Integrating Personalized Educational Concepts for Enhancing Communication Skills Through the Strengthening of Related Microskills: A Case Study at University of Rome “Sapienza”

The current teaching methodologies in engineering education aim to provide engineering students with comprehensive, interdisciplinary training. Companies increasingly assess not only technical skills but also transversal skills when evaluating their resources. This paper aims to the integration of assessing and monitoring new skills throughout students' educational and professional journeys. It emphasizes the importance of making students and teachers aware of these skills, even when their primary focus remains on specific subject areas. To achieve this, we employed reliable research tools, collected data representative of our target population, and implemented specialized tools designed to assist engineering students in choosing the most suitable professional paths. To enhance the responsiveness to the prevailing demands of the job market, our research has been concentrated on the improving communication skills of engineering students at the University of Rome “Sapienza” through educational personalized programs. The research had the COACH_ING training model, an integration of coaching and engineering principles, as main program guide. This model was developed over 10 years of experiments among members of the COUNCIL of Engineers of Rome and University of Rome “Sapienza” involving several private high-tech companies. This model equips undergraduate engineering students with communication methodologies designed for self-improvement. As a result, we have gathered data that allows us to optimize university labs for students, helping them master communication skills and become more effective in presenting themselves in the job market.