Sustainable Development Competences of Engineering Students in Light of the Industry 5.0 Concept

Abstract

In 2021, the European Commission set out the direction of changes in the field of European enterprise activities by establishing the principles of Industry 5.0. One of the indicated directions was the implementation of sustainable development principles in European industry. The aim of this article is to examine the level and nature of competences in the field of sustainable development among students at two Lublin universities: the Lublin University of Technology and the University of Life Sciences in Lublin. This is to enable the assessment of students’ preparation for the implementation of sustainable development principles in their future professional activities. The research sought to determine the relationship between the type of university and the competences of students, through the self-assessment of competences. The conceptualization and operationalization of competences in the field of sustainable development was based on the de Haan and Cebrian models, respectively. The tool used was the author’s own questionnaire based on the self-assessment of 25 statements, grouped into five areas of competence: knowledge, action, values and ethics, emotions and systems thinking. The results of the study confirmed differences between students in the areas of knowledge and activity. However, a relationship between the type of university and self-esteem in areas related to systemic thinking, emotions, and ethics and values was not found. Various self-assessment patterns (clusters) were observed in individual areas among the respondents. Differences in the assessment of the statements indicated the existence of factors that influenced responses. The results of the study confirmed the usefulness of the tool in identifying competency gaps of students based on which the tool can be recommended for use in the design of study programs.