Transferable Competencies and Skills as Fundamental to Engineering Curricula: Introduction and Lessons from Ten Institutional Case Studies

There is an outmoded notion that technical knowledge is the substance of engineering and the basis for engineering education, while transferable skills and competencies are peripheral. Serving as the introduction to Part 4, this chapter sets the stage for ten institutional case studies that illustrate how such skills can be meaningfully embedded within curricula. We highlight their distinguishing contributions with a focus on leadership, collaboration, communication, sustainability, and entrepreneurship. These cases showcase distinctive emphases on the contemporary skills and competencies currently embedded into engineering curricula within Europe and beyond. They reveal recurring patterns, including the use of problem-based learning and other active, enquiry-based and reflection-supported learning pedagogies, the cultivation of professional identity, and the necessity of alignment across multiple levels. Together, they provide engineering educators with a rich set of adaptable practices and issue a clear call to action: to champion and advance the deep integration of transferable competencies and skills within engineering education.