Using the Potential of the Part-Time Students in Engineering Higher Education Sector: Pedagogy and Innovation

Abstract

Field training is a composite part of student learning while studying at professional institutions. Students learn theoretical concepts in traditional classroom settings and for practical hands-on experience, higher educational institutions have to arrange on-campus laboratories, expert talks, meet and greet events, exhibitions, alumni interactions, industry interactions and off-campus industry visits, internships, and mentorship programs with sponsored industries. For all these activities, higher educational institutes have to make necessary arrangements, and most of the time, the arrangement of industry mentors is costly and a difficult process. Students enroll in the course of their study either in full-time mode or in part-time mode. Part-time students usually work in some organizations and in most cases related to their field of study. This research article aims at investigating the scope of using the industry experience of part-time students for the learning of full-time students as a supplementary instructional method in a structured way. A case study was conducted on electronics and telecommunication engineering students to train full-time students with necessary industry knowledge and standards with the help of part-time students while working in groups. Results show the effectiveness of the strategy adopted and proposes how part-time students working in engineering fields having practical hands-on experience can share their experience with full-time students through various activities. The paper also describes how the higher educational institutions can train their course offering departments, registration departments, and student success centers to design properly-structured activities to utilize the potential of their part-time students for the learning of their full-time students.