Integrating Engineering and Business Education Through Cross-Curricular Modules and Simulation-Based Learning

This paper examined adoption of artificial intelligence for 21st century skills in business education programme in Nigeria. There is no gain saying that academic knowledge content alone is sufficient to prepare students for the world of work. With increasing global competitiveness, undergraduates in business education need energetic drive for skills that are challenging and inspiring to thrive in today’s world. Business education programme is known for producing middle level skilled graduates. It is a herculean task for us at the moment since intermediate skill jobs are fast disappearing as their tasks are systematically automated like voice over phone or system, and individuals are increasingly likely to encounter AI technology in their everyday lives. In fact, most organizations worldwide are using some forms of AI in their operations. An understanding of artificial intelligence on education is vital for guiding business educators in developing educational tools. But the irony of this trend is that most business educators may not be conversant with the use of Artificial intelligence tools in education. Finding the proper tools to incorporate AI into the learning framework represents a test for current and future generations of business educators. Even if most students acknowledged AI as a valuable tool, their interaction with AI in educational activities seems more limited than expected. It is against this backdrop this paper examines 21st century skills and undergraduates’ preparation in business education programme and adoption of artificial intelligence in business education programme. The proposed possible solutions to the whole scenario is to organize training and development programmes for business educators, provision of AI tools and environment for teaching and learning business education courses, business educators should organize lessons and other activities bothering on the use of AIs to keep students abreast of, raise awareness and improve skills and knowledge in the utilization of these emergent technologies, tertiary institutions should create awareness and utilization of the different AI technologies in teaching and learning activities and the curriculum should be reviewed, so that 21st century skills be adequately integrated into the curriculum.

Criticisms of business courses include a lack of relevancy and theoretical application. Using interdisciplinary business courses resolve such issues. Accordingly, an undergraduate business course on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) combined marketing activities within a service learning project. Student participation within three deliverables is discussed. The first, a CSR Marketing Analysis Report to guide students in evaluating an organization’s marketing initiatives. The second, a CSR Marketing Action Plan to identify marketing initiatives for completion. The third, a Final Presentation and a Reflection Paper. Additionally, this paper summarizes the completed marketing projects and synthesizes benefits experienced by students and their selected organizations.

This Research Work-In-Progress reports the implementation of an Object Assembly Test for sketching skills in an undergraduate mechanical engineering graphics course. Sketching is essential for generating and refining ideas, and for communication among team members. Design thinking is supported through sketching as a means of translating between internal and external representations, and creating shared representations of collaborative thinking. While many spatial tests exist in engineering education, these tests have not directly used sketching or tested sketching skill. The Object Assembly Test is used to evaluate sketching skills on 3-dimensional mental imagery and mental rotation tasks in 1- and 2-point perspective. We describe revisions to the Object Assembly Test skills and grading rubric since its pilot test, and implement the test in an undergraduate mechanical engineering course for further validation. We summarize inter-rater reliability for each sketching exercise and for each grading metric for a sample of sketches, with discussion of score use and interpretation.

This article analyzes 10 electrical engineering undergraduate courses in Brazil. The analysis was performed using several institutional indices, namely, the National Student Proficiency Exam (ENADE), Preliminary Concept of the Degree (CPC), General Index of the Degree (IGC), Institutional Concept (CI) and Human Development Index (HDI). A regional analysis confirmed that the undergraduate electrical engineering courses in the north-northeast region of Brazil have a different structure from that of institutions in the south-southeast of the country. The courses at universities in the south-southeast region have the best institutional indicators, however, in general they have the lowest workloads. The total workloads range from 4974 hours (the largest) to 3600 hours (the lowest). Three electrical engineering courses have workloads that exceed 4000 hours (the Federal University of Santa Catarina [UFSC], the Federal University of Bahia [UFBA] and the Federal University of Para [UFPA]). On the other hand, of the top 4 courses with the highest scores in ENADE: UFSC, (the Federal University of Minas Gerais [UFMG], the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul [UFRGS] and the University of Brasilia [UNB]), only one of them, UFSC, has a workload that exceeds 4000 hours.

The authors provide an initial integrative framework for understanding the large, diverse, and growing domain of wellness literature related to business education. The terminology, research, and typical outcome measures of three key perspectives—individual, organizational, and societal—are presented. In addition, current applications of wellness concepts in business education programs and courses are reviewed. The foundation and guidance needed for understanding the importance of and structure for teaching and researching wellness in business education are provided, as are specific conclusions and recommendations for the development of the field.

The literature suggests that assessment is a powerful tool for influencing student study habits. It is also recognized that there is a tension between traditional forms of assessment and newer forms of assessment that offer a more authentic representation of practice, but are more complex and expensive to administer. The international trend in undergraduate engineering course accreditation to move to demonstration of attainment of graduate attributes poses new challenges in assessment of learning. A case study based on integrating assessment practices across the year levels of an engineering management studies stream in an undergraduate course is presented. Key features of the assessment portfolio include: the use of assessment in the first year as a foundational tool to establish student study habits and skills; the evolution of assessment tasks by the fourth year to reflect the world of professional practice and to allow students to demonstrate their integration of knowledge and skills; the weighting of assessment tasks to indicate the value attached to particular tasks; the structured inclusion of group work; a concern for student and staff workloads; the recognition of student diversity, in particular the needs of off-campus and mature-age students; and the matching of assessment tasks to professional accreditation requirements.

This study aims to identify procrastinating behavior of students by tracking their activities in an undergraduate engineering course and to explore its relationship with course performance. In our research, we have examined methods for instrumenting students' ordinary learning activities in undergraduate engineering courses. More specifically, we provide students with digital smartpens they use to complete their assignments, lecture notes, and exams. We also provide them with an instrumented document viewer that records reading effort for course documents. This technology provides a fine-grained, time-stamped record of writing and reading throughout the course. In the present work, we examine a student's studying effort in relation to the due dates of assignments and compare this with academic achievement in a course. The results show that when a student studies is a powerful predictor of academic success. For example, students who do their work in the 24 hours immediately preceding a due date tend to do poorly, while those who do their work one or two days early, tend to perform well. This work is a first step toward building tools that allow students to monitor their learning habits and use this information to improve their own academic performance.

This paper posits that functional business and entrepreneurship education in Nigeria universities is a panacea for entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. The paper took a cursory look on the concept of functional education, business education, entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship development. The paper reviewed the business and entrepreneurship education programmes as reflected in the National Universities Commission Core Curriculum minimum Academic Standards (NUC CCMAS). The paper highlighted the nexus between the philosophies, objectives, unique features, employability and 21st century skills of the programmes. The paper discussed that functional Business and entrepreneurship education has the potentials of promoting entrepreneurship development in Nigeria since it could lead to the acquisition of skills for identifying viable investment opportunities, proper marketing, financial management, proper management and avoidance of business failure. It could also enable individuals to become capable of living in the society and to contribute towards its economic development. Challenges of business and entrepreneurship education were discussed and the paper concluded that for Nigeria to achieve sustainable economy and become one of the most developed nations of the world, entrepreneurship development through functional business and entrepreneurship education is a must. The paper recommended among others that qualified business and entrepreneurship educators should be recruited, trained and re-trained in the area of entrepreneurship development, and the management of Universities should partner with industries to enable lecturers and students acquire practical experience to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

The rapid breakthroughs of AI are revolutionizing education, particularly in business education, by reshaping teaching methodologies and improving the development of digital entrepreneurial skills and career opportunities. This study examined the integration of AI teaching models by business educators for enhancing students’ acquisition of digital entrepreneurial skills for job creation in South-East Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted survey research design, and 262 business educators from public tertiary institutions offering business education programme in South-East region was studied without sampling. A-22 item structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. Face and content validation of the instrument was determined using three experts in the field of business education and computer science. The reliability of the instrument was established using trial testing method and data collected were calculated using Cronbach alpha formula which yielded correlation coefficients of 0.86 and 0.88 for clusters B1 and B2 respectively with an overall coefficient value of 0.87 obtained. The researcher with the help of three research assistants administered the questionnaire, mean, standard deviation and t-test were used for data analysis. Findings revealed that business educators in South-East Nigeria do not adequately integrate Generative AI and Collaborative AI teaching models in their instructional practices for enhancing students' acquisition of digital entrepreneurial skills for job creation, Gender was not a significant factor in the ratings of business educators on integration of Generative AI and Collaborative AI teaching models. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher concluded that there is a significant gap in the integration of AI teaching models by business educators in instructional practices for which hinder students' preparedness for digital entrepreneurship and job creation. It was recommended that Heads of Departments of Business education programme in public tertiary institutions in South-East, Nigeria should organize regular training workshops and capacity-building programmes to equip business educators with the necessary skills and knowledge for integrating Generative AI and Collaborative AI teaching models in business education. This will enhance their ability to effectively teach digital entrepreneurial skills.

This chapter discusses how enterprise systems supported by the Microsoft Dynamics™ Academic Alliance can be used by higher educational institutions in their business courses. The content is designed to be useful for both business educators and administrators as they plan and implement technology into their curricula. The chapter discusses the history and development of the Microsoft Dynamics Academic Alliance, a pro?le of its members, and key issues and challenges related to enterprise solutions use in the classroom.

PurposeLibrarians in higher education have adopted curriculum mapping in an effort to determine where effective information literacy instruction can help fill gaps in the curriculum and prepare students for both coursework and future research demands. While curriculum mapping has been used widely across academia, few studies have considered business curriculum and the development of information literacy instruction. This paper aims to provide an overview of the current landscape of curriculum mapping across business courses at two institutions and a replicable methodology for other institutions.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors will examine two case studies at large research universities that evaluate curriculum mapping against the BRASS Business Research Competencies at the undergraduate and the graduate business levels.FindingsThis study found that the Business Research Competencies are a valid method to evaluate in both case studies. Curriculum mapping also uncovered various gaps in business education across the curricula at both institutions and led to open discussions with faculty in an effort to improve the success of students both during their degree programs and into their careers.Originality/valueThis study provides a framework and methodology for evaluating business curriculums against robust standards to improve student success. With examples from undergraduate and graduate programs, the results of this project promise to have long-lasting implications on the development of curriculums across business programs, including the value of librarian support in developing Business Research Competencies.

Software engineering has been taught over the years using expositive classes, but learning this discipline requires more than just theory. Lately, universities started teaching software engineering in a theoretical-practical way. Typically, these experiences involve the development of software projects in the academia, using industry-oriented or ad hoc processes. However, most of them are not fully formalized, therefore it is not possible to repeat, measure or improve them. Moreover, it is not clear which project contexts are proper for each ad hoc process. This thesis work proposes to define and formalize a prescriptive software development process for use in undergraduate software engineering courses. We hypothesize that this process can make these experiences repeatable investing an affordable effort and will help produce positive results in student projects. This software process will be evaluated in the context of a second software engineering undergraduate course at the University of Chile, and it will address specific project contexts. This software process could be used in any university that has a similar course context. The proposed process can also be adapted to fit with new contexts.

This study x-rays the concept of quality assurance in business education programs in Nigeria with particular reference to its constraints and control measures. The importance of quality business education in nation building cannot be overemphasized. The whole essence of quality assurance in business education is to enhance and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the system towards achieving the set standards. However, in recent times, evidences abound that the education system in Nigeria (business education inclusive) is performing below expectations. Although, quality assurance of business education program in Nigeria may have been jeopardized by several factors such as poor evaluation program, inadequate funding, poor supervision, attitudinal failure among others but the situation can be reversed and revamped for quality to be guaranteed. Hence, there has been a concerted effort targeted at ameliorating this deplorable situation. It was based on this therefore, that this study suggested some control measures that could help to enhance the quality of business education in Nigeria. Consequently, the paper drew a conclusion for the subject matter and it was recommended among others that there should be a positive attitudinal change, internal integrity and commitment by all stakeholders to the whole issues of education for quality to be assured in business education in Nigeria.

This study aims to evaluate the collaboration between academic institutions and corporate sectors in advancing business education programs. The researcher came to the conclusion that universities and businesses should collaborate in areas like curriculum development, student industrial work experience scheme (SIWES) improvement of practical training, knowledge transfer, financial support for universities’ development projects, scholarships, and career guidance initiatives among others to improve graduate skills and ensure a seamless transition between the academic and business environments. Regarding collaboration, advantages, methods for enhancing partnership, and obstacles facing universities and companies in promoting business education programs, there was no discernible difference in the mean evaluations of respondents from industries and universities. The research fervently advocated, among other things, that the government create and put into effect strong laws to promote collaborations between academia and industry. Universities must demonstrate a strong commitment to investing time and money in knowledge transfer to industries, and the government should provide universities with enough funding for Research and Development to forge a strong connection with industries. The Association of Business Education of Nigeria (ABEN) should organize seminars, workshops, and conferences for businesses and business educators on the advantages of partnership.

Mindfulness is a learned skill developed through individual practice. Evidence on the positive outcomes associated with mindfulness has resulted in organizations adopting mindfulness programs. Leadership and business educators have sought to cultivate mindfulness in the classroom to promote learning and increase learners’ awareness of their own and others’ perspectives. In an attempt to enhance students’ mindfulness and to draw connections between mindfulness and individual and organizational effectiveness, the authors incorporated a series of mindfulness exercises into their classes. While developed for undergraduate and graduate courses in leadership, the exercises would also be appropriate in other courses in the business curriculum.