CHAPTER 4: DATA COLLECTION AND PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS
4.3 S URVEY RESULTS
4.3.2 Survey Question 2: Are your R5K groups still active?
Figure 19 - Survey results
Question two was asked to give an idea of how many groups were still active. The data is an approximate figure as the thirty eight respondants that did not answer might have all been in groups that didn’t continue and a majority of respondents could have been in groups that did reply.
4.3.3 Survey Question 3: How much did your group make after expenses?
Figure 20 - Survey results
Question three gauged the approximate range of profits for the R5K projects. The scope of this thesis is not to ascertain an exact figure but rather to gauge if the projects succeeded in satisfying the brief.
4.3.4 Survey question 4: Would you recommend the R5K project to the 3rd years that will do the project next year?
Figure 21 - Survey results
Question four gauged the extent that alumni of the project would recommend the R5K project to the next year of BTech students. A high rate of 91% of the respondents found the R5K project to be beneficial for the next year’s BTechs.
4.3.5 Survey question 5: Did the R5K project give you enough experience to start a company?
Figure 22 - Survey results
Question five included a probing question whose response was used in the interviews to gain deeper understanding of the project from a student’s perspective.
This aspect of the question will be unpacked during the research findings.
This question was asked with a yes, no or clarify your answer option, if all the clarifications32 are taken into account, most being clarifications on an affirmative answer then the result adjusted for verbal affirmations is a 90.1% yes.
32Which can be seen in Appendix I
3.3.6 Survey question 6: How much did the R5K project develop you in the following areas? (a rating of 1 didn’t develop much and 5 indicates significant development)
Figure 23 - Survey results
Question six was asked to determine how the students perceived the contribution of the R5K project to their own development. The response options ranged from 1 (blue) being the least valued to 5 (purple) being the most valued. Personal development emerged as the aspect where the project was perceived to contribute the most. Because of this result the interviews probed deeper into this question.
4.3.7 Survey question 7: How much did 3rd year develop you for industry? (a rating of 1 didn’t develop much and 10 indicates significant development)
Figure 24 - Survey results
4.3.8 Survey question 8: How much did 4th year develop you for industry?
Figure 25 - Survey results
Questions seven and eight compared respondents’ perception of the value of their third and fourth year in preparing them for industry. It can be seen that although the 3rd year scores are high for the seven and eight categories, it can also be seen that the three and four are high whereas in question eight regarding 4th year, scores eight and nine are high without the distractor of the negative lower numbers.
4.3.9 Survey question 9: Which company type do you work for?
Figure 26 - Survey results
Question nine was asked to determine the areas in which graduates find jobs. This data shows that 28% of graduates become self employed while 59% left and attained employment in a company. The other 17% are unaccounted for.
4.3.10 Survey question 10: How many personnel in the company?
Figure 27 - Survey results
Question ten determined the size of the companies that graduates joined or started.
62% of graduates belong to micro or small businesses with under ten employees.
Of the total, 38.7% of the graduates entered companies larger than 10 employees.
4.3.11 Survey question 11: How long did it take to get design work after graduation?
Figure 28 - Survey results
Question eleven indicates that 30% of graduates took longer than nine months to gain employment but if the comments in ‘Other’ (See Appendix I) are factored in then only two graduates took longer than six months to gain employment but did so before nine months after graduation.
A better representation of this graph with the ‘Other’ comments factored in would be the graph below.
Figure 29 - Survey results
4.3.12 Survey question 12: Which of these dimensions of employability do you think Industrial Design employers find most important?
Figure 30 - Survey results
43%
37%
12%
8%
Survey Question 11 (Adapted): How long did it take to get design work after graduation? Including 'Other' responses
Within a month
Between one and three months Between three and six months Between six and nine months
0 5 10 15 20
In-luencing others Applying subject understanding Oral presentations Self-awareness Articulation Stress tolerance Critical analysis Adaptability Prioritising Team work Creativity Ability to self manage Computer literacy Explaining
Graduate Attributes
Graduate Attributes
Question twelve asked the respondents to gauge the accuracy and applicability of Ramirezs’ (2012, p.2464) and Knight and Yorkes’ (Yorke & Knight, 2006, p.8) studies on graduate attributes. Respondants were not shown the origional graphs themselves nor told that the ranking was as per the original study. This graph has been further summarised and compared to interview responses in Table 9 on pg.105.
This feedback was very detailed and copious (see full transcript in Appendix J). The feedback has been divided into the thematic categories below. The blue number next to each point indicates how many times that point was repeated.
1. Adding more or better specialisation areas a. Business 8
i. Finance 1
ii. Managing costs 4 iii. Starting a business 4 iv. Tax implications 1
v. Bookkeeping 2
vi. Management structures 2 vii. Marketing training 6
viii. Outsourcing of manufacturing 3 ix. Local manufacturing processes 2
x. Small business methodologies 3 2. Less members per group 5
3. Lessons from previous R5K groups 2 4. Themed R5K projects between the class 1 5. Smaller, simpler projects 2
6. Introducing mentors to the R5K groups 5 7. Do not start businesses with friends 1
8. Only allow lecturers with enough industry experience to do the R5K project 5
Question thirteen asked respondents to give feedback about what they learned about themselves during the R5K project. As with question twelve the feedback has been broken down into themes of similar responses with a blue number indicating how often a similar response was given. (See Appendix K for full transcription)
1. Newly found managerial skills 7
2. I have what it takes to work for myself 4 3. Learned to start a product with little funds 1 4. Real world experience 10
5. Found my passion in design 4 6. Personal development
a. Detail orientated 3
b. Learned to trust in team work 9 c. Emotional development 3 d. Too controlling 2
e. Learning to speak up 2 f. Learned to trust others 1 g. Being independent 1 h. Being consistent 1