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- Engineering students education in sustainability: The moderating role of emotional intelligencePublication . Nogueira, Teresa; Castro, Rui; Magano, JoséIn the context of a lack of quantitative research approaching an engineering education in sustainability, this cross-sectional study aims to investigate whether efforts to promote sustainability education contribute to shaping the beliefs, attitudes, and intentions towards sustainability in a sample of Portuguese engineering schools students; in addition, this study investigates whether emotional intelligence impacts the students’ motivation to learn more about sustainability and whether it plays a role in moderating the relationships between those variables. A survey was carried out on a sample of 184 students from two major Portuguese engineering schools. A model was found showing that beliefs, attitudes, and gender are predictors of students’ intentions towards sustainability, explaining 62.6% of its variance. Furthermore, the findings reveal that women have stronger beliefs and intentions towards sustainability than men and that students with higher emotional intelligence are more motivated to learn more about sustainability. In addition, emotional intelligence has a negative and significant moderating impact on the relationship between attitudes and students’ intentions towards sustainability, being stronger for lower levels of emotional intelligence and having a similar, yet non-significant, effect on the relationship between beliefs and students’ intentions towards sustainability. The results suggest that emotional intelligence should be considered a competence and a tool in engineering education in order to enhance students’ inclination towards sustainable development.
- A multi generational approach to project management: implications for engineering education in a smart worldPublication . Silva, Cláudia; Magano, José; Figueiredo, Cláudia; Vitoria, Andreia; Nogueira, TeresaIn a fast pace evolving smart world, underlined by technology change and market globalisation, project management is of paramount importance for companies to deliver competitive goods and services. To be effective, project teams should master processes, personal, technical and business competencies. The teaching of project management could be adapted in order to reduce the gap that seems to exist between the engineer graduate profile and the requirements that challenge professional engineers today, namely equipping new engineers with sound soft skills. Generation Z, currently studying in HEIs, has characteristics, needs and expectations that should be considered when discussing potential changes in project management education. This paper explores these topics. The literature review establishes the characteristics of generation Z, project management teaching trends, and draws implications for the teaching of project management within the scope of engineering education. A sample of 147 Generation Z undergraduate students filled a self-report questionnaire considering personality, resilience and emotional intelligence to assess their awareness about the traits that are relevant for project management. Through their self-assessment results, the participating students are aware of some of their characteristics, namely orientation towards results, high resilience and low neuroticism. Due to the high resilience indicators and low levels of neuroticism, Generation Z can be an important asset within a multigenerational project team. Also, some inconsistencies were identified as the participants displayed high levels of agreeableness and low levels of openness to experience. These results are discussed, linking personality traits of Generation Z with some important soft skills in project management, including teamwork and communication skills. Finally, recommendations and approaches for teaching project management in engineering education programs are presented.
- Sustainable Management Systems Standards (SMSS): Structures, Roles, and Practices in Corporate SustainabilityPublication . Silva, Cláudia; Magano, José; Moskalenko, Anna; Nogueira, Teresa; Dinis, M. A. P.; Sousa, Hélder Fernando Pedrosa eCompanies need to develop more sustainable management models to support a strategy focused on the environment and society, preventing the sole ambition to maximize economic profits. Several specific tools and frameworks have been developed for the implementation of sustainability management. However, the isolated adoption of new management practices could increase bureaucracy and constrain the development of an effective and systematic sustainability strategy. Based on the development of four case studies of relevant companies based in Portugal, this research presents a cyclical process with the structures, inputs and outputs, and roles in embodying sustainability in Integrated Management Systems (IMS). The originality of the work lies in the level of integration. Beyond identifying interconnection areas, it also specifies the Management Systems Standards (MSS) requirements in each area, assigning different roles in the integration process: drivers, efficient enablers, pathways, and evaluators. These four roles promote the claimed integration in a systematic cyclical process, plan–do–check–act (PDCA), to assist the consolidation of sustainability management. This research reinforces the added value of the IMS. It expands its scope, helping companies implement sustainability effectively and systematically, resulting in the presentation of Conceptual Sustainable Management Systems Standards (SMSS).
- Generation Z: Fitting Project Management Soft Skills Competencies—A Mixed-Method ApproachPublication . Magano, José; Silva, Cláudia; Figueiredo, Cláudia; Vitória, Andreia; Nogueira, Teresa; Dinis, M. A. P.Generation Z is arriving in the workforce. Do these youngsters have the skills and traits to fit project teams? This study reviews the literature concerning project management competencies and the traits that are associated with Generation Z. To deepen the understanding of its members (Gen Zers) traits, we explore the self-awareness of their profile, strengths and weaknesses with an empirical study. We used a mixed-method approach, implementing a survey on a sample of 211 college students about to enter the labor market. Comparing our survey results with the literature, we identified differences that reveal some of the lack of awareness of Gen Zers about their traits. Further analysis also revealed a significant correlation between the most highlighted Generation Z traits and essential project management soft skills, pointing to Generation Z as a promissory asset in the project management field. However, other essential project management (PM) soft skills were not grounded in personality traits. Our findings, namely the lack of awareness and association results, suggest the need for further research on educational approaches and re-thinking and targeting education and training policies that could strengthen Generation Z soft skills. Our results also suggest reflections about whether the Gen Zers traits fit the PM competencies sought by organizations.