| Pub. Date | : Dec, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of Soft Skills |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJSS21220 |
| Author Name | :Sangeeta Sharma and Sushila Shekhawat |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : Management |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 8 |
Group Discussions (GD) are a robust way to teach not only communication skills to the students but also non-verbal communication, difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness, how to be polite, how to put across your points, how to encourage the reticent participants, etc. GD has been an important component of 'soft skills for professionals', course offered to second and third year engineering students at Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani. This paper focuses on the objectives of teaching the theory of GD and highlights the learning outcomes after all the GDs were conducted in the class.
Soft skills must be developed among students to enable them to compete in the
professional world. There are a number of courses offered in the Engineering Institute,
BITS Pilani like Technical Report Writing, Business Communication, Effective Public
Speaking, Technical Communication, Creative Writing, etc. which deal with different
aspects of oral and written communication. It was realized that there are other aspects
than communication skills which engineering students must possess. Therefore, the
course on soft skills was offered.
The course is strategically divided into three main domains: social, academic and
professional. The students will be able to nurture good personality, etiquette and
emotional intelligence. With the help of case studies, visual aids and group participation,
it is expected that the student can acquire proficiency and can become a good
communicator, conscientious presenter and an academic writer. The course enables the
students to learn social and academic skills to build a strong prospect in the competitive
job market. The rules for succeeding in business are constantly changing. Not too long
ago, technical competence and knowledge were the key drivers of career growth and
success. However, with the advent of globalization, importance of soft skills has
increased manifold. And that is why this course is useful to the science and engineering
students.