Key components of effective remote engineering work: Factors learned in school and on the job - Study motivation, design, and preliminary results

This Research Work-in-Progress Paper focuses on the change in collaboration practices within engineering and design (E&D) teams caused by COVID. A mixed-methods research approach was used. A survey designed to examine the long-term educational impact of an in-depth mechatronics graduate-level course sequence on its alumni was supplemented with Likert-scale and open-ended questions asking participants about the impact of COVID on their work mode and work satisfaction. The survey was administered in September 2021 and served as a filter to determine an interview sample. A literature review identifies leadership as an important factor in increasing team collaboration efficiency among virtual E&D teams. We identified and interviewed nine of the alumni who are currently leading E&D teams. Our goal is to identify skills those leaders acquired during their course experience that were particularly valuable for navigating the transition to remote collaboration. Furthermore, skills that have been critical for successful collaboration but were not learned during the course will also be identified. We then aim to derive practical implications for E&D course teaching teams on how to better prepare future E&D team leaders for remote collaboration. This Work-in-Progress paper focuses on our study motivation, design and preliminary results.