Papers by Lynette Johns-Boast
CONTEXT Recent years have seen the growing importance of employability skills for engineering gra... more CONTEXT Recent years have seen the growing importance of employability skills for engineering graduate success. Beyond disciplinary specific capabilities, employers increasingly expect graduates to be proficient in skills that are transferable across employment contexts; specifically, “the ability to communicate, collaborate and operate effectively within an industry environment” (Deloitte Access Economics, 2014, p. 3). However, there are concerns that current undergraduate programs, both in Australia and internationally, are producing graduates without the requisite proficiency in employability skills to flourish in their profession. According to the European Commission (2015), “the successful development of [employability] skills requires an education system capable of preparing students through more active and problem-based learning approaches, using assignments from the ‘real world’ and including support for risk taking and creativity” (p. 4). Nonetheless, within a problem based...
2013 ASEE International Forum Proceedings
Her research interests include curriculum design and development, experiential and cooperative le... more Her research interests include curriculum design and development, experiential and cooperative learning, personality and successful teams in software engineering, open educational resources (OER) and learning object repositories (LOR), engineering education including the transfer of learning between the university and the workplace, and women in engineering. Prior to joining the ANU in 2005, she had 20 years' experience in the information technology industry in Australia and the United Kingdom, including establishing a very successful small business which provides bespoke software and consultancy services to the Australian Federal Government in Canberra. Lynette holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Modern European Languages from the ANU and a Graduate Diploma in Information Systems from the University of Canberra. She is currently a PhD candidate in Higher Education at the Centre for Higher Education, Teaching & Learning at the ANU. In 2012 Lynette received an Australian Council of Engineering Deans National Award for Engineering Education (High Commendation) and in 2007 she received the "WICked Woman of the Year" award from the Canberra Women in Information and Communication (WIC) for her contribution to developing, encouraging and mentoring young women in industry and at university.
Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE) 2012, 2012
Annual conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE), Wellington New Zealand, Dec 1, 2014
Higher education institutions produce some form of curriculum documentation that is made availabl... more Higher education institutions produce some form of curriculum documentation that is made available, usually via a publicly accessible website, to the public, and current and prospective students. Such documentation is important for an institution as it effectively forms a compact with students and society more generally. For any given program of study or individual course, this documentation specifies the topics to which students will be introduced and the outcomes they are expected to demonstrate by the end of their period of study. Frequently these documents also form part of the accreditation of education programs by professional or government bodies. Such documents are the result of considerable effort on the part of individual academics and their institution and the formal curriculum they represent usually has been crafted carefully to reflect the requirements and goals set by accrediting bodies and institutions.
Overcoming Challenges in Software Engineering Education: Delivering Non-Technical Knowledge and Skills, Mar 14, 2014
Although industry acknowledges university graduates possess strong technical knowledge, it contin... more Although industry acknowledges university graduates possess strong technical knowledge, it continues to lament the lack of commensurately strong personal and professional skills that allow graduates to apply their technical knowledge and to become effective members of the workforce quickly. This chapter outlines a research-backed course design that blends experiential learning to create an industrial simulation, the rewards of which go well beyond the usual benefits of group-project capstone design courses. The simulated industrial context facilitates the graduation of software engineers who possess the requisite personal and professional attributes. Innovations include combining two cohorts of students into one, engaging industry partners through the provision and management of projects, and implementing proven education approaches that promote the development of personal and professional skills. Adoption of the suggested practices will help institutions produce “work-ready” gradua...
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Papers by Lynette Johns-Boast