Future Skills for Engineers

About

We live in times of rapid changes. Digital technologies and artificial intelligence will become more and more important in the world of work. Traditional job profiles are disappearing, new profiles emerging. New forms of interaction and knowledge production are effecting almost all areas of life. Whereas technical knowledge and experience might be digitalized to a great extend, for decades to come - hopefully - no computer or robot can be as creative, intuitive and empathetic as a human being. These non-technical skills are also referred to as future skills or 21st century skills. Needless to mention that we live in the 21st century and in many ways future is already now. Future skills like adaptability, creativity, tolerance of ambiguity or mindfulness ave always been helpful in communicating and working together. On the other hand they are usually not explicitely taught at (technical) universities, so during this course we will focus on those in a learning-by-doing-approach. After a short introduction to the research field of future skills we will dedicate each day to one or two future skills and practise or re-learn them together. At some points will also include concepts and wisdom from non-European contexts.

Course leader

Ulrike Zillmer-Tantan, M.A. holds a degree in Applied Cultural Sciences (Leuphana University Lüneburg). Based in Berlin, she currently manages two EU research projects at TU Berlin.

Target group

All students who want to reflect, improve and train their soft skills while having a fun and hands-on learning experience.

Course aim

Learning Goals:

During this course students will

-gain an overview about key changes and trends in society impacting our lives and future challenges at the workplace
-increase their self-awareness by assessing their own future skills, analysing their potentials and exploring how to train them
-understand their own values, communication style and thought patterns
-learn to better deal with complexities, adapt to uncertain situations and thus be -equipped for the workplace of the future

Fee info