New study confirms need to reform Bachelor degree courses

08.10.2012 - Employers believe that Bachelor of Engineering degree courses need some optimisation when it comes to teaching students project management competencies.

This is one of the findings in an EU-financed study implemented by the University of Luxembourg in collaboration with the Institut Universitaire International de Luxembourg (IUIL).

It confirms the views held by the IAPM that the Bologna Process focuses too strongly on the communication of purely theoretical knowledge and that there is urgent need for the inclusion of essential practical know-how and soft skills in project management curriculum units. The study included 40 interviews with employers to assess their satisfaction with BSC graduate employees. The companies participating in the study all complained about the BSc graduates’ lack of team working, interdisciplinary project management, budgeting, presentation and written communication skills. “The university has already responded to the employers’ feedback,” said Eric Tschirhart, Vice-Academic Director of the University of Luxembourg, “and it is revising its curriculum.” The University of the German Armed Forces in Munich could be taken as the model for the reform. It offers project management certification at the beginning of its MSc and MBA courses. A comparable course is provided at the outset of the Bachelor courses to encourage students to network theory and practice.

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