Assessing transversal skills in the framework of an interdisciplinary program

The paper discusses the assessment of transversal skills in the framework of a 9-month interdisciplinary programme – the China Hardware Innovation Camp (CHIC) – that runs across 3 institutions in Switzerland and includes a short-term study abroad (STSA) in China. The programme has the particularity of having teams composed of engineering students (3), design students (2) and business students (1) affiliated with one of the 3 institutions and working together to develop an Internet of Things (IoT) device. The pedagogical scenario builds on a "learn-practice-reflect" framework. While limited to one-sixth of the project's assessment, significant emphasis is placed on the development of transversal skills for engineering students. The assessment strategy makes heavy use of reflexive notes. The paper presents the pedagogical scenario underlying the programme as well as the protocol to assess the transversal learning outcomes for the engineering students involved in the programme. It discusses a sub-set of the transversal skills assessment strategy, namely reflexivity. It suggests that reflexivity needs to be trained and maintained throughout the programme through different formats. It raises a number of questions related to the use of reflexivity as an assessment strategy for transversal skills in the context of an interdisciplinary programme.