Science and Engineering Education as an Anchor in the Midst of a Changing World: The Case of Covid-19

The discourse on science and engineering education focuses on ways of preparing students, as future employees, and global citizens. While this discourse deals with the purposes and characteristics of engineering education, it tends to neglect the students' perspectives. The purpose of this study was to provide insights into the perspectives of undergraduate science and engineering students with respect to six factors, during the Covid-19 pandemic- end-of-semester exams, financial situation, social life, extension of study duration, the future of the labor market, and how the world will look. A comprehensive questionnaire was distributed to all undergraduate students in a research science and engineering university in two consecutive academic years. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were applied. Our findings show that science and engineering students were mostly concerned about their end-of-semester exams. Their social life was the only factor that changed between the two periods in terms of the percentage of students who were concerned with it. As for the other factors, the percentage of students who were concerned about them remained comparatively the same in both academic years. The findings highlight the confidence students had during the pandemic, and demonstrate the resilience of science and engineering, especially in times of volatility.