INTEGRATION OF GRADUATE EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS THROUGH INDUSTRY OUTSOURCED CDIO PROJECT

Engineering curricula in higher education should be aligned with the current and future requirements of the industry to ensure industry-ready graduates. In the UK GOV HE education and professional accredited bodies, it is required to embed graduate attributes into the engineering curriculum. Although the CDIO-based approach provides a platform where students can develop these skills, there is still a gap between students' skills and industry compatibility due to a lack of interaction with industry. Our solution is to embed industry outsourced CDIO projects in modules across the engineering course curriculum. These modules provide students not only the opportunity to develop their engineering technical skills but also their employability skills for actual industrial environment. At our university, the academic team have adopted a robust 7-stage approach in consultation and collaboration with industry to identify and implement industry-sourced CDIO projects in the curriculum. Based on the nature and complexity of the project, the CDIO projects can be integrated into relevant modules at appropriate academic levels. For example, a design-related project can be integrated into the first-year module whereas complex projects are allocated to final-year students. The final objectives of the CDIO projects are aligned with the learning outcomes of the corresponding modules and should be reflected in the module assessments. In this paper, the approach and outcome of one of our industrial CDIO projects outsourced by eXroid (a biomedical company in the UK) have been described. During the period, students followed the four stages of CDIO framework. The performance of the students was satisfactory as 81% of the students passed the module on their first attempt and the average mark was 49.9. The feedback received from eXroid personnel and students regarding the project execution and outcome was outstanding. Students have also developed several industry- oriented technical and soft skills while executing the projects.