If we see in today’s era, engineering is not only about having technical knowledge, knowing about machines, being aware about the latest technological trends, It is also about how you interact with your colleagues, managers, team members, investors and stakeholders because it is not an individual work, it is working with team and working with the people. Let’s say an engineer who is technically very skilled and worked day and night on his project but if he is not able to explain that project properly to the budgeting team to get the funding, he may not get their support. So, relying only on technical knowledge is not enough, having good communication also matters. Some of the top engineering colleges in Maharashtra are focusing on the development of soft skills in engineering students to make them employable professionals.
Career Opportunities Open to Skilled Engineers
We see large engineering projects such as bridges, software systems, automobile projects and these projects can’t be completed by an individual. It requires engineers to work together in teams. These teams typically include Design Engineers, Project Managers, Quality Control team, Research and Development Team etc. so, having clear and transparent communication between these teams is very important in order to have successful completion of the project. Even a small communication mistake can lead to the failure of the project.
Another important point for engineers is having an ability to convey their ideas to the people who are not from the engineering background. These people may be a team of marketing and sales in the organisation, HR team, customers or even people who are willing to invest in your projects. For example, as an engineer you know all the technicalities about a functioning of a software and if you only use technical jargons in front of a customer who is unaware about those technical things and who just wants the solution of the problem which he/she is facing, he/she may get confused or may get frustrated and which may lead to the communication failure. So, engineers must have this ability to interact with non-technical people.
How to Enhance Communication Skills in Engineering Students?
It has been observed that in the classrooms or labs, engineering students are capable of solving difficult mathematical problems, complex code and understanding complex theories but when they are asked to express or present it to all, they feel anxious and nervous. From this we understand that along with the problem solving skills students should have presentation skills. They should be able to express their ideas in a confident way and in a logical sequence.
Similarly, in written examinations they score good but in group activities like Group Discussions, Debates, Group Presentations they are clueless and this happens due to the lack of public speaking practice, fear of making mistakes and being judged by others and low confidence in speaking in English. So as future engineers understanding importance of these things in the professional and corporate career and practicing on a regular basis will not only make them confident while presenting their ideas clearly but make them achieve huge growth in their engineering career
While working with the organisations, engineers often get the chance to be in leadership roles such as Team Leaders, Projects Managers, Project Head or Departmental Heads. In such roles strong communication skills are extremely important because as a leader you have to frequently conduct meetings, clearly explaining the vision, mission and goals of the organisation, understanding teams’ problems and concerns, listening and giving them proper solutions and most importantly keeping the team fully motivated for achieving the goal. A good leader is someone who communicates clearly, listens patiently and keeps the team inspired even in difficult situations. So, communication is the backbone of the leadership in the organisation.
Conclusion
Communication plays a vital role in campus interviews as well. Companies which come to conduct campus recruitment not only look for the technical knowledge of a student but also his/her ability to clearly articulate ideas to others. Students go through certain rounds such as Group discussion, technical interviews and HR interviews. During this process interviewers closely keep an eye on whether the student is confident, keeping good body language and his ability to perform under pressure.