The Importance of Working Integrated Learning and Relevant Laboratory Experiments in Engineering Teaching

Abstract

The shortage of highly skilled engineers in South Africa is of public knowledge and became one of government's priorities. Although the engineering student numbers increased dramatically over the last 10 years, as high as 290% compared to 1988 figures(1), the number of Engineering graduates is very low compared to the industry needs. A major reason for the poor performance of the engineering students is the lack of engineering infrastructure at high school level. Also, many engineering students lack basic self-study skills which for engineering studies are essential. In a study carried out at the University of Johannesburg by Ionescu(2) over a sample of 114 mechanical engineering technology students, it was found that the lack of proper career advising at high school level for many students results in the wrong choice for tertiary education. However, once in the system the industrial exposure through work integrated learning and a proper choice of laboratory experiments for the engineering modules can increase the ability of the future engineer to understand his/her profession and successfully finish his/her engineering studies.