How the use of an internet radio program and podcast helped civil engineering students engaged with local communities in need

Abstract

Engineering students sometimes have a lack of soft competences such as communication, self-motivation, and leadership. The development of soft competences serves to engage students in utilizing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In the higher education sector, there is a growing recognition of the need for generic skills development using online-learning and self-directed learning pedagogies. The aim of this work is to present a strategy designed to develop the communication skills of civil engineering students through their participation in a radio podcast program and how this strategy has started social projects. In this study we propose a framework for the development a radio podcast for students in universities in order to enhance their soft skill along their studies. We propose a methodology and then we present a case study for the implementation of the method approach. The results show that the radio podcast program helps the students and university to engage with the community in order to attend social problems. Also, the program has demonstrated to develop the communication skills of the students involved by creating innovative solutions in specific socio-economic contexts and coordinating in multidisciplinary teams.