC Engineer is pleased to support the coaching and mentoring of engineering students by helping to "expose the students to engineers who have been working in the industry for a number of years" and give students valuable insight into "the way the leadership landscape is changing”.
"Engineers Australia is proud to support these kinds of initiatives at the grassroots level," Mr Szymanski said. "It is a great opportunity for us to start developing engineers as future leaders at the university level, rather than waiting until they have been in the workplace for many years."
QUT Curriculum Designer and Developer (Positive Psychology) Bernadine Cooper said that the program aims to develop “students’ integral and transferable skills, as required by employers and Engineers Australia”.
“The program is helping students develop their real-world skills for their future employment,” Ms Cooper said. “And, the Engineers Australia mock interviews helped them articulate what they have learnt through the program in an interview situation.”
Fourth-year student Samantha Ong StudIEAust participated enthusiastically in the program and looks forward to implementing the advice given to her by CLMQ mentors.
“Key things I learnt in my mock interview are that initiative, communication skills and a willingness to learn are highly valued by prospective employers,” Miss Ong said. “The program will benefit me in my future career as it has developed my leadership ability and helped me to obtain and provide information better, which are important skills as engineers are problem solvers.”
QUT plans to widen the program to all engineering schools in 2017 as a result of the pilot program’s success.
Undergraduate students studying an accredited or recognised Australian engineering course can find out the benefits of free student membership. Engineers Australia College of Leadership and Management Queensland Branch strengthens Engineers Australia's strategic priority to provide a "professional home for life" for engineers in Australia.
Image caption: Fourth-year engineering student and Engineers Australia member Samantha Ong at the QUT Gardens Point Campus.