This paper presents the results of the first part of the Tools for Enhancing and Assessing the Value of International Experience for Engineers (TA VIE) project, launched in 2018, and outlines a contemporary understanding of global competence for engineers, as understood by European engineering companies. Striving to make engineering education more comprehensively aligned to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and thereby meeting demands from industry and society, the notion of “global competence” has attracted more and more attention from engineering schools. While there is no universally agreed on definition of global competence, the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) definition, which explicitly combines global awareness and intercultural communication competence with sustainability efforts, seems potentially well positioned to inform higher education institutions’ (HEI) global competence education. This is perhaps especially so when it comes to international student mobility, an area which is regularly seen as an important means to enhance global competence while all too often being assessed not in terms of qualitative student development, but in terms of structural indicators. However, in order to assess and improve curricula and mobility programs, the desired learning outcomes must first be specified. Based on research in five European countries (Spain, Italy, Sweden, France and Hungary), this paper details the understanding, requirements and perceived skill gaps of companies hiring engineering graduates, a first step towards improved and assessable global competence education for engineering students.

Nowadays the advance towards sustainability poses a global challenge for modern society as well as for companies. Professionals and academics continually redefine business processes and design management mechanisms in a more appropriate way in order to allow companies to balance economic activity with the environmental and social impact that they generate. Under this complex and dynamic scenario, creating a product, providing a service, or achieving a given result requires a different interpretation of the efficiency paradigm and an adequate socio-environmental intelligence. In the context of project management, sustainability-related knowledge, skills, and suitable tools are necessary to face this challenge. Moreover, its close relationship with stakeholder theory presents an alternative to approach that purpose. This article attempts a systematic review of the literature on stakeholder theory in project management during the past nine years, with the aim of providing a comprehensive view of this relationship, revealing its impact and influence on sustainability, and finding new research paths. We highlight the potential benefits derived from this relationship, either as an instrument for the promotion of corporate social responsibility and inclusive policies, as a means for the generation of shared value and technological innovation, or as a key factor in the strategy and business management of a given project.

The incorporation of sustainability in universities finds the greatest barriers in the field of teaching. The curricula do not usually cover all dimensions of sustainability as most of the experiences are isolated and they do not reach all students. Within a larger study, an exploratory investigation has been carried out on how sustainability competences are being integrated into the programs of both Informatics Engineering and Industrial Engineering degrees of 25 Spanish universities. The main findings suggest that existing courses in the domain of the humanities and engineering projects, as well as the final degree project, are very appropriate areas for developing a holistic and reflective approach. Likewise, there is a lack of environmental issues in Informatics Engineering, and ethical issues do not usually appear in Industrial Engineering courses. In general, there is no systematic and strategic integration along the degree programs. However, inspiring practices have been identified to propose lines of action and a curriculum model to embed sustainability into engineering education coherently and effectively. In addition, some reflections on drivers, opportunities, and challenges to achieve it are presented.

Modeling complex non-physical systems is essential for understanding the interdependent dynamics of human-centered adaptive environments. This study extends the Goal Tree–Success Tree and Master Logic Diagram (GTST-MLD) framework to represent and analyze these systems beyond their traditional engineering applications. A mixed-methods approach, combining a systematic literature review, expert interviews, and survey-based validation, was employed to test the framework using the teaching–learning process in Higher Education (HE) as an illustrative case study. The results show how function-centered modeling within the GTST-MLD structure decomposes the complexity of the system and reveals pedagogical bottlenecks, providing a structured basis for designing adaptive strategies. Rather than measuring learning gains directly, the model offers a structured representation of the conceptual and methodological pathways that influence learner engagement, conceptual integration, and adaptability. Within this bounded context, this study demonstrates a reproducible GTST-MLD modeling procedure for non-physical systems, an auditable dependency structure, based on explicitly defined nodes and edges, and a coherent alignment between Threshold Concepts (TCs), Learning Outcomes (LOs), and methodological strategies. Together, these contributions offer a basis for diagnosing and optimizing complex non-physical systems and form a foundation for future empirical evaluation.

This study examines the effectiveness of an explicitly nondirective team coaching intervention in enhancing team performance and individual teamwork competencies within self-managed teams. The intervention was implemented across multiple sessions with nine teams in three organizations and was evaluated using a convergent mixed-methods design, in which GROW functioned solely as a light process scaffold while coaches withheld content advice. Quantitative results showed significant improvements in conflict resolution and planning . Qualitative data revealed increases in team alignment, communication , and performance evaluation . These findings suggest that nondirective team coaching can foster autonomy, adaptability, and sustainable team development in dynamic work environments.