1

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. GLOBALIZATION AND ITS IMPACT ON ENGINEERING EDUCATION

When the winds of change blow, some people build walls

others build windmill.
In this era of globalization researchers, academicians and economists
have predicted a very challenging future ahead and engineers of the future need to
develop a whole gamut of skills and abilities to emerge successful. They will need to
adapt to changing technologies, learn to work in multi cultural teams and find
solution for issues and problems that occur quite suddenly. Science and technology
is moving at a fast pace and there is a major revamp every ten years in all major
fields. As far as industries are concerned product cycle takes much less time than
before, thanks to the fast and new emerging technologies that become obsolete at a
still faster rate. Studies in field of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information
technology will be at the fore front of engineering education in the future. Ageing
population, scarcity of natural resources, energy crisis will be few of the problems
that the engineers have to be prepared to face.
There is a shift in the way universities are functioning specially in Asia
and South Asia where the focus is on research and development. Changes are taking
place in a massive way and engineering education is developing at a very fast
unimaginable pace. Globalization in this knowledge era is a matter one has to
comprehend with because it is not a matter of choice. To adapt to this fast paced
change in the globalized era, it is essential that each one must have skills that will
help them to adapt, face challenges, have the openness and willingness to learn, be
creative and explorative. Such skills are indeed essential to make them global
citizens.

1.1.1. Changing Paradigm of Workforce Abilities

Cutting edge competition at the global level has raised the bar on the
level of products or services. The rate of innovation is such that adaptability is the
key word in all spheres of the organization. One can easily observe that knowledge
workers and experts are available everywhere, but what sets them apart is the skill or
competencies that they can put to best use. Talking about competencies, team work
is the most essential one. Most often complex situation requires deep thought and a
teams decision definitely proves better than individuals.
Interpersonal competencies, the ability to influence, build strong
relationship is very crucial in todays workplace situation. If this is the situation at
the work place front, universities too need to be aware of the importance of
imparting such training programmes and thus empower the work force that can
easily adapt and contribute to the growth of an organization.
Graduate attribute is the term in the recent year where universities strive
to develop lifelong learning ability in students and thus enable him/her to be
successful. The term generic graduate attribute looks at an all encompassing skill
set which would help graduates to attain success. Students who graduate from
Engineering courses must be able to demonstrate certain crucial skill, for example,
they must be able to communicate effectively, solve problems, work in teams, be
creative and think critically. They should be flexible and adaptable to changing
needs.
Employability is basically having the required skill set, adequate
knowledge, desirable personal attributes that helps one to choose the profession in
which they can sustain. According to Yorke, (2006) a set of achievements skills,
understandings and personal attributes that makes graduates more likely to gain
employment and be successful in their chosen occupations which benefits
themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy.

The knowledge and skill required for workplace is further detailed

clearly in the SCANS Report on America 2000 entitled, What work requires of
schools. The higher education system is therefore completely relevant to the
economy and government world over. Few decades before the relevance of skill and
ability were known as human capital development.
1.1.2. Present Scenario in Engineering Education
Change is inherent in every walk of life and adapting to it is a real
challenge. The field of Engineering and Technology proves to be the backbone of
such changes and provides the required support for sustenance. The last half century
has seen a sea of changes with the Internet celebrating its 50th year. Technological
advancement has blurred barriers and the global village has to combat many
challenges. Engineering education of various countries need to look in the same
direction to develop a common platform which will serve the needs of a very
demanding future.
Engineers of the future need to develop professional competencies which
do not stop with mere technical knowhow, but would also mean an individuals
ability to cope with situation that are beyond the walls of what is taught in
classrooms. Engineers no longer work within the framework of their specialization
in their own country. There is always a need to sustain in places crossing
geographical borders and adjust in places with varied cultural differences.
The information super highway has strengthened the knowledge era and
is taking engineering education to levels higher than it was ever dreamt of.
Economic slowdown has had its share of impact but things have bounced back
enabling the future to look much brighter. Engineering education needs to definitely
look at widening the horizon of students by creating in them an interest to explore,
innovate and have a deep thirst to contribute to the development of society.
Engineers need to necessarily develop intuition that helps them take critical
decisions and become successful strategic planners. Educational institutions must
incorporate the required skill sets by bringing in apt curricular reforms at the right

time. Interdisciplinary studies aimed at making the world a better place by

combating environmental issues and planning for a sustainable world would
definitely be a challenge as far engineering education is concerned. Geographical,
political, social and cultural borders should fade when looking at the larger picture.
Most government looks to educational institutions to provide human
resource with right skill and knowledge. It is the responsibility of higher educational
system to enable a smooth transition to knowledge economy and advanced level of
information technology. Each country must ensure that they are ready to empower
their workforce who will fit the requirement of the industry and thus ensure that
their country has an edge over the others. Therefore, ensuring that the young
workforce has the necessary skill and competency to succeed in their jobs has now
become the major responsibility of the educational institutions. Statistics according
to UNESCOs data reveals very striking information. Though enrolment data shows
a double in the past two decades with an increase of 151 million in tertiary
education, the ILOs global employment trends report also shows a disturbing trend
of how the financial crisis of 2008 has affected employment levels and only close to
74.8 million youth has been employed in 2011 because of economic crisis. But the
fact to be noted is that in order to increase their chance of getting employed the
young productive workforce has to equip themselves with the necessary new skill
sets to meet the demand of work place. The new engineering skills could also be
called global professional skills.
Two important systems, the Washington Accord and Bologna process
have outlined the required engineering profile and listed criteria for accreditation
and quality assurance of engineering education. The Washington Accord
encompasses countries like the USA, UK, Australia and South Africa, as well as
Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Germany. The accreditation process enables the
recognition of engineering degree in the above said countries thus enabling students
to enter into engineering practice across the above said countries. The Bologna
process covers the European countries and aims to create a European Higher
Education Area. Both systems aim to promote accreditation systems and thus foster
the internationalization of higher education process. To succeed in todays global

market, engineers today need, not only theoretical hard skills, like fundamentals of
science, mathematics and engineering but also soft skills like communication skills,
managerial skills, negotiation and interpersonal skills; being able to work on
multidisciplinary teams find solutions for global issues and be empathetic.
An initiative of the National Academy of Engineering, the report
entitled, The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century ( 2005)
deals at length as to how the engineering education need to be reengineered so as to
prepare the next generation of students for effective engagement in the engineering
profession by 2020. It begins by identifying the desired outcome, and then designing
what the outcome is supposed to look like and the processes required to implement
it. Quality is the key factor and the desired outcomes should include an enhanced
educational experience for engineering students.
Two recent efforts at comprehensive innovation in engineering
education are those launched by the National Science Foundation (NSF)
Engineering Education Coalitions and the revision of the Engineering Accreditation
Criteria by ABET, Inc. (ABET, 2004b). With regard to ABET, it is noted that in
addition to addressing the traditional educational topics, the revised criteria place
particular emphasis on the stakeholder goals and objectives as reflected in the
institutional mission and great emphasis on the outcome of the programs.
A few examples of the Program Outcomes as deemed necessary by
ABET are listed below:
e. an ability to function effectively in teams
g. an ability to communicate effectively
j. a respect for diversity and knowledge of contemporary professional,
societal and global issues

1.1.3. Engineering Education in India

Education system in India is seeing a total overhaul; especially the
higher education. There is an unimaginable explosion of volume of students,
expansion in the number of institutions and an increase in public funding. The 11th
Five Year Plan looked at inclusive education, trying to correct social imbalances.
The 12th Five Year Plan aims at improving excellence and creating opportunity for
equal access to quality education. To overcome the challenges the University Grant
Commission (UGC) has ensured greater regional and social equity and this can be
seen by the expansion by setting up 16 new Central Universities, and 374 Model
Colleges. The focus was also to increase the Gross Enrollment Ration (GER).

Figure 1.1: Growth of Higher Education in India

Engineering institutions in India currently account for intake of more
than 5,00,000 students in Bachelors program, around 30,000 in Masters program
and less than 1000 in PhD program. The number of institutions has also grown by an
order of magnitude in the last two decades, over the next decade, India will have two
significant opportunities in the form of manufacturing and engineering services

outsourcing in addition to growing opportunities in business process outsourcing and

information technology outsourcing. In order to meet the growing demand, the
capacity of engineering education needs to be tripled while simultaneously
enhancing quality. Currently, most graduates do not possess the skills needed to
compete in the global economy, and industries have been facing a consistent skills
deficit, mostly in the private sector. Engineering Education is administered by the
MHRD through the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). AICTE
provides the guidelines for starting new programmes in technical education and is
also charged with accrediting the programmes through the National Board of
Accreditation (NBA). Constant dialogue among Educational Institutes, Industries
and Government through seminars and workshops is necessary to keep each other
informed about the latest trends and issues. Many consortia like National
Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), Confederation of
Indian Industries (CII) etc have created a major workforce development platform
and launched several initiatives, in partnership with the Government and academia
that aim to bring positive changes to the Indian education system. Finishing schools
run jointly by educational institutions and industry can train graduates especially in
soft skills to make them more suitable for employment.
On the one hand government and institutions of higher learning are
taking many initiatives, but from the industry perspective, certain reports are very
alarming. Though there is a huge demand for fresh engineers on the industry side, on
the other side quite some students are unemployable. The McKinsey Report and
Nasscom Report (2005), talks of the state where most engineering graduates lack the
basic skill required for being employable. According to the management and
consulting firm, McKinsey, Indian factories will need 73 million workers by 2015,
50% more than today. The IT sector is on a hiring spree, targeting a higher intake,
based on the rising needs. The National Association of Software and Services
Companies, Nasscom-McKinsey Report predicts India will confront a huge shortage
of skilled workers in the next decade. The importance of soft skills as distinct from
hard skills or domain knowledge is increasingly being recognized in several sectors
of todays highly competitive market place. Research in many fields such as sales
and marketing, software development, engineering and law, has shown that to be

successful in the workplace, knowledge alone is not enough. Soft skills are needed
to deal with the external world and to work in a collaborative manner with ones
colleagues. Studies by Stanford Research Institute and the Carnegie Mellon
Foundation among Fortune 500 CEOs found that 75% of long term job success
depended on people skills and only 25% on technical skills.
The need of the hour is to ascertain the need of the industry, revamp the
curriculum, and ensure there is an equal balance of knowledge and skill in preparing
the engineering students. The curriculum and methodology should be such that it
should instil confidence in the students to face and solve real world problems.
1.1.4. Engineering Education in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu has been one of Indias most progressive states and is
amongst the top three on several economic and social indicators. The government
envisaged the preparation of a Vision Document for Tamil Nadu that would
identify the single most important resource for achieving economic prosperity and
employment generation with inclusive growth. Success of Vision 2023 is the
availability of trained, knowledgeable and skilled manpower in Tamil Nadu.
Without a body of sufficiently skilled and balanced workforce, no economy can
hope to develop to its potential. Vision 2023 envisages training and skilling 20
million persons over the next 11 years. This will include 15 million people entering
the job market and 5 million who are already part of the working population. 65% of
the persons targeted for skill development (these persons would have studied until
secondary school) would be provided with training for basic skills for a variety of
livelihoods, about 33% would be persons who have undergone formal education as
part of vocational training programmes or in colleges, while the top 2% would be
top echelon professionals. Vision 2023 aims to achieve universal secondary
education and more than 50% enrolment in higher education (comprising of
vocational and college education).
Higher education in India and the educationally advanced state of Tamil
Nadu needs to be viewed in this fast changing global context. The State has the

second largest intake capacity in the country in engineering education.

The

Government of Tamil Nadu devotes special attention to strengthen the higher

education system in the state in response to the emerging demands of the new
century. The Government of Tamil Nadu is committed to achieving various goals,
including economic growth, distributional goals, social inclusion, etc. Higher
education is directly relevant to all these, besides the pursuit of knowledge for its
own sake. For higher education, these imply that in order to support growth, the
sector needs to be large enough, of high quality, and responsive to a rapidly
changing environment. In addition, to support distributional objectives, the needs of
the weaker sections of the society including women, rural population, socially and
economically backward communities are to be taken care of .The growth of private
engineering education has been spectacular in Tamil Nadu reflecting the global
trend. The fast growth in the private sector is on account of the fact that during the
Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-85), when the central and state governments were
finding it difficult to expand technical education in the country, a few state
governments were permitted to start private registered societies and trusts to
establish and run technical institutions on a self-financing basis. As a result, a large
number of private self-financing institutions came into existence in the early 1980s.
Anna University (AU) is a technical university and one of the oldest
technical institutes in Tamil Nadu, India. Anna University was established on 4th
September 1978 as a unitary type of University. It offers higher education in
Engineering, Technology and allied Sciences relevant to the current and projected
needs of the society. Besides promoting research and disseminating knowledge, it
fosters cooperation between the academic and industrial communities. The
following table clearly enumerates the growth of engineering colleges in Tamil
Nadu:

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Table 1.1: Growth of Engineering College in Tamil Nadu

Year

Number of Engineering colleges

1950

1955

1960

11

1965

13

1970

13

1975

13

1980

13

1985

37

1990

41

1995

77

2000

156

2005

254

2010

456

2012

525

1.1.5. SRM University

SRM University is a multi stream university offering a wide range of
certificate, diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programs in
Engineering, Management, Medicine and Health sciences, and Science and
Humanities. Students have a wide choice of cutting edge programs including
nanotechnology, bioinformatics, genetic engineering, remote sensing and GIS,
embedded systems or computer forensics to choose from. In the faculty of
Engineering & Technology there are 37 Undergraduate courses and 39 Post
graduates courses. Quality is one factor that can describe the education process and
system at SRM and five courses have been accredited by ABET. The Ministry of

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Human Resource and Development of India has awarded grade A and National
Board of Accreditation has also awarded grade A.
While looking at how different educational institutions approach the
training process SRM University has a very unique process where holistic training is
provided to empower students. Career Development Centre is a unique feature of
SRM university where grooming of all engineering students is done from the first
year onwards. The course entitled Personality Development is a credit based course
which is done for the first three years of the Engineering course. In the first year, for
the first two semesters, a soft skills program is conducted in a practical manner to
enhance the confidence and communication skills of the students. It is a pass/ fail
course where students follow a fifteen module book in which personal management
skill, social skill, team skill etc., are dealt with in a practical manner. The content of
the book entitled Insight definitely provides insight to the student about himself or
herself and to the teachers on areas where the student needs to improve.
1.2. NEED OF THE STUDY
Over the last two decades India has become a force to reckon with in the
global context. Population explosion which had been a matter of setback for India in
the past proves to be a major advantage in the current scenario with the maximum
population in the working age group. A report released by NASSCOM titled
Perspective 2020: Transform Business, transform India shows that India has the
highest population in the working age group about 750 million people, this would
go up to 920 million by 2020. It is this major group which contributes to the steady
growth of India. But if this growth has to sustain it is possible only if education
provides the right support in the required field. The National Knowledge
Commission (NKC) in its report has clearly outlined the need for developing the
education system in India. Among the many recommendations given one important
factor is to enhance the skills of the graduates in view of their employment.

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India has the youngest population in the world. The current median age
of India is less than 26 which is very significant because other developed nations
like Europe has 40, Japan 44, China 35. But the fact is that most graduates are not
readily employable. Studies show that they need to hone certain skills before they
are actually ready to face the job market.

2008
2020
Source: NASSCOM. Perspective 2020: Transform Business, Transform India.
Figure 1.2: Shift in Demographic Balance
In this context, the current study aims to assess the levels of soft skills of
fresh engineering graduates. The study also compares a pre test and post test of
students who have been trained in soft skills. The module followed for training
would enable students to develop their skills.
In the current scenario most colleges and institutions offer training just a
week or ten days before companies visit for recruitment. University of Madras and
Anna University too introduced modules to enhance the soft skills of students and
therefore enable them to be employed at the end of the sixth semester or as and
when companies visit the campus. This does not help students in developing the

13

required skill set in such a short span of time. Therefore it was identified that what
students needed most was to develop the right attitude, gain confidence and be
developed holistically right from the beginning .They needed the time to adapt to
change from school to college life and look at the whole picture in a broad
perspective. To enable all students to have this kind of an exposure it was decided to
introduce Soft skills training in the curriculum in the year 2006 in SRM University,
right from the first year of the engineering course.
1.3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
There is a rising demand for manpower across various countries all over
the world. Since globalization has blurred borders people move across continents to
take up employment opportunity. But at the same time it is an obvious fact that the
demand is most often for the qualified and suitably skilled manpower only. Various
studies and research have shown that soft skills or non technical competencies help
people succeed in their various ventures. This being the scenario, most institutions
of higher learning aim at incorporating soft skills in their curriculum.
India has a huge band of population in the young age group and statistics
show that most of them are professionals. The fact that they are technically
knowledgeable alone is not enough. They need to be trained in various aspects of
soft skills that would make them employable. Survey and research study show that
there is a dearth of soft skills among the fresh graduates. The problem lies in
ensuring that these professionals are employable.
Thus the problem of the study emerged as An empirical study on
the impact of soft skills training given to engineering students of SRM
University in Tamil Nadu.
For effective performance in the workplace, companies need their
employees to have not only domain knowledge, technical and analytical skills, but
also the skills to deal with the external world of clients, customers, vendors, the
government and public; and to work in a collaborative manner with their colleagues.

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1.4. DEFINITION OF TERMS USED IN THE STUDY

The idea of soft skills or key employability skills provides a link
between education and work. In a dynamic knowledge-based economy the jobspecific skills that workers need cannot be readily predicted, and are subject to
constant change. What is important, therefore, is the capacity to continually adapt
and upgrade key skills that can be applied in different settings.
Engineering Students
The students who formed the sample of the study were from engineering
stream. They were students at the entry level who had passed a qualifying school
leaving exams conducted by their respective State or Central board.
Soft Skills
Soft skill is all about how people learn and think. They are basically
behavior, personality, attitude, preferences, personal integrity, communication style,
leadership and/or management aptitude and style. Soft skills are more difficult to
observe, quantify, and measure than hard skills. Organizations often make selection
decisions based on peoples soft skills and then provide the necessary hard-skills
training. Soft skills are intra- and inter-personal (socio-emotional) skills, essential
for personal development, social participation and workplace success. They include
skills such as communication, ability to work on multidisciplinary teams,
adaptability etc. These skills are distinguished from technical, or hard skills. They
are characterized as skills in order to emphasize the fact that they can be acquired /
developed by suitable training efforts, and they can also be combined, towards the
achievement of complex outcomes.
Employability Skills
Transferable core skill groups that represent essential functional and
enabling knowledge, skills, and attitudes required by the 21st century
workplacenecessary for career success at all levels of employment and for all

15

levels of education. Various terms have been used to describe employability skills:
key skills, core skills, transferable skills, soft skills and generic skills. Collectively,
the lists have five common elements, as listed under.
Basic Skills
This comprises of basic skill required in all fields at the basic level.
There are two major areas that students are assessed and trained in. Mathematical
ability ensures that the student is able to solve basic mathematical problems .Verbal
ability enables students to read, comprehend and arrive at logical understanding. It
also enhances vocabulary to improve communication.
Personal Skills
Personal skill is the ability to understand one self, manage stress and
extend support to others and have a positive attitude. Personal management also
looks at the combination of skills, attitudes and behaviours required to get, keep and
progress on a job and to achieve the best results. Aspects like responsibility that
exerts a high level of effort and determination towards goal attainment, Self Esteem
thats helps to believes in ones own self-worth and maintains a positive self-view;
Sociability demonstrates understanding, friendliness, adaptability, empathy and
politeness in group settings.; Self-Management assesses self accurately, sets
personal goals, monitors progress, and exhibits self control; Integrity/Honesty
chooses ethical courses of action etc., also go on to encompass a whole gamut of
personal skills
People Skills

People skill focuses on team development and performance. Team

development refers to the ability to help the team form and finish a goal. Team
performance refers to the team dynamics and working to maintain relationships. It
also includes the capacity to interact effectively with other people both on a one toone basis and in groups, including understanding and responding to the needs of
others and working effectively as a member of a team to achieve a shared goal.

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Thinking Skills
Thinking skill includes the ability to recognize and define problems,
invent and implement solutions, and track and evaluate results and the ability to look
into the future and plan accordingly. It also includes creative thinking which
involves generating new idea, decision making specific goals and constraints,
generate alternatives, consider risks, and evaluate and choose the best alternative.
Problem solving is yet another aspect of thinking skills which recognizes problems;
devises and implements a plan of action. Knowing How to Learn is another
dimensions that helps to use efficient learning techniques to acquire and apply new
knowledge and skills; Reasoning enables one to discover a rule or principle
underlying the relationship between two or more objects and apply the same when
solving a problem.
Work Skills
Work skill includes attitude that promote and encourage change. These
behaviours include risk taking and an ethical approach in ones work. It also
includes managing time select goal relevant activities, rank them, allocate time,
and prepare and follow the schedule. It also involves leadership communicate
ideas to justify position, persuade and convince others, responsibly challenge
existing procedures and policies. Another important aspect of work skills is to
negotiate work towards agreement involving exchange of resources, resolves
divergent interests and work well with men and women from diverse backgrounds.
Gender
This refers to the distribution of sample chosen for the study in relation
to the gender. It refers to the male and female students from the population.
Academic achievement
This refer to the achievement level of students in the school leaving
exam that qualifies a student to enter college or higher education based on his or her
performance.

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Qualifying Examinations in HSc

This is the examination that a student need to appear for as he leaves
school and qualifies to enter higher education. Students often take exams conducted
by various boards like the State or Central board at the Higher Secondary Level
(HSc).
Branch of Study
It refers to the engineering course chosen by the student when he enters
the engineering field of study. With advancement in all fields, there is always a
plethora of new emerging courses for students to choose from.
Future Career Options
The choice or the plan the student has in mind regarding his plan of
action for the future. Students in current scenario often have a clear plan of idea
regarding what they want to do in future
SRM University
This is a multi stream university offering courses in Medicine and
Health Sciences, Science and Humanities and Engineering and Technology. The
sample for this study was chosen from the Engineering stream in Kattankulathur
campus located near Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
1.5. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main objective of this investigation is to assess and study the impact
of soft skill training on fresh engineering students. In todays scenario, students
employability levels are of great concern. The present study aims to analyze the
current trend, create a module, train the students and assess the impact of training.

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The following are the objectives of the present study.

1. To identify the soft skills required for engineering students.
2. To develop a module for training the students.
3. To develop a tool to appraise the soft skills of engineering students
4. To train the students in soft skills using the module
5. To study the impact of soft skill training on engineering students by
administering pre and post test.
6. To study the distribution of responses with reference to Gender,
Academic achievement, the Qualifying examinations, the Branch of
Engineering and Future Career Options.
1.6. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions are based on the above objectives.
1. What are the soft skills required for engineering students?
2. What are the various steps followed in developing a module for
training the students?
3. What are the various steps to develop a tool to appraise the level of
soft skills of engineering students?
4. How was the training implemented to the students in the various
dimensions of soft skills using the module?
5. What is the impact of soft skills training on the fresh engineering
students? Is there a difference in their pre and post test score?
6. What are the differences/similarities in the responses of the students
with reference to Gender, Academic achievement, the Qualifying
examinations, the Branch of Engineering and Future Career
Options?

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1.7. HYPOTHESES
1.12.1

Hypothesis related to difference between pre and post test

1.12.2.

Hypothesis related to Gain Score

1.12.3.

Hypothesis related to Gender

1.12.4.

Hypothesis related to Branch of Engineering

1.12.5.

Hypothesis related to Academic achievement

1.12.6

Hypothesis related to Qualifying examination

1.12.7.

Hypothesis Related to Future Career Options

1.8. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Engineering institutions in India currently account for intake of more
than 5, 00,000 students in Bachelors program, around 30,000 in Masters program
and less than 1000 in PhD program. The number of institutions has also grown by an
order of magnitude in the last two decades and over the next decade, India will have
two significant opportunities in the form of manufacturing and engineering services
outsourcing in addition to growing opportunities in business process outsourcing and
information technology outsourcing. In order to meet the growing demand, the
capacity of engineering education needs to be tripled while simultaneously
enhancing quality. Currently, most graduates do not possess the skills needed to
compete in the global economy, and industries have been facing a consistent skills
deficit. This study is therefore very relevant as it looks into the soft skills that are
essential for enhancing the employability opportunities of engineering students.
1.9. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Engineering education is the most sought after course in the current
scenario. The development of any society depends to a great extent on the
development of engineering education. Lot of research has been done in various
areas related to engineering field, but very few studies pertain to the skills and
competencies required for engineering students. But there has been a great
realization that such skills are lacking among the youngsters of today.

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The importance of soft skills has been well understood, yet there is scope for
further research. Following are the limitation of this research:
1. The study focused only on students of the faculty of Engineering and
Technology though SRM University is a multi stream university
2. The study focuses only on first year students of engineering at the
entry level
3. The study took into consideration students from Kattankulathur
campus alone.
1.10. STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT
The study has been divided into five chapters and is classified as given
below. Chapter I is the introductory chapter and deals with the current scenario as
far as engineering education is concerned. It discusses the growing number of
graduates and the need for them to develop the necessary soft skills. The definitions
of all related terms used in the thesis are outlined. The objective of the research, the
hypotheses related to various parameters has also been discussed. The problem,
scope and limitation of the study is also discussed
Chapter II deals with the review of literature related to the area of this
study. It looks at both the conceptual related studies and research based studies.
Chapter III describes the design of the study and the methodology that
has been followed in the present study. The steps followed in the design of the tools
and the process of how it was administered is dealt with at length.
Chapter IV is about analysis, the various statistical tools used, the
different interpretations and findings of data are dealt with extensively.
Chapter V presents the findings, conclusion and recommendations and
further research in this area of study.