Academic achievement of engineering students in professional activities: The impact of prior participation in school Olympiads and project-based competitions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/1992-6464-2025-216-142-156Keywords:
engineering education, academic predictors, project-based learning activities, STEM competitions and Olympiads, applicants to STEM universitiesAbstract
Introduction. This study examines the correlation between engineering students’ academic success in higher education and their prior participation in STEM Olympiads and project-based research competitions during secondary schooling. Materials and methods. The study analyzed data from 13,924 students at the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) enrolled between 2012 and 2023. The sample was split into the following subgroups: 1) students with / with no prior participation in STEM Olympiads and 2) students on engineering / non-engineering career path. Importantly, a student with a record of successful participation in an engineering competition was subsumed under the engineering career path category. Then, the four subgroups of students were analyzed for the statistical relationships between their pre-university accomplishments (including engineering project achievements and Olympiad participation) and their subsequent professional, academic, and social achievements. Statistical analyses were conducted to evaluate significant differences between comparison groups across multiple dimensions: achievement rates among student categories, distributions of achievement quantities per student, and comparative average achievement scores. Analytical methods included two- proportion z-tests to compare achievement rates across student categories and two-sample t-tests to evaluate differences in mean achievement scores.
Results. The study revealed that students with engineering competition backgrounds demonstrate substantially enhanced learning motivation, particularly those who also participated in academic Olympiads. These individuals tend to have more focused professional identities and motivation for continuous professional development, which they develop earlier in life. Their motivation systems are grounded in practical applications of knowledge and willingness to take it to a new level.
Conclusion. The findings suggest important implications for engineering education admissions processes. Current standardized testing approaches appear insufficient for identifying students with the strongest potential for success in engineering programs. The study demonstrates the particular predictive value of project-based engineering competitions, especially when combined with Olympiad participation, in assessing applicants’ readiness for university-level engineering education. Students with this combined competitive experience typically exhibit not only subject-area proficiency but also well-defined professional interests and problem-solving orientations that can be applied in real- world scenarios.
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