Curriculum Integration of engineering with business to enhance engineer's management competency- A multidisciplinary to interdisciplinary approach

摘要

Curriculum redesign and restructuring is a conduit for developing multidisciplinary competency in engineers which empowers them to use their technical expertise to a problem scenario which requires a sound understanding of various aspects of managing businesses. Therefore it is incumbent upon the Universities and colleges to drive multidisciplinary integration for developing integrated skill sets in students. This paper presents a case of interdisciplinary integration of engineering curriculum that was initiated a year ago in Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE to address the demand for high-skill jobs requiring both technical knowledge and management competency. We aim to explore the level of integration attained in the aforementioned programs through a description of the range of different disciplines integrated into these programs. The learning pedagogies suitable for interdisciplinary education will be discussed with the objective of ensuring the desired outcome of an integrated curriculum. The integration of other relevant disciplines with Engineering needs to be adequately supported with appropriate learning strategies like interdisciplinary research, projects, team based learning and other emerging disruptive innovations in learning approaches. To further improve the level of curriculum integration, inter to transdisciplinary integration is required which will be the next stage in the HCT 4.0 strategic plan of “Graduating companies”.