Journey mapping student experiences in engineering education

Overview

This research topic explores the use of journey mapping as a research and design methodology to better understand, analyse and improve student experiences in engineering education. The project investigates how students navigate key stages and touchpoints across the academic lifecycle including transition into university, curriculum progression, assessment, engagement, wellbeing and career development. By systematically mapping these journeys, the research aims to reveal patterns, barriers, and opportunities that shape student engagement, experience and success.

Situated at the intersection of engineering education research, learning design, and human‑centred approaches, the project recognises that student experiences are shaped by complex and interconnected institutional systems rather than isolated interventions. Journey mapping provides a structured mechanism for making these systems visible from the student perspective, supporting more coherent, student‑centred and evidence‑informed approaches to educational design and decision making.

Research activities

The project will involve the design and application of journey mapping methodologies to selected student cohorts or stages within engineering programs. Projects can be scoped to individuals’ expertise and interest areas. Research activities may include identifying critical moments, transitions and touchpoints in the student journey; collecting qualitative and quantitative data through journey maps, interviews, surveys, focus groups, workshops or document analysis.

Additional activities may include comparative analysis of journeys across different cohorts (e.g. first‑year students, international students, or under‑represented groups), co‑design workshops with students and relevant stakeholders and evaluation of how journey mapping outputs are used to inform curriculum design, support services, and institutional strategy.

Outcomes

Expected outcomes include deeper insights into the lived experiences of students in engineering programs, particularly around transitions, decision points and moments of challenge or support. The research is likely to identify opportunities for improvement in professional identity that are not readily visible through traditional evaluation metrics alone.

Outputs may include student journey mapping frameworks tailored to engineering education, practical guidance on using journey maps to inform learning and support design and evidence‑based recommendations for improving student engagement and outcomes. Depending on the level of study, outcomes may include scholarly publications, conference presentations, and applied artefacts (e.g. journey maps, design principles, or toolkits) that support institutions to take more student‑centred and data‑informed approaches to educational improvement.

Skills and experience

• Applicants should have a background in engineering, education, design, human‑centred research or a related discipline.
• An interest in student experience, learning design or systems‑level improvement in higher education is essential.
• Experience with qualitative research methods (e.g. interviews, workshops, thematic analysis) is highly desirable, along with familiarity or interest in journey mapping, service design, or design‑based research approaches.
• Experience working with mixed‑methods data, stakeholder engagement, or visualisation of complex systems would be advantageous.
• Strong analytical, communication and reflective skills are important, particularly an interest in using research evidence to inform practical improvements to student experience in engineering education.

Scholarships

You may be eligible to apply for a research scholarship.

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Keywords

• engineering education
• higher education
• student experience

Contact

Contact us via email te3al@qut.edu.au.