Elena Mitrofanova

Designing effective online surveys for engineering study programs development based on feedback from stakeholders

Many countries having recognized the importance of engineering in economics are paying serious attention to education in this area. In order to meet labor market needs when developing engineering study programs are encouraged to consider the opinion of all stakeholders. In this paper, the authors first identify key stakeholders to be considered in the process of study programs development, then argue that online surveys are a preferable method of data collection for this purpose. After that, and being the focus of this paper, the authors address what to consider when planning such surveys by asking key questions and giving guidelines based on practices and experiences at universities, and continue by outlining some common pitfalls to be avoided when designing such surveys. Authors conclude with the presentation of the results of purposeful use of the proposed solutions in the form of curricula of improved Bachelor and Master degree study programs in both Information Security and Software Engineering as well as documents confirming their international recognition. Presented curricula, designed to meet all the requirements of international accreditation, in structure and content can be recommended for dissemination to other specialties and universities. Furthermore, described surveys methodology can be accordingly included in the content of study programs on management and pedagogy.