Development of soft skills from the interests of Physics students

Abstract

Soft skills are essential in scientific work, particularly those related to oral communication in English. Since 2017, a virtual student exchange has been implemented at the School of Physics of the University of Costa Rica. The project carries out activities with an emphasis on topics of Medical Physics, and has participants from Costa Rica, the United States and Mexico. In this work we seek to determine the activities carried out within the framework of this virtual exchange that are of greatest interest to Physics students at the University of Costa Rica. A survey was conducted with the 29 students who participated in activities of this exchange in the period 2018-2019. The survey included aspects of knowledge of the types of activities carried out, types of participation in activities, level of English and confidence in speaking English, as well as factors that limit participation. 83% of the 12 students that answered report a positive opinion about the project activities. The activities with the highest participation were the Virtual Congress and the Discussion Club for scientific articles. 75% of the students show interest in participating in the Mentoring Program. Activities in which students interact with professionals in the area are of interest to the population studied and have the potential to promote student empowerment.