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About the group

Our SIG works to review the current state of engineering skills and to identify future trends with a view to inform the engineering education community of these to ensure currency of engineering programmes. The SIG has recently published a position paper about Engineering Skills and is now editing a SEFI Handbook on Teaching Transferable Competencies and Skills.

Skills paper

Complementing the Conventional: Engineering Competencies and Skills for an Uncertain Future

The SEFI Position

Since the publication of SEFI’s last position paper in 2016, the world has undergone significant transformations. We are now in the midst of a fourth industrial revolution, characterised by automation and cyber-physical systems, and an emerging fifth industrial revolution, driven by human-AI interaction, sustainability, and ethical considerations. These rapid advancements necessitate a fresh look at the skills engineers need to succeed. The 2025 edition of SEFI’s position paper on skills addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by this uncertain future.

GROUP CHAIR

Dr. Neil Cooke

School of Engineering - University of Birmingham
Birmingham, United Kingdom

Lynn Van den Broeck

KU Leuven
Leuven, Belgium

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Latest news

(Call closed) The SEFI Early Career Researchers’ Club

UPDATE: We sincerely thank all participants for their interest in the 2025/26 intake. The survey is now closed. Respondents will be notified during the week of 15 July 2025 regarding the next steps. For those who missed this round, the next application…

Progress on the SEFI Handbook on Teaching Transferable Competencies and Skills

The SEFI Handbook on Teaching Transferable Competencies and Skills is gaining momentum! Since its launch in Lausanne, interest in the project has been very positive, with more than 110 team and individual expressions of interest—representing over 200 contributors from five…

Call for authors: SEFI Handbook on Transferable Competencies and Skills in Engineering Education

Scope & Contents Transferable competencies and skills are an intrinsic part of Engineering Education, though not directly related to a specific engineering discipline. Whilst a lot of research has been done in this area, this research area is very wide,…

Podcast: Episode #4 European Engineering Educators is online

European Engineering Educators podcast:  season 1 episode 4: Jan van de Veen from TUE discusses interdisciplinary with Natalie Wint and Neil Cooke  In this episode, our guest is Professor Jan van der Veen, who chairs the Eindhoven School of Education at TU…

Podcast: Episode #3 of European Engineering Educators is online

European Engineering Educators podcast:  season 1 episode 3:  Emanuela Tilley from UCL discusses teamwork with Neil Cooke and Natalie Wint In this episode, our guest is Professor Emanuela Tilley, who is currently a Board Director at SEFI and Director of the…

Podcast: Episode #2 of European Engineering Educators is online

European Engineering Educators podcast:  season 1 episode 2: Mia Stephens from JMP discusses statistical thinking with Natalie Wint and Neil Cooke For our second episode we welcome Mia Stephens, an Advisory Product Manager with JMP (pronounced jump), a corporate partner…

Challenge-Based Learning As A Tool For Socially Oriented Education, A Lifelong Learning Approach

Jorge Membrillo-Hernández, Genaro Zavala and Jin Michael Fung, Institute for the Future of Education, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico Every element of the classroom has had an accelerated advance compared to the previous century and the past few decades. The reality…

European Engineering Educators podcast is online!  

European Engineering Educators podcast:  season 1 episode 1: Roland Tormey from EPFL discusses ethics with Neil Cooke and Natalie Wint For our launch episode, our guest is Dr Roland Tormey, current co-chair of the SEFI Ethics Special Interest Group, and…

Follow your special interests with SEFI groups

Follow your special interests with SEFI groups SEFI offers an opportunity to delve into specific topics of engineering education with the Special Interest Groups. At the annual conference in Budapest, the groups organised multiple workshops and held well-attended meetings open…

Asking Employers: What are the skills engineers need to achieve UN SDGs?

Asking Employers: What are the skills engineers need to achieve UN SDGs? How can we better prepare Engineers to meet the needs of society in this rapidly changing world? What skills will engineers need to help achieve the UN Sustainable…

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