Authors
Faith Nightingale, School of Engineering and Material Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom; Pleun Hermsen, Education and Student Affairs, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering , Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands; Esther Perea Borobio, Business Department, School of Business, Management and Commerce, Ravensbourne University, United Kingdom; Jennifer Griffiths, Higher Education Development & Support Institute (Arena) | UCL Centre for Engineering Education, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, University College London, United Kingdom; Lynn Van den Broeck, Leuven Engineering and Science Education Center (LESEC), Faculty of Engineering Technology, KU Leuven, Belgium
Synopsis
Engineering education increasingly emphasises the development of transferable competencies and skills alongside disciplinary knowledge yet assessing these remains challenging due to their complex, context-dependent, and often intangible nature. This chapter introduces Part 3 by positioning competency assessment as a central but complex aspect of engineering education and offering a critical examination of how underlying assumptions shape what is valued and assessed, often creating blind spots. Drawing on lenses such as constructive alignment, Habermas’ knowledge interests, and the four Ps framework, the chapter explores how assessment both verifies learning and signals what counts, influencing student priorities and learning behaviours. It addresses key challenges, including the limits of single-point and product-focused assessment, issues of validity when using proxies for competence, and tensions between formative and summative purposes. The importance of inclusive, transparent, and context-sensitive assessment is highlighted alongside practical constraints such as workload and feasibility. Emerging developments, including generative artificial intelligence (AI), further emphasise the need to move towards more process-oriented and authentic approaches. Overall, this chapter provides you with a conceptual foundation for Part 3, preparing the ground for subsequent chapters that present concrete assessment approaches to be selected, combined, and adapted across diverse educational contexts.
Author Biographies
Faith Nightingale, School of Engineering and Material Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
Nightingale, Faith (0009-0006-3157-7816) is a Senior Lecturer in Skills for Science and Engineering Transnational Education at Queen Mary University, London, UK, working in Xi’an, China. She is interested in developing professional skills and is expert in international engineering education. She aims to provide practical education solutions to teaching professional skills.
Pleun Hermsen, Education and Student Affairs, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering , Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Hermsen, Pleun (0009-0006-7747-1865) used to be a surgeon and is now a versatile Education Professional at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. She has extensive experience in teaching, instructional design, and educational management in (medical) technical education. She is interested in creating conditions to make inner authentic reflection emerge within engineering education.
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.
Jennifer Griffiths, Higher Education Development & Support Institute (Arena) | UCL Centre for Engineering Education, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, University College London, United Kingdom
Griffiths, Jennifer (0000-0003-3624-4835) is an Associate Professor and Associate Director at University College London, UK, leading staff educational development and Advance HE accredited recognition. With a background in Medical Physics and Engineering Education, she specialises in capacity building, authentic learning, and feedback engagement, and contributes internationally to engineering education development.
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.
Published
August 26, 2026
Copyright (c) 2026 Gillian Saunders-Smits, Lynn Van den Broeck, Thies Johannsen
How to Cite
Nightingale, F., Hermsen, P., Borobio, E. P., Griffiths, J., & Van den Broeck, L. (2026). Navigating the Complexities of Competency Assessment: An Introduction . In
SEFI Handbook on Teaching Transferable Competencies and Skills in Engineering (pp. 455-472). TU Delft OPEN Books.
https://doi.org/10.59490/mt.266.76
