Curricular Tools for Professional Communication Skills Development of Engineering Students within University of Craiova

Abstract

Constrained by their companies' budget limits, the Romanian industry recruiters are oriented to graduates with high-tech systems management knowledge, and who are also trained to make both technical and business decisions. These new employers' requirements assume an extended list of graduates' competences: project management potential, ability for teamwork, and of great importance interpersonal skills. This paper describes the features and efficiency of certain instruments and methods that the University of Craiova applies to adjust its engineering curricula to the regional industry requirements. The engineering faculties within University of Craiova included in their curricula the Professional Communication Techniques Course. The faculties' staffs investigated this topic's utility in developing the students' communication skills, its applicability area and the correlation with industry recruiter's requirement. The investigation results motivated the decision of the University board for keeping the Professional Communication Techniques as a compulsory topic in engineering curricula.