In this closing webinar in the ‘Exploring the outcomes of educating scientists and engineers’ series, we will reflect the methodological and substantive insights that have been generated from our seven-year of longitudinal study of the experiences and outcomes of studying science and engineering.

In the first part of the webinar, Jenni will reflect on the methodological insights that have come from tracking our participants through their undergraduate experiences and into their first few years after graduation. A distinctive feature of the research design involved two closely related programmes in each institution, two institutions in each of three countries and seven years of annual interviews. This ambitious project allowed for different kinds of findings to emerge than are usual in the field, often taking a snapshot in time and seldom being able to range beyond one national setting. In the second part, Paul will reflect on what we have learned about the impact of studying science and engineering on graduate lives. Across all of these settings we found that graduates are profoundly and distinctively formed by their engagements with disciplinary knowledge and use this to craft social commitments and ways of thinking that are not those stereotypically associated with STEM graduates.