Exploring engineering professional identity using digital journey maps

Overview

The journey of becoming an engineer is often a long and complex process, and somewhere along this journey we each begin to recognise that “Yes, I am an engineer!”. This recognition is called your professional identity.

Professional identity is an evolutionary and constantly transforming process which is influenced by technical knowledge, industry experiences, peer connections, personal values and many other factors. It involves the reconciliation of engineering expectations and responsibilities with personal identity and is one identity of numerous within each of us.

Journey maps, also known as lifelines or timelines, are tools which allow individuals to visually illustrate key life events and experiences. These maps facilitate accurate recall of chronology, fostering participant reflexivity and enable a comprehensive timeline of development.

The project aims to explore and utilise software tools suitable for capturing and analysing professional identity journey maps. Using software will allow for students to capture journey maps in a more systematic way. This project seeks to facilitate the creation and analysis of these journey maps for research and educational purposes and is built on work from a PhD project and two EGH400-1/2 engineering projects in 2024.

Please see below some references which you might read about related work.

https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10345592

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03043797.2023.2268023

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03043797.2017.1287664?needAccess=true

Research engagement

During this project you will conduct a brief review of literature to capture and understand the current landscape of research in this field. Following this, you will explore and test existing software for the creation of journey maps. You will also investigate opportunities for scalability and ensure the software can work correctly when used by large numbers of people. You will also have the option to create a user guide for the application and use of the software in undergraduate engineering classes.

Research activities

This engineering education project will involve working collaboratively with Dr Sam Cunningham and Dr Amy Young on all aspects on the project desribed above.

Outcomes

This project aims to enhance understanding of how engineering students develop their professional identities. By identifying and testing suitable software tools, the project will create valuable resources for both research and educational applications. Additionally, it will develop a user guide to facilitate the integration of these tools into undergraduate engineering curricula. The project's findings will contribute to the academic knowledge base on professional identity, potentially leading to publications and presentations.

Skills and experience

The student should be interested and ideally have some experience with software and possess an interest in research and data analysis. Familiarity with data visualisation tools and usability testing methodologies will be advantageous. An ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, and be able to work collaboratively within an interdisciplinary team. Enthusiasm for exploring innovative software tools and contributing to academic research is essential.

Start date

18 November, 2024

End date

14 February, 2025

Location

The research activities will be undertaken at the QUT Gardens Point Campus with option for some remote / off campus work.

Additional information

The student will have access to a range of resources and support. They will be provided with access to the necessary software tools and platforms for creating and analysing journey maps. Regular guidance and mentorship will be available from Sam and Amy, who will offer expertise in both the technical and educational aspects of the project.

Keywords

• Engineering education
• Professional identity
• Journey maps
• Software tools

Contact

Amy Young
a48.young@qut.edu.au