Best Paper in the European Journal of Engineering Education from 2024

Swapneel Thite, Jayashri Ravishankar, Inmaculada Tomeo-Reyes, Araceli Martinez Ortiz (The University of New South Wales)

Design of a simple rubric to peer-evaluate the teamwork skills of engineering students

(Volume 49, 2024 – Issue 4)

The European Journal of Engineering Education (EJEE) Best Paper Award recognises both scholarly excellence and practical relevance in engineering education research. This year’s winning paper, published in Volume 49 (2024), was presented at the SEFI 2025 Annual Conference in Tampere, Finland.

The awarded paper introduces the DRIVE teamwork rubric, a simple yet robust tool designed to support peer assessment of teamwork among engineering students. Developed through a comprehensive literature review and grounded in experiential learning theory, the rubric covers five key dimensions of effective collaboration.

What makes this contribution stand out is its ease of use, scientific validation, and practical impact. Educators and students alike can benefit from a reliable instrument that not only streamlines peer evaluation but also enhances awareness of essential teamwork skills.

Initial data analysis confirms the rubric’s validity and reliability, and comparisons between peer and teaching assistant evaluations show that students can assess their peers with a high degree of accuracy — a promising step toward more inclusive and reflective learning environments.

In the photos: Kristina Edström, EJEE Editor-in-Chief, and Swapneel Thite. Doctor of Philosophy; Education Developer at UNSW Sydney

Pictures: Anna-Kaisa Noki-Helmanen/Feather On The Move // FB/IG: @featheronthemove