Lifelong Learning Program for engineering students

Lifelong Learning (LLL) is critical for engaged citizens of the modern knowledge economy. Development of such generic or key competencies should be integrated throughout curricula along with specific competencies in the disciplines such as engineering. This is a common educational goal in higher education in the USA and in Europe inside the Bologna Process. To enhance the capability of students to articulate their lifelong learning competencies, we developed a “Lifelong Learning Competencies for Engineers” program. This was presented as a workshop in a senior design course at the University of San Diego. The workshop includes presentations on lifelong learning competencies and specific recommendations for engineers as well as an active learning exercise that helps students recognize their lifelong learning competence developed throughout their undergraduate career. After the workshop, the students improved their awareness of the importance of LLL for their future careers. Since lifelong learning spans disciplinary and national boundaries, this program could be adopted by other engineer educators and adapted by educators from a variety of fields.