Building Students' Industry Workplace Skills Using Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

Effective written communication is a crucial skill for students transitioning to industry, where accurate documentation of project activities and decisions are paramount. However, students' logbook entries are sometimes descriptive, unclear and incoherent. This might be due to them not having a critical reader in mind when writing. This paper evaluates the impact of a structured series of embedded workshops designed to enhance logbook writing skills among Applied Computing students to prepare them for their eightmonth internship under an Integrated Work Study Programme (IWSP). Generative AI (GenAI) took on the role of an interactive and critical reader: as a group of clients in a Requirements Engineering (RE) exercise (lesson 1), as a writing coach (lesson 2) and as an editor (lesson 3). Data was collected via a comparison of students' logbook entries in lesson three compared to lesson one and an end-of-workshop survey. The primary improvements observed between the students' logbook submissions were in critical analysis, content relevance and depth, and the integration of supporting ideas. The survey findings revealed that GenAI, when deployed as a user, helped generate ideas during brainstorming sessions and provided a basic and structured skeleton to kickstart the writing process. GenAI, as a coach, helped students be more objective by considering multiple perspectives. As an editor, it offered clarity and formatting suggestions, which helped students write more clearly and coherently. The findings underscore the effectiveness of AI-assisted workshops in preparing students for industry by developing essential written communication skills, thereby fostering better project documentation and reporting practices.

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