Reordering Engineering Knowledge: Employability, Programming-Centred Learning, Group Dynamics, and the Emergence of AI-Mediated Technical Competence

This research proposal outlines an exploratory study into how employability expectations and the growing integration of programming, computational tools, simulation environments, and generative artificial intelligence may be reshaping students’ understandings of engineering knowledge and technical competence. It proposes to examine how engineering students perceive the relationship between programming proficiency, theoretical understanding, practical experimentation, and discipline-specific skills, particularly as software-based work becomes increasingly prominent in education and professional practice. The proposal also considers how these changing perceptions may influence group dynamics, expectations of competence, divisions of responsibility, recognition of contributions, and experiences of perceived inequity or dissatisfaction in collaborative settings. Drawing on Expectation States Theory and perspectives on equity, the proposed study adopts an exploratory qualitative approach to investigate how students interpret and experience these changes in the meaning and valuation of engineering competence.