2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Digital Transformation (DT) involves modifying processes, business models, products, services, and customer interactions to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Companies must rely on a well-skilled workforce to lead this transformation and innovate to address present and future challenges. However, the growing digital skills gap between workers trained before the digital age and employees with digital knowledge has been exacerbated by the inefficacy of traditional IT training, given the complexity of new digital technologies. Professionals must be able to understand the digital economy, manage physical-virtual value chains and global logistics, design new digital business models, and manage digital projects. They must also develop both technical competencies and soft skills, such as communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. In higher education, courses and academic activities are required to integrate both a theoretical approach and active, dynamic experiences that prepare students to face the challenges of the digital environment. This raises questions about the skills developed during the training of future professionals and leaders who can address digital transformation in organizations.
The present study aims to investigate the skills that students acquire in the course "Management of Digital Transformation" (GTD) to achieve a Digital Transformation Plan (DTP). The methodological approach is based on an exploratory, descriptive research design, with a quantitative focus on students who have completed the GTD course across various engineering disciplines. The sample consists of students from the first semester of 2025, from both day and evening programs, enrolled in 8 sections (n = 285) within the industrial and informatics engineering disciplines at a Chilean university. The study aims to identify the most important skills developed under each criterion, essential for addressing a DTP in line with the planned activities, expected learning outcomes, and performance indicators established in the course syllabus. These results will help improve engineering education by guiding the redesign of the course to strengthen the digital skills needed to implement a DTP within an organization.