Comparison Between Electromechanical Engineering and Electrical

Engineering Students in the Motivation to Choose the Higher Education

Study Field

FÁTIMA MONTEIRO 1 R. M. MONTEIRO PEREIRA 1,2 ADELINO J. C. PEREIRA 1,2

1 Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra, Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra

2 INESC-Coimbra

PORTUGAL

Abstract: - The motivations with which students choose the higher programme to follow have a high impact on

their academic performance throughout the programme and on the dropout rate. The type of motivation (intrinsic

or extrinsic) that leads them to choose the programme area is very important in their resilience in the face of

difficulties they may encounter during the programme. It is also important to attract students to a particular area

of higher education. In Portugal (in line with other countries), the demand for higher education programmes in

the field of Electrical Engineering has been decreasing among students applying for higher education. This

decrease occurs despite the area have high employability. On the contrary, the demand for Mechanical

Engineering and Electromechanical Engineering programmes has been growing.

Given this, it is important to try to understand the motivations that lead students to apply for programmes in the

field of Electrical Engineering. For a better understanding of the reasons that differentiate the demand for

programmes in the electrical area and the mechanical area, it was considered important to study whether there

are relevant differences between the motivation profile for choosing the programmes between Electrical

Engineering and Electromechanical Engineering

Thus, this study aimed to understand and analyse the motivations that led students from a Portuguese Polytechnic

higher education institution to choose the field of Electrical Engineering or of Electromechanical Engineering.

To this end, a questionnaire survey was used to collect the students' perceptions about why they chose the

programme. The results show that students highly value the fact that it is a broadband area, with high

employability and a wide variety of potential professional activities. The comparison between the programmes

shows that the area of mechanics is a factor that motivates students to apply for the Electromechanical

Engineering.

The results obtained help to understand the motivation profile of students who choose the field of Electrical

Engineering and of Electromechanical Engineering, potentially contributing for the higher education institutions

to promote actions with a view to enhancing the attractiveness of Electrical Engineering area.

Key-Words: Electromechanical Engineering; Electrical Engineering; Students Motivation; Students Dropouts;

Students Perceptions

Received: August 12, 2021. Revised: March 21, 2022. Accepted: April 26, 2022. Published: June 7, 2022.

1 Introduction

Electrical area, mechanical and electromechanical

areas are traditional training areas in the field of

engineering [1] that over time have contributed to the

great technological and economic development [2].

These areas have become fundamental in industrial

production and are present in almost all production

systems [3]. Whether through production systems or

in the development of products and services

provided, these areas of engineering also underlie

almost all human activities and are present in

individual and collective daily life [4], [5]. These

areas are essential for industrial and economic

development and are associated with economic

competitiveness [5], so they have high employability.

However, despite continuing to be a professional

area with high employability [6], demand for

Electrical Engineering programmes is decreasing [7].

The decrease in demand for Electrical Engineering

programmes can be seen both in Portugal [8] and in

several countries where demand and interest in this

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area of engineering is also decreasing [7]. This is an

important problem, since there is a great lack of

professionals in the field of electrical area in the

labour market [9], [10].

In recent decades, there have been major changes

in the field of Electrical Engineering that have led to

a great diversification of its fields of action and in the

fragmentation by areas of specialization [9]. Such

fragmentation led to the creation of several higher

education programmes and specializations [12], [8],

namely Computer Engineering, Electronic and

Telecommunications Engineering and

Electromechanical Engineering. In the opinion of [9],

this fragmentation and transformation of the area of

Electrical Engineering resulted in a process of

expansion that has led to the disintegration of the area

itself.

The professional practice of Electrical

Engineering encompasses areas as diverse as the

electric energy production, transport and distribution;

the telecommunications systems; the industrial

maintenance, automation and control; the

programming (computers, programmable automats,

etc); the robotics; the electronics; the energy

management; the electrical installations; the lighting

systems; etc [9], [1], [11]. All these areas and

subareas are interconnected with other engineering

domains, highlighting a strong interrelationship with

Mechanical Engineering. This interrelation and

interdependence of the two areas (electrical and

mechanical areas) is materialized (for example) in the

Electromechanical Engineering programme and is

recognized by the credibility of graduates in this area

and by the high demand in the job market [12].

In recent years, there has been an increase in the

attractiveness (understood as the increase in the

number of candidates for the programme and

placements) of Mechanical Engineering and even

Electromechanical Engineering [13]. But the

attractiveness of Electrical Engineering has

decreased [8].

Given this, it is important to understand the

reasons that lead students to choose the Electrical

Engineering programmes and compare these reasons

with the Electromechanical Engineering

programmes. The choice of comparison with the

Electromechanical Engineering was based on the fact

that this programme is very close to the Electrical

Engineering programme (50% of its curricula is in

the area of Electrical Engineering and is taught by

professors from the Electrical Engineering

department), however, unlike Electrical Engineering,

its attractiveness has been increasing. For this study,

programmes from the same Higher Education

Institution were chosen, so that the Institution was

not a relevant factor in the choice between the 2

programmes (since this factor is in fact relevant [8]).

Knowing the reasons that lead students to choose

the programme can help to understand what is most

valued and thus adapt the information and design

available to potential candidates (namely online); as

well as to understand whether their motivations have

a more external or internal character (intrinsic or

extrinsic), which may influence their commitment

and performance in the learning process during their

academic path and until the dropout [14].

2 Objectives and Methodology

In this context, this article presents a study

that aimed to understand and analyse the motivations

that led students from a Portuguese Polytechnic

higher education institution to choose the field of

Electrical Engineering or the field of

Electromechanical Engineering.

The aim of this study was to understand whether the

reasons that lead students to choose the Electrical

Engineering programme differ significantly from the

reasons for choosing the Electromechanical

Engineering programme, as well as what the main

reasons are. Also noteworthy is the objective of

understanding whether the current high attractiveness

of the Mechanical Engineering programmes (in

Portugal [13]) is felt in the reasons for choosing

between Electrical Engineering and

Electromechanical Engineering.

Another objective was to understand if students

already enter the programme with preferences and

engagement with any of the sub-areas of Electrical

Engineering. This objective is very important, as the

preference for one of the electrical sub-areas may be

a motivating factor to engage in their learning

process, as well as to avoid dropout [14].

To this end, a questionnaire survey (anonymous)

was used to collect the students' perceptions about

why they chose the programmes. The survey

included closed (demographic aspects) and open

questions about the motivation for choosing the

programme.

The survey included closed (demographic

aspects) and open questions about the motivation for

choosing the programme.

The answers were analysed using content analysis

using non-exclusive categories that emerged from

response analysis and then from a statistical point of

view.

The questionnaire was applied in the academic

year 2021/2022 to students of the Electrical

Engineering and Electromechanical Engineering

programmes of a Portuguese Polytechnic higher

education institution.

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3 Results

The survey was answered by 91 students, whose

distribution by programme is shown in Fig.1.

The proportion of students of Electrical Engineering

and Electromechanical Engineering is similar (about

45%), and the number of students of Electrical

Engineering (after-work regime) is much lower

(about 9%). This programme, of the 3 studied, is the

one that currently has the least attractiveness [15],

[16].

Fig.1 Distribution of students by programme.

The students who responded to the study are

mostly in an age group up to 23 years old,

which indicates that they are traditional higher

education students [17]. Only 3.3% of students are

over 30 years old. The age distribution is shown in

Fig.2.

Fig.2 Distribution of students by age group.

Despite many efforts to increase the number of

women attending engineering programmes in

general, the number of women has not increased in

Electrical Engineering and Electromechanical

Engineering programmes [15]. Engineering

programmes in more traditional areas (such as

Electrical and Mechanical Engineering) have

remained with a low percentage of women and tend

to be stable in Portugal [15]. The Electromechanical

Engineering programme also has a low frequency of

women (in 2021/2022 only 6 women attended the

programme – 3 students in the 2nd year, 1 student in

the 3rd year and 2 students in the 1st year [13]). This

discrepancy between men and women in the

Electrical Engineering and Electromechanical

Engineering programmes is very evident in Fig.3

which shows the percentage of men and women who

answered the survey.

Fig.3 Distribution of students by gender.

Most of the students who answered the survey

attended the 2nd or 3rd year, with only 2.2% attending

the 1st year, as shown in Fig.4. In the analysis of the

results, it was found that the answers given by the 3rd

year students were more complete, serious, and

structured. This would be expected, since the

maturity of the students is expected to evolve with

age [18], and as such, with the academic year they

attend.

Fig.4 Distribution of students by academic year.

3.1 Motivation for choosing the

Electromechanical Engineering programme

To find out what was the main motivation for

choosing the programme in the field of

electromechanics, students were asked why they

chose this programme. The analysis of the answers

made it possible to obtain a synthesis of the (non-

exclusive) categories that emerged from the

46,1%

45,1%

8,8%

Electrical Engineering

Electromechanical

Engineering

Electrical Engineering

(After work regime)

92,3%

7,7%

Male

Female

2,2%

53,8%

44,0% 1 year

2 year

3 year

28,60%

48,40%

8,80%

11%

3,20%

< or = 20

>20 until 23

>23 until 26

>25 until 30

+ 30

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responses themselves. Some answers had more than

one motivation. To this question, 37 students

answered.

The most frequently mentioned words in the

answers were: I like, interest, electrical and

mechanical areas. The non-exclusive categories that

emerged from the analysis of the answers given by

students of Electromechanical Engineering were:

• Have training in both areas, electrical and

mechanical (answer example: “Because it has

the mechanical and electrical field”);

• High employability (answer example: “Have a

good professional output”);

• Be a broadband programme (answer example:

“Due to the wide range of areas covered in the

programme”);

• By personal like/interest (answer example: “By

instinct or even out of curiosity, at the time of

choosing the programme aroused my interest”);

• By guidance from family members (answer

example: “On the advice of a family member”);

• For not having been able to enter the first option

programme (answer example: “Because I did

not enter the first option (Computer

Engineering)”);

• Natural continuity of the academic path (answer

example: “Because I came from the Professional

Higher Technical Course in Electromechanical

Maintenance”.

Table 1 shows the percentage of students who

reported each of the aforementioned categories.

Table 1 – Percentage of students (depending on the

total number of answers) who mentioned each of the

categories.

Category

Frequency

Proximity to the field of

Computer Engineering

8,1%

High employability

32,6%

Be a broadband programme

12,2%

By personal like/interest

67,3%

By guidance of family members

10,2%

Expand knowledge in the area /

complementary training

12,2%

Natural follow-up of the

educational journey

10,2%

Not having entered the

programme that was the 1st

option (Computer Engineering)

6,1%

The analysis of Table 2 allows us to conclude that

most students refer to personal like or interest in the

area of Electrical Engineering as the reason (or one

of the reasons) why they chose the Electrical

Engineering programme. In addition to this reason,

the high employability of graduates is also

mentioned. Although the reason “Not having entered

the programme that was the 1st option” is the least

mentioned, it is quite relevant, since the two areas of

Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering

are very close (Computer Engineering originated in

Electrical Engineering). This aspect is even more

relevant considering that in Portugal the Computer

Engineering programmes usually have a very high

number of candidates and students not placed. This

reality contrasts with the current situation of the

decreasing number of candidates for Electrical

Engineering programmes and a surplus of positions

to be filled [8].

The fact that few students mention the proximity

between Electrical Engineering and Computer

Engineering and even the fact that they were not

placed in Computer Engineering may result from the

fact that the Electrical Engineering programme at the

higher education institution in which the study

was carried out only designate “Electrical

Engineering” and not “Electrical and Computer

Engineering”. The inclusion of “and Computers” in

the name of the programme can better demonstrate

the proximity between the two programmes/areas,

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and therefore, exert greater attractiveness for students

who are not placed in Computer Engineering.

Of the various responses submitted by the

students, the following stand out:

• By reference to curiosity in the face of electrical

phenomena (“I have always found the electrical

part of technology interesting and curious”);

• The reference to a circumstantial aspect (being a

programme operating on an after-work regime).

This aspect was mentioned by only 1 student,

despite the fact that 16% of Electrical

Engineering students who answered the

questionnaire attended the programme after

work. It can be inferred that the programme

being on an after-work regime was not the most

relevant reason for choosing the area of

Electrical Engineering. It should be noted that

the after-work programme has a very low

attractiveness (measured by the number of

applicants and enrolees) [8].

• A response was not considered as it did not

contain any relevant or understandable

information.

• One of the answers recognizes the role of one of

the close relatives, his professional activity, and

the fact that he grew up in an environment where

the area of Electrical Engineering was very

present. This may have contributed to an

awakening of interest and even the development

of an engagement with this area, associating it

with discovery, but also with pleasure

(associated with the use of the verb to play). The

answer says: “I chose this programme because

of the environment in which I lived. My father is

an appliance repairman and in my childhood, I

spent my days working with him "playing" with

the machines”. This motivation profile was

more likely in the past, when children interacted

more with the professional practice of their

parents (or other close relatives), and is less

common nowadays. However, this way of

getting in touch with an area of knowledge and

professional can develop a sense of

inner/intrinsic motivation and even the

playful/pleasure dimension, both in learning and

in professional practice. This enhances the

involvement during the learning process and the

sense of belonging to the area [20].

• There is also the case of a student who

mentioned that the choice of the programme

implied a process of indecision and that the

reasons that led to the choice were external: “I

was still undecided, and it was the programme

with the most [professional] output”.

3.3 Comparison between the two programmes

When comparing the reasons for choosing the

programmes, it can be seen that students who chose

the Electrical Engineering programme refer less

external reasons (the sum of high employability,

being broadband, influence of family members and

not having entered the programme that was their first

option) is still lower (61.1%) than students who

mention “For personal like/interest”.

Due to the greater proximity between Electrical

Engineering and Computer Engineering (than

between Electromechanical Engineering and

Computer Engineering), there is an increase in

students who, having not entered Computer

Engineering, choose to enter Electrical Engineering.

The second main factor that seems to lead students

to choose the Electromechanical Engineering

programme is the fact that it has a very wide

bandwidth, since it encompasses two different areas

(Electrical and Mechanical). This factor is also

associated with employability, so 78.3% of the

responses refer to one of these aspects as the main

reason for the choice. This value is only 44.8% in the

case of Electrical Engineering students.

Seeing separately the reason for “being

broadband” and “high employability”, it appears that

the students of the two programmes recognize the

high employability of graduates, but the Electrical

Engineering students still recognize it more as a

reason for choosing the programme.

Electromechanical Engineering students seem to

value more the fact of being “broadband” and of

uniting two areas that in professional practice are

interconnected.

The high number of students (35.1%) of the

Electromechanical Engineering programme who

mentioned “Having training in both electrical and

mechanical areas” seems to indicate that their choice

is also strongly influenced by the component in the

mechanical area. The fact that in recent years the

attractiveness of Mechanical Engineering

programmes has grown in Portugal can also be

reflected in the increase of applicants to

Electromechanical Engineering programme. As the

number of potential candidates for Mechanical,

Electrical and Electromechanical Engineering

programmes is limited by the number of candidates

who passed the mandatory national exams for these

areas (Mathematics and Physics/Chemistry), the

growing attractiveness of the Mechanical

Engineering area has reduced the number of

candidates for Electrical Engineering programmes.

The reference to “I like” for a specific area of

Electrical Engineering or of Electromechanical

Engineering was only mentioned by 1 student in each

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programme, which leads one to consider that most

students do not enter the programmes with a

preference or engagement for a specific area of the

programme. It will be interesting to evaluate whether

they develop this during the programme.

4 Conclusion

The results allow us to conclude that the factor

“personal interest” is decisive in the process of

choosing the programme to follow. In view of this,

and since fewer young people have previous contact

with the area of Electrical Engineering, the

importance of contact with this area being promoted

among young people (non-higher education) so that

they can develop interest in this area is highlighted.

Another very relevant reason is the high

employability. This aspect should be highlighted,

namely in the dissemination of programmes in online

or face-to-face actions.

The fact that the Electrical Engineering

programme is broadband also seems to be an element

of attraction for the students, which should be

highlighted in it dissemination. Based on these

results, it can also be equated that students do not

value narrowband programmes, either because they

are more monotonous in their content, or because this

can reduce their employability. This result is

important to guide higher education institutions when

creating or configuring the programmes they make

available to students.

In the case of the Electrical Engineering

programme, its designation also seems to be relevant

to show its proximity to Computer Engineering. This

result helps higher education institutions in choosing

the names of programmes and is associated with the

importance of programmes being comprehensive in

the training provided to students.

Considering the current problem resulting from

the decrease in demand for Electrical Engineering

programmes (both in Portugal [8] and in other

countries [7]), the present study contributes to a

greater knowledge of the reasons that lead students to

choose a programme in the area of Electrical

Engineering and Electromechanical Engineering.

This can help higher education institutions in their

decisions and teachers in formulating a curricula plan

that meets the motivations of potential candidates and

students.

In future investigations, we intend to investigate

what are the expectations that students have about

their future professional activity, trying to understand

if during their academic path, students developed

some like/interest in one (or several) sub-areas of the

programme, or even a sense of belonging to the field

of knowledge.

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Author Contributions: Fátima Monteiro designed

and performed the experiments and analysed data; R.

M. Monteiro Pereira and Adelino J. C. Pereira,

helped perform the analysis with constructive

suggestions, revised the manuscript. All authors

write, read and approved the manuscript.

Creative Commons Attribution

License 4.0 (Attribution 4.0

International , CC BY 4.0)

This article is published under the terms of the

Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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