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Project

URGENT UnderRepresented Groups of ENgineering sTudents: Role of professional awareness in inclusion (URGENT)

The shortage of engineering talent leads to a loss in economic output. This shortage-combat has to be fought on several fronts, one of them is attracting and retaining under-represented students. Driving diversity in engineering not only results in a more prosperous society, it also makes industry smarter.Research has shown that identity development and motivation have high impact on persistence and study success. In this interdisciplinary project we will examine how the existing PREFER professional roles tests can be optimized thanks to the knowledge of social psychology in order to contribute to the development of the future disciplinary self, and more specifically to the attraction and retention of female students and students with a migration background in engineering programs. These research objectives will result in three valorization trajectories: (1) the submission of a Horizon Europe project focusing on an inclusive society, (2) the development of a fee-for-service business plan to commercialize the optimized PREFER tests, offered to HR-managers in industry and student career centers at universities, and (3) the formulation of specific and targeted policy advice to make society more prosperous and industry smarter.
Date:1 Mar 2022 →  Today
Keywords:student recruitment, student retention, inclusion, professional awareness, engineering
Disciplines:Higher education, Science, technology and engineering curriculum and pedagogics, Other engineering and technology not elsewhere classified, Applied psychology not elsewhere classified