First International & Fourth National Conference on Engineering Education Shiraz University, 10-12 November 2015 Abstract— Engineering educators are under increasing pressure to provide university students with learning experiences that prepare them for the work after graduation. To understand how educational design can close the gap between engineering education and industry, we need to understand learners’ professional identity practices. In particular, how these practices are shaped by the design of learning materials, learning spaces and learning events. Previous research provides little insight into such relations. We address this gap in two ways. First we propose a new concept of implied identity. Second, we illustrate and discuss implications of the proposed conceptualization of professional identity by drawing on a set of interviews conducted with engineering students in an Australian university with the aim of investigating their perceptions of engineering and unfolding aspects of their professional beliefs in relation to their experiences at two universities and industry. I. INTRODUCTION NGINEERING education has been framed as the development of students’ professional identity by many educators and scholars in recent years [1] [2]. Preparing learners for requirements of workplace engineering practices is at the core of this perspective. While universities are expected to prepare students to become professional engineers, little is known on how to facilitate this learning process and close the gap between university formal education and what learners face after graduation. To understand how we can close this gap, we need to unpack a) the process of learners’ professional identity development in higher education and b) how this process relates to educational design. In other words, we need to Maryam Khosronejad is a PhD candidate at the Center for Research on Computer Supported Learning and Cognition, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Australia (e-mail: maryam.khosronejad@sydney.edu.au). Peter Reimann is a Professor in Education at the Center for Research on Computer Supported Learning and Cognition, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Australia (e-mail: peter.reimann@sydney.edu.au). Lina Markauskaite is a senior lecturer at the Center for Research on Computer Supported Learning and Cognition, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Australia (e-mail: lina.markauskaite@sydney.edu.au). investigate if and how the design of learning materials, learning environments and learning events can influence the process. A broad review of literature on professional identity development in higher education [3], illustrates a lack of a focused discussion that uncovers and explains such relations. Even more importantly, there is need to define more precisely what the term of professional identity means and to discuss its possible implications for higher education learning, teaching and assessment. In the following we propose a new conceptualization of professional identity and illustrate how it could be used in studies of professional identity development in higher education. II. PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATIONAL DESIGN We use the term, professional identity, to refer to one’s sense of belonging to a community of a profession due to positioning practices in relation to a profession including self- positioning and being positioned by others. Positioning theory is a theoretical framework from discursive psychology background that looks at how people position themselves and others in conversation [4]. “While positioning theory is more concerned with how people position themselves and others in a conversation and offers ways of looking at conversation to uncover different aspects of positioning, we suggest looking at educational designs as resources of positioning and professional identity among many different identity resources surrounding learners, including readings, learning spaces and conversations.” [5] Furthermore, we apply the term implied identity to refer to aspects of professional identity suggested to learners in their experiences of learning situations [5][6]. We further distinguish implied, perceived, identities with intended identities. “We use the term intended to refer to all identity aspects that are either purposefully or implicitly included into the course design work by educators” [5]. Example of aspects of engineering identity often purposefully intended by engineering educators are the ability to design and conduct experiments and the ability to exercise critical decision making. While aspects of the professional identity Close the gap: How can design of learning environments shape engineering students' professional identity and prepare them for workplace? Khosronejad M., Reimann P., and Markauskaite L. E