Authors
Thies Johannsen
Institute of Machinery System Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Transport Systems, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4290-7618
Synopsis
This final chapter of Part 1 introduces you to the transferable competency and skills framework on which this handbook is based and how it is situated within accreditation requirements and relevant criteria of professional bodies. It explains why we subscribe to the UNICEF definition of transferable competencies and skills as those needed to adapt to various life contexts, which people can potentially transfer to different social, cultural, or work settings. Building on this, we explain the selection and definition of the transferable competencies and skills employed, using the current UK Chartered Engineer Standard as defined in the UK-SPEC as our point of departure. As a result, the following competencies and skills were included: project management, meeting skills, risk analysis & risk management skills, leadership skills, teamwork, oral presentation skills, written communication and reporting skills, visualisation skills, spatial ability, and representational literacy, interpersonal communication skills, feedback skills and feedback literacy, self-regulation, the adaptability for change, resilience, information literacy skills, autonomous motivation, learning beliefs and strategies, and initiative and perseverance. For each included competency and skill, a working definition is provided to aid you when using this handbook. We also address what competencies and skills were not included and why. The chapter also contains a reflection on the sustainability of competency frameworks and that revisiting their purpose and context on a regular basis is important, although individual transferable competencies and skills will likely remain a stable component of any future engineering curriculum. The chapter ends with reiterating SEFI’s mission to educate holistic engineers and introducing our view on how to use this handbook.
Author Biographies
Gillian Saunders-Smits, Department of Cognitive Robotics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Gillian Saunders-Smits is a Senior Lecturer at the Cognitive Robotics Department in Mechanical Engineering at Delft University of Technology. She holds a MSc in Aerospace Engineering and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering Education from the same institute. She has extensive teaching experience in engineering and broad experience in curriculum development and educational leadership in aerospace and robotics. Gillian is passionate about online and open education and has developed several MOOCs and Open Educational Resources. Her research interests include engineering education, notably: curriculum development and evaluation, competencies and skills in engineering, preparation for labour market, inclusive education, and online learning. She was recently appointed TU Delft Education Fellow.
Lynn Van den Broeck, Leuven Engineering and Science Education Center (LESEC), Faculty of Engineering Technology, KU Leuven, Belgium
Lynn Van den Broeck is a postdoc at the Faculty of Engineering Technology, KU Leuven. She holds a MSc in Chemical Engineering and a PhD in engineering education from the same institute. She is closely involved in education and, more specifically, the inclusion of professional competencies in the study programme. In addition, she is responsible for educational professionalisation and teaching assistant training. She is the chair of the study career guidance theme within LESEC, co-chair of SIG Engineering skills at SEFI. Her research interests focus on study guidance, effectiveness and efficiency of educational interventions, LLL and professional competencies, and feedback.
Esther Perea Borobio, Business Department, School of Business, Management and Commerce, Ravensbourne University, United Kingdom
Borobio, Esther Perea (0000-0002-2107-5867) is a Senior Lecturer in Engineering Management at Ravensbourne University London, with 10 years’ industrial experience and over 20 years’ experience teaching professional competencies, engineering design and project management. Her research focuses on curriculum and module design to embed professional competencies in engineering courses using active learning pedagogies.
Thies Johannsen, Institute of Machinery System Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Transport Systems, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
Thies Johannsen of TU Berlin teaches and works in the span between humanities, arts, and social sciences on the one end and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics on the other. His research focuses on competences for innovation along with knowledge and technology transfer. After working on various research projects and in research administration, he has developed and coordinated cooperative education programs with practical partners from business and public administration.
Published
August 26, 2026
Copyright (c) 2026 Gillian Saunders-Smits, Lynn Van den Broeck, Thies Johannsen
How to Cite
Saunders-Smits, G., Van den Broeck, L., Borobio, E. P., & Johannsen, T. (2026). Transferable Competencies and Skills: The Framework Underpinning this Handbook. In
SEFI Handbook on Teaching Transferable Competencies and Skills in Engineering (pp. 77-93). TU Delft OPEN Books.
https://doi.org/10.59490/mt.266.55
