Wo kshop
Recommended ci a ion: Rinde , J. M. (2025). Using he Resul s om Needs
Analysis Su eys o Boos S uden Enginee s’ Language and Communica ion
Skills. In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI
53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI),
Tampe e, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631452.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
USING THE RESULTS FROM NEEDS ANALYSIS SURVEYS TO
BOOST STUDENT ENGINEERS’ LANGUAGE AND
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
J M Rinde a,
1
a KTH Royal Ins i u e o Technology, S ockholm, Sweden, 0000-0002-1254-9629
Con e ence Key A eas: 1 and 10
Keywo ds: Enginee ing communica ion, language, needs analysis, VUCA.
ABSTRACT
This wo kshop explo es how indings om needs analysis su eys can enhance he
eaching o discipline-speci ic language and communica ion skills o enginee ing
s uden s. The wo kshop d aws on insigh s om wo su eys. The i s su ey,
conduc ed in 2015, has in o med he de elopmen o a amewo k o enginee ing
communica ion skills and a ca alogue o eaching and lea ning ac i i ies. The second
su ey is cu en ly unde way and aims o espond o new demands placed on
enginee s in a ola ile, unce ain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) wo ld.
Th ough in e ac i e ac i i ies, wo kshop pa icipan s will examine key su ey esul s,
map he communica ion needs highligh ed in he su eys o p ac ical eaching
app oaches, and design a eaching and lea ning ac i i y ele an o hei disciplina y
con ex . The session explici ly engages wi h SEFI’s (2025) posi ion pape on he
e ol ing skillse s o enginee s, encou aging pa icipan s o e lec on how
enginee ing communica ion is changing in esponse o social, echnological, and
educa ional shi s. By linking needs analysis o pedagogical design, he wo kshop
aims o encou age bo h eache s and manage s (including bo h language and
communica ion specialis s and enginee ing specialis s) o espond p oac i ely o he
g owing emphasis on ans e able and ansdisciplina y skills in enginee ing
educa ion and o ecognise he oppo uni ies ela ed o eaching and lea ning
discipline-speci ic li e acy skills o enginee s h oughou hei s udies.
1
Co esponding Au ho
J M Rinde
jami[email p o ec ed]
1 BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE
1.1 The concep o discipline-speci ic language and communica ion skills
A discipline is a s uc u ed ield o wo k wi h i s own me hods and epis emologies,
which a e o en shaped by long-s anding academic and p o essional adi ions. In
Beche and T owle ’s (2001) amewo k, disciplines a e ca ego ised in o ou b oad
ypes based on hei epis emological cha ac e is ics (see Table 1).
Table 1. A summa y o Beche and T owle ’s (2001) amewo k o discipline ca ego isa ion.
The desc ip ions a e based on Neumann and Beche (2002: 406).
‘Pu e ha d’ disciplines, such as
physics, a e cha ac e ised by a
cumula i e knowledge s uc u e,
whe e inqui y ends o be objec i e
and ocused on simpli ica ion and
uni e sal p inciples.
‘Pu e so ’ disciplines like
his o y a e mo e holis ic,
in e p e a i e, and quali a i e,
wi h a ocus on indi idual
pe spec i es and exp ession.
In ‘ha d applied’ disciplines such as
enginee ing, he ocus is on
p agma ic and con ex -speci ic
p oblem sol ing based on ac ual
and empi ical unde s anding.
‘So applied’ disciplines such
as educa ion, hough also
p ac ical, d aw om in e p e i e
adi ions and aim a pe sonal
o p o essional de elopmen .
These cha ac e is ics shape a discipline’s language and communica ion p ac ices. I
we ake he language o scien i ic w i ing in English as an example, we can see how
i s ypical ea u es a e o med by he a o emen ioned epis emological cha ac e is ics
and esea ch s uc u es o STEM disciplines:
• Impe sonal language, which helps w i e s exp ess objec i i y in hei
desc ip ions and unde s anding o ac s, me hods, and esul s (Bellquis ,
2022).
• An es ablished se o domain-speci ic e minology, whose e ms a e so
speci ic ha hey o en ha e no di ec synonym (No man, 2003).
• A discou se ha is s aigh o wa d and se es as a di ec link be ween
be ween wo ds and concep s (Be ns ein, 1999). One example o his ea u e
is he high equency o dis inc i e lexical bundles (e.g. he igu e shows).
• A g ea e use o noun ph ases a he han clauses, e.g. he consequence o
inac ion is sea le el ise. Such nominalisa ions enable scien i ic w i e s o
exp ess complex in o ma ion economically (Pa kinson, 2013).
Howe e , as global challenges g ow in complexi y and scope, he expec a ions
placed on enginee s and hei language and communica ion skills a e e ol ing. The
apid pace o echnological change, combined wi h he need o na iga e clima e,
ene gy, and socie al ansi ions, demands a ede ini ion o he compe encies
equi ed o success in enginee ing (Au e e al., 2021). Inc easingly, cogni i e,
social, and emo ional skills such as clea and adap i e communica ion, collabo a i e
p oblem-sol ing, and e ec i e p ojec managemen a e iewed as essen ial o he
wo k o enginee s (SEFI, 2025). The ques ion is, how will hese changes o
enginee ing a ec i s language and communica ion p ac ices?
1.2 The s udy o enginee s’ communica ion needs and i s ole in he eaching
and lea ning o Languages o Speci ic Pu poses (LSP)
Language o Speci ic Pu poses (LSP) cou ses a e designed o equip lea ne s wi h
he discipline-speci ic language and communica ion skills necessa y o ope a e
e ec i ely in speci ic con ex s, usually p o essional con ex s (Wozniak & Millo ,
2016). As he name Language o Speci ic Pu poses sugges s, i is he pu poses o
he lea ne s ha a e speci ic, no necessa ily he language. This means ha ha
“gene al language” also plays a signi ican pa in LSP cou ses (Tual e al., 2018). To
ensu e con en ha is ele an o he lea ne s’ pu poses, LSP eaching is shaped by
a de ailed assessmen and e alua ion o he speci ic language and communica ion
needs o indi iduals in he ele an wo kplaces (Rinde & Hu delb ink, 2022). This
assessmen is o en called ‘needs analysis’, and i should be cen al o bo h he
c ea ion and de elopmen o LSP syllabuses. Needs analysis is widely ega ded as
he co e ea u e ha dis inguishes LSP om o he ypes o language and
communica ion ins uc ion (Bas u kman, 2018).
In 2015, language and communica ion eache s om he Global Enginee s
Languages and Skills (GELS) ne wo k ca ied ou a needs analysis su ey wi h he
aim o be e p epa ing hei enginee ing s uden s o in e na ional s udy and u u e
employmen . Su eys we e comple ed by o e 200 p o essional enginee s om
abou 30 coun ies, and he esponses inspi ed se e al in e na ional s udies and
collabo a i e p ojec s, including he ollowing:
• he de elopmen o a p og essi e amewo k o communica ion skills o
enginee s ( he GELS amewo k) (Rinde e al., 2016; Rinde e al., 2019)
• he c ea ion o eaching and lea ning ma e ials as pa o a h ee-yea
E asmus+ unded p ojec Becoming a Digi al Global Enginee (BADGE, n.d.)
• a s udy o he pe cei ed w i ing needs o s uden s in speci ic STEM disciplines
(F eddi & Tluko a, 2022)
• a e lec ion on he sui abili y o he GELS amewo k o Japanese eaching
and lea ning (Sugie e al., o hcoming)
Ano he g oup o GELS ne wo k membe s has ecen ly launched TECHTALK, a new
needs analysis su ey wi h he aim o cha ing mo e sys ema ically enginee s’ ypical
communica ion ac i i ies, especially in esponse o calls o enginee s o p epa e o
a " ola ile, unce ain, complex, and ambiguous" (VUCA) wo ld (SEFI, 2025). Ini ial
analysis o he su ey has ocused on he equency and pe cei ed di icul y o
a ious language and communica ion ac i i ies, which a e ca ego ised in o six
g oups: in e pe sonal communica ion, lis ening and eading comp ehension, w i ing,
o al communica ion, collabo a i e communica ion, echnical and p ojec -speci ic
communica ion, and ca ee and p o essional de elopmen (Labe oulle e al.,
o hcoming).
2 WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES
2.1 Ta ge audience
Anybody in e es ed in he eaching and lea ning o language (any language) and
communica ion skills o s uden enginee s. The wo kshop aims o encou age bo h
eaching and lea ning manage s and educa o s (including bo h language and
communica ion specialis s and enginee ing specialis s) o espond p oac i ely o he
g owing emphasis on ans e able and ansdisciplina y skills in enginee ing
educa ion.
2.2 Expec ed lea ning ou comes
By comple ing he ollowing asks, pa icipan s will see he posi i e ole ha ocused
language and communica ion eaching can play in an enginee ing educa ion:
1) Conside he implica ions o esul s om wo communica ion- ocused needs-
analysis su eys among p o essional enginee s
2) Plan a eaching and lea ning ac i i y o imp o e s uden enginee s’ discipline-
speci ic language and communica ion skills (in any language)
3) Respond o SEFI’s (2025) posi ion pape on enginee ing compe encies and skills
o an unce ain u u e
Pa icipan s will also lea n how LSP o enginee s can be inco po a ed in enginee ing
deg ee p og ammes wi hou de ac ing om impo an echnical and o he discipline-
ocused con en and skills.
3 WORKSHOP DESIGN
3.1 Time plan
Table 2. Time plan
B ie desc ip ion o he s age
Time
(mins)
No es
1
Welcome and in oduc ion.
5
Re e ence o he SEFI (2025).
2
Discuss he esul s o he 2015
GELS ne wo k su ey in Rinde
e al. (2019). Guiding ques ions:
Wha esul s su p ise you?
Does you enginee ing cou se
o p og amme help s uden s o
de elop hese skills?
5
The esul s a e p ojec ed on a
sc een o he pa icipan s o see.
3
Pa icipa e in a “ ind and sha e”
ac i i y based on he GELS
amewo k and he BADGE
p ojec ’s ca alogue o eaching
and lea ning ac i i ies o
enginee ing communica ion
(BADGE, n.d.).
10
“Find”: Pa icipan s ind skills
ele an o hei speci ic discipline
and see how hese skills a e
ep esen ed in he amewo k and
ca alogue (a ailable online and in
pape o ma ). “Sha e”: Tell a
pa ne abou an ac i i y you ha e
ound ha you ind in e es ing.
4
Lis en o a b ie p esen a ion o
he esul s o he TECHTALK
su ey (Labe oulle e al., 2025).
5
The esul s a e p ojec ed on a
sc een o he pa icipan s o see.
5
Plan a eaching and lea ning
ac i i y ha esponds o a leas
one esul ha you ha e lea n
abou oday ha is ele an o
you enginee ing discipline.
10
Pa icipan s a e p o ided wi h a
empla e o comple e. The empla e
includes an oppo uni y o
pa icipan s o conside how hei
ac i i y esponds o SEFI (2025).
6
P esen you plan o a pa ne
o a small g oup.
15
Some ques ions o encou age
eedback and discussion a e
p ojec ed on a sc een.
7
Conclusion and hanks.
5
3.2 In e ac i i y
S ages 2, 3, 4, and 6 include oppo uni ies o s uc u ed discussion (see Table 1).
4 WORKSHOP RESULTS
A e an in oduc o y p esen a ion, wo kshop pa icipan s discussed he implica ions
o he su ey esul s in small g oups. The ocus o his discussion was he ex en o
which SEFI’s (2025) posi ion pape aligns wi h he su ey esul s ha highligh ed he
impo ance o spoken in e ac ion skills.
As he wo kshop pa icipan s planned hei eaching and lea ning ac i i ies, a
discussion a ose in a small g oup abou he speci ic wo ds and ph ases used by
enginee s. This led o he ealisa ion ha speci ic domains o enginee ing also ha e
hei own speci ic language and communica i e no ms. I called his ‘p o essional
li e acy’.
Two o he g oups ques ioned he ole o language in he enginee ing skills we we e
discussing. Fo hem, s uden enginee s need communica ion aining, no language.
This led o a discussion abou he di e ences and he in e connec ions be ween
language and communica ion. I ied o explain ha communica ion ela es o
con ex , pu pose, and audience. Howe e , skills such as pe suading and nego ia ing
in an academic o p o essional con ex equi e he pu pose ul choice o wo ds,
s uc u e, and s yle. This is language. Wha can also be conside ed “language”, o
cou se, is he ac ha many enginee s use mo e han one language in hei wo k.
The wo kshop ended wi h he dis ibu ion o ma e ials and con ac de ails o acili a e
u he discussion.
The conclusion I d ew om he wo kshop was ha o help s uden enginee s o
enginee success ully, we mus be clea abou he ole o language in hei
p o essional li e acy - enginee ing li e acy - and he ole o enginee ing li e acy in
e ec i e academic and p o essional communica ion.
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