Engineering Team Project Course for Development of Teamwork Skills

The globalization trend prevalent in the business and industry has created the demand for engineers with multidisciplinary teamwork skills. At institutions of higher learning, great emphasis is given on technical knowledge in order to equip engineering graduates with technical competence that is required in the workplace. In the real working environment, however, engineers are expected to not only be technically competent, but also to have the ability to work well within a multidisciplinary team situation. Effective teaching and cooperative learning skills are vital in equipping students with the experience of collaboration and interaction with peers of diverse discipline and background. A unique course identified as Engineering Team Project (ETP) was introduced as a tool to inculcate multidisciplinary teamwork skills among the engineering students of various backgrounds. This paper presents the curriculum structure, operational mechanism, and the experience of operating the course in providing the students with the environment for building teamwork skills.