With the increasing profile of AI tools in all educational areas, the ability to design effective prompts has become essential for producing accurate and discipline-specific output for academic staff and students alike. This paper investigates possible synergies between the acquisition and practice of technical discourse and prompt engineering, focusing on how engineering students understand and apply prompt patterns in their generation of technical content. The study highlights the importance of prompt design in shaping the quality of AI-generated technical content and of incorporating prompt design practice in regular ESP education. The practical component consists of a qualitative survey investigating engineering students’ knowledge and use of prompt engineering strategies. Results reveal that while students frequently use AI tools, they generally lack the conceptual and procedural knowledge needed to generate precise, domain-relevant outputs. This gap leads to content that is often generic or misaligned with disciplinary standards. The paper calls for integrating prompt engineering into ESP-informed technical curricula to support more effective AI-assisted communication.