Designing training activities for a new PhD program in engineering education

This research paper for the practice of work-in-progress presents the training activities designed for students of a new PhD program in Engineering Education. These activities are based on the study of the training courses of five Engineering Education PhD programs, and on the literature concerning PhD training challenges. A set of competencies to be acquired is first defined; then the training activities are designed by means of a SPOOC (Self-Paced Open Online Course) in order to guide the acquisition of these competencies. The SPOOC is currently under design, taking an initial cohort of 9 students as an experimental group.Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de QualitatPostprint (author's final draft

Online and Blended Labs for Practical Mechanical Engineering

Lab training is a key element in most engineering education programs in preparation for engineering profession tasks. Universities worldwide are exploring new possibilities and different forms to arrange online and blended labs as an alternative to pure campus training. This study compares online and blended lab setups in four cases of engineering education at European technical universities. The results show that online and blended labs can achieve similar learning outcomes, with blended labs being particularly effective in combining online learning with hands-on elements. Students reported high levels of satisfaction and teachers noted the benefits of online learning environments, but common challenges included ensuring student engagement, increased self-regulation requirements, and the high effort needed to design online or blended environments. The study provides course design guidelines and discusses implications for future research and implementation in universities worldwide

Multi-criteria decision techniques in civil engineering education. Comparative study applied to the sustainability of structures

[EN] Traditionally, technical degrees have focused on promoting the functionality and durability of designs, orienting the capacities of their students towards the optimization of economic aspects. The challenges that have recently emerged regarding the future of the construction sector and new cities require a paradigm shift in the conventional teaching of civil engineering and architecture. New training trends have been detected in higher education programs through the introduction of new concepts, such as sustainable design. According to UNESCO, "Education for Sustainable Development promotes competencies like critical thinking, and making decisions in a collaborative way". In the postgraduate course "Models of prediction and optimization of concrete structures", taught in the Master of Concrete Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, students are instructed in research methodologies that allow the evaluation of sustainability through different multi-criteria decision techniques in the selection of the best structural typology considering economic, environmental and social aspects. In this paper, a comparative study is made and the application of the different tools taught in the course for the decision making with multiple criteria, namely SAW, COPRAS, TOPSIS, VIKOR, ELECTRE, MIVES as well as AHP for the weightings. The assess offers a transversal vision, with the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of these multi-criteria techniques that are commonly used in the field of sustainability, applied in this case between three design alternatives for the structure of a single-family home.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, which was co-financed with FEDER funds (Project: BIA2017-85098-R)Yepes, V.; Sánchez-Garrido, AJ.; Navarro, IJ. (2021). Multi-criteria decision techniques in civil engineering education. Comparative study applied to the sustainability of structures. IATED Academy. 2564-2573. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2021.0547S2564257

Preparing Students to Solve Challenges Related to a Changing Climate

The National Academy of Engineering has identified restoring and improving urban infrastructure as one of the grand challenges for engineering. Urban coastal communities are particularly at risk as their infrastructure is experiencing frequent inundation related to climate change impacts. Rising sea levels in coastal communities create backflow into stormwater systems and deplete capacity. In addition, the increase in rainfall intensity, duration, and frequency related to climate change create additional challenges for aging infrastructure systems. To prepare students to solve these challenges, the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and Civil Engineering Technology (CET) programs at Old Dominion University (ODU) are introducing a new minor titled Engineering Solutions for Climate Adaptation and Resilience. This minor ensures that graduates understand how climate is changing, how it will impact society, and what solutions can be adopted to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The minor will incorporate two new classes, Managing the Climate Crisis, which will provide an understanding of climate science, the impacts, the associated hazards, and what solutions can be adopted to mitigate the impacts of climate change, and Adaptation to Sea Level Rise, which will explore solutions at the community and individual property scale to mitigate stormwater impacts related to climate change. The approach balances theory with practical engineering and technology solutions which can be adopted to mitigate the impacts of climate change related to stormwater in coastal communities. The minor is supported by existing courses in both curriculums related to sustainability, pollution prevention and green engineering, hydrology and hydraulics, and coastal engineering. This paper describes the need for the minor, the minor requirements, the methodology for establishing what coursework the minor requires, and the minor\u27s availability to students. Furthermore, the learning objectives and course outlines for the two proposed courses that will be developed to support the minor will be thoroughly discussed. The new minor is part of a broader research, engagement, and education initiative at ODU to support adaptation and resilience for coastal communities

Innovation within Education: Teaching and Scaling Engineering Design

This proposal is for the course: Innovation within Education: Teaching and Scaling Engineering Design, which is the tentative name. It is for student Nicholas Okafor, with approval to work under Dr. Lynnea Brumbaugh, professor of technical writing within the McKelvey School of Engineering. This course is being proposed out of the desire to extend the learning objectives gained during Okafor’s period in Technical Writing, and to fill a void in the offerings within the Department of Mechanical Engineering. This course will give an analytical critique to the role engineering design plays in our current education system, while creating strategies and programs to effectively scale initiatives that each this subject for underserved populations. This course will use the organization Studio: TESLA as a model for the successful implementation of engineering design instruction at the middle school level, while providing an avenue to envision wide-scale distribution of this material. Studio: TESLA is an organization that mobilizes college students to facilitate after-school clubs that build STEAM literacies (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) and critical thinking capacity through hands-on challenges that guide youth through the engineering design process to spark innovative thinking. Rooted in core concepts like design thinking, Studio: TESLA is able to empower those scholars to boost their problem solving skills by continually creating solutions for problems presented during the studio. Similar to the course The Hatchery: Business Planning for New Ventures (based in the Olin Business School and the Brown School), this course also aims to connect the workings of the School of Engineering with that of innovation and entrepreneurship, so this course will be directly tied to the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and will include successful completion of their Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition. As The Hatchery has been a course lauded by business students, I am hoping to gain similar experiences by going through the SEIC competition, while still remaining rooted researching the engineering design process as the focal point for my independent study. By using these two resources, I will be able to engage directly into understanding the role entrepreneurship plays in our society, while effectively creating my own business in the process. A portion of this course will be devoted to attending the lectures of the WashU Start-Up Training Lab, while also utilizing the consultation of the Law School’s services to create and sustain nonprofits. Through this independent study, I would have the opportunity to theorize about the role of STEAM and design thinking, build entrepreneurial skills, and set up and sustain my own social venture

Engineering programs for engineers: a global higher education perspective

New demands for engineering education are taking place due to the deep transformations that the world is facing. The way to overcome the constant mutation and challenges that engineers have to face professional programs are dimensioned in accordance with the knowledge and practice that are necessary for the group of professional engineers. These are the customized courses. Students make the requirements and the program is designed to fit their needs. Briefly, classes are in classroom with technical visits to different organizations and the content is available on line. The amount of work comprises the amount of hours that are necessary to accomplish the program focusing in the main goal, which is to have a certified course of specialists in a certain field of expertise. The proposed program is an investment that guarantees return by the strategic vision for a successful performance, the higher management capacity and growth of intellectual capital

Embedded Librarians in the Classroom: A Case Study at HKUST Library

The introduction of new 4-year undergraduate program has unprecedented impacts on the curriculum design, pedagogies and student learning styles for higher education institutions in Hong Kong. In order to prepare for this challenging reform, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has strategically redeveloped its undergraduate curriculum. The new curriculum also emphasizes the student-centric approach, with new teaching initiatives to enhance students learning and personal development. Apart from equipping students with sound knowledge in specialized subject areas, graduates are also expected to develop high-level, transferable competencies including critical thinking, leadership, teamwork and information literacy. For many years, the Library has been offering information literacy instructions in all means through orientation programs, course-related classes, credit-bearing information literacy course, database workshops and web-based tutorials. To support the new pedagogical reforms, the Library must be proactive in promoting ourselves to faculty and students as their partners in teaching, learning and research. The librarians must also recognize users’ information needs and behaviors in order to deliver effective, relevant and creative services. In spring, 2011, two reference librarians were invited to join a newly developed engineering course; worked closely with undergraduate students and faculty on solutions to real world challenges throughout the semester. It was the first time HKUST librarians embedded in a course. This collaboration not only strengthened our relationship with faculty and students, it also helped us better understand the learning and information-seeking behaviors of our young generations, and gave us directions on what and how to support student learning in the future. This paper chronicles the faculty-librarian collaboration; follows by the discussion of emerging opportunities and challenges for embedded librarianship in one of the signature courses at the HKUST

Multidisciplinary Approaches: A Management Core for Applied Managment and Decision Science

The new management core curriculum was launched at South Dakota State University in 2012 designed for programs at the institution affiliated with decision sciences, applied management and economics. A task force of business and industry leaders working with faculty developed a set of key competencies for graduates from management-related programs. Based on those competencies, an ad hoc group of multidisciplinary faculty in the Colleges of Engineering, Agriculture and Biological Sciences, Education and Human Sciences, and Arts and Sciences designated a four-course sequence named the Management Core to address key elements of the competencies. The undergraduate Operations Management program, housed in the College of Engineering, is preparing for accreditation under ABET – Applied Sciences Accreditation Commission (ASAC) and has adopted the management core. The competencies developed by the external task force are reflected in the program educational outcomes. Department faculty accomplishes data collection on student outcomes and continuous improvement. Our challenge has been in working with departments in other colleges to design and execute an assessment plan for the courses in the Core that will meet divergent accreditation requirements. Philosophical differences on assessment, concerns about additional work to collect and organize outcome data, and faculty governance have been points of departure. To address these issues, a multidisciplinary Division of Economics and Management was formed which includes a Faculty Advisory Committee empowered to develop a framework for cross-disciplinary collaboration in course delivery and assessment. In recent weeks, engineering faculty have conducted workshops on outcome assessment and continuous improvement based on the ABET model for faculty in other colleges. This has produced better understanding of the assessment process and the value in well-designed outcome measures. This paper provides insight on the challenges and rewards of multidisciplinary curriculum development framed against ABET-ASAC accreditation requirements

New Engineers’ First Three Months: A Study of the Transition from Capstone Design Courses to Workplaces

In preparing engineering students for the workplace, capstone classes provide unique opportunities for students to develop their professional identities and learn critical skills such as engineering design, teamwork, and self-directed learning (Lutz & Paretti). While existing research explores what and how students learn within these courses, we know much less about how capstone courses affect students’ transitions into the workplace. To address this gap, we are following 62 new graduates from four institutions during the participants’ first 12 weeks of work. Participants were drawn from three mechanical engineering programs and one engineering science program. Women were intentionally oversampled in the study, with 29 participants (47%) identifying as female. Weekly surveys were used to collect quantitative data on what types of workplace activities participants engaged in (e.g., team meetings, project budgeting, CAD modeling, engineering calculations) and qualitative data on what challenges they experience in their early work experience. In this paper, we present a descriptive analysis of the data to identify patterns across participants. Preliminary analysis of the quantitative data suggests that the most common activities for our participants were team meetings and project planning (mentioned by \u3e70% of participants) compared to formal presentations and project budgeting (mentioned by The results are intended to inform both capstone faculty and industry to identify areas of strength and improvement. Our recommendations target current practices in capstone education including course design and structure as well as industry onboarding practices

IT Systems Development: An IS Curricula Course that Combines Best Practices of Project Management and Software Engineering

Software Engineering in IS Curricula Software engineering course is taught to higher education students majoring in Computer Science (CS), Computer Engineering (CE), and Software Engineering (SE). Software engineering course is also taught in other disciplines, either as a mandatory or as an elective course, such as Information Systems (IS). IS is a broader field than CS and includes parts of CS. IS fie ld could be described as an interdisplinary field that studies the design and use of information systems in a social context. As noted in IS2002 model curricula (Gorgone et al., 2002) , IS as a fie ld of academic study exists under a variety of at least thirteen (13) different curricula, including Information Systems, Management Information Systems, Computer Information Systems, Information Management, Business Information Systems, Informatics, Information Resources Management, Information Technology, Information Technology Systems, Information Technology Resources Management, Accounting Information Systems, Information Science, and Information and Quantitative Science. The author\u27s early experience was that teaching IS students a software engineering course in the same way as CS students was not successful. This is mainly because IS students have significantly less background in programming than CS students. This experience encouraged him to accommodate topics on project management and SE best practices lab using Rational Suite Enterprise (Rational Suite Enterprise, 2008). This new approach was relevant to IS curricula and with accordance with IS2002.10 project management and practice course guidelines. Hilburn, Bagert, Mengel, & Oexmann (2008) proposed that several computing associations including the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), the IEEE Computer Society (IEEECS), and the Computer Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB) have provided encouragement, support, and guidance in developing quality curricula that are viable and dynamic. However, most computing programs still devote little time to software life cycle development, software processes, quality issues, team skills, and other areas of software engineering essentials to effective commercial software development. Hence, new graduates know little about what are best practices in software engineering profession (e.g., practices related to use of software processes, team building, front-end development). Therefore, it is the role of faculty members teaching such courses to redesign and implement curricula that focus on practice of software engineering, and other related issues. This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 presents arguments for the alternative approach. Section 3 presents IS2002.10 course specifications. Section 4 presents IS software engineering body of knowledge. Section 5 presents the project component, Section 6 presents a mapping from IS2002.10 course specification onto the IS software engineering course. Section 7 presents evaluation of the proposed approach. Finally, conclusions are presented in Section 8. Why IT Systems Development Course? We have taught the IT Systems Development course to IS students for seven years, and we believe we hit upon an approach that works. Instead of trying to instruct students in theory of various techniques, we teach them what we believe of as software development. From the management side IS students are expected to deal with non-technical challenges arising from project situations, including understand project domain and requirements, how to be a team player, how to schedule work between team members, and how to cope with time pressures and hard deadlines. As indicated by (Weaver, 2004), students often have limited experience in projects management. They do not appreciate the need for planning and take more time than anticipated to complete tasks. We have developed the creation of a set of guidelines for accommodating topics on project management to help students deal with non-technical issues of software development.