Identifying Industry Needs for Innovation Skills in Engineering Education: A Thematic Analysis of Cases From Danish Industry
Figure 3 from the paperAbstract
Providing students with knowledge, skills, and competencies in innovation has become a central focus in engineering education. However, there is limited knowledge on which innovation skills need to be supported and how well engineering education meets current knowledge gaps in the industry. As a first step towards addressing this research question, our paper presents findings from examining 49 innovation cases provided by Danish industries for the Applied Innovation in Engineering (AIE) course at Aarhus University. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify dominant trends from the case descriptions and to assess areas of interest and demands from different industry sectors. Results identify areas of interest from the cases that correspond to desired innovation skills in three primary aspects (i) technology/product, (ii) digitalization, and (ii) sustainability, and five secondary aspects (a) future trends, (b) customer behaviour, (c) business, (d) regulations, and (e) training. This study provides valuable insights on needs from the Danish industry and the areas of interest to which innovation skills are required, therefore supporting EE in integrating industry-oriented competencies for engineering students.
