Students are divided into groups based on their personal profiles to prepare a semester project in which they have to solve a problem in collaboration with a company. During the course, the groups receive team coaching based on their personal profiles and self-chosen areas on which they would like to be coached.
Supervisors find that groups are better able to cooperate and have greater progress after team coaching. The students find that they understand each other better both personally and professionally. This means that they avoid problems with collaboration such as becoming angry with each other due to misunderstandings and poor communication.
THE PROCESS | |||
Completing a personal profile and forming groups | Students complete a personal profile in the first week of their degree programme. The main features of the profiles are used to form project groups on the 1st semester, so that groups contain different profiles. | ||
Presentation on personal profiles | A presentation is held on understanding personal profiles. | ||
Allocation of roles | The students are asked to appoint a process and project manager in their project group. The students take turns at this role during the semester. | ||
Project with a company | The students collaborate with companies and solve a problem through the project. In this context, it is important to be professional in contacting companies, to balance expectations and the specification of requirements and to maintain ongoing communication with the company. | ||
Mid-project team coaching | The project groups participate in team coaching based on the students' profiles. The teacher, who acts as a team coach and is an accredited Insights Discovery practitioner, asks how and why the collaboration works, and who solves what tasks in the project, and why.
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Process report | The students continue their work and write a process report at the end of the semester. | ||
RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS | SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS |
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Supervisors experience that groups work better together and progress after team coaching.
The students receive praise during their engineering internship for their ability to talk about difficult things and resolve conflicts.
| Educator | Head of Degree Programme Christina Munk has contributed the two examples on behalf of the teachers |
| Faculty and department | Technical Sciences, Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering |
| Degree programme | BEng Mechanical Engineering |
| Level of study | Professional Bachelor's degree |
| Course/subject | 1st semester: Project work for engineers 2nd semester: Materials, processes and construction options |
| Number of students | 130 |
| Extent | Course |
| Teaching format | Supervision |
| Implementation | Fall 2023 |
