SE Capstone Project: Building Systems Engineering Education and Workforce Capacity

This publication acknowledges the original research conducted by the SERC research team and the contributions by the SERC sponsors, as well as the many faculty, students, and mentors who participated. From the Naval Postgraduate School: Dave Olwell, Clifford Whitcomb, Diana Angelis, Gary Langford, Gregory Miller, Ali Rodgers, Mark Stevens.This publication is based on research conducted by the SERC on Systems Engineering capstone courses. More details are available in the complete final report on this research, available at www.SERCuarc.org.Our world is overflowing with technology that constantly advances in complexity and interconnections. Global Positioning System (GPS), financial markets, mobile internet, air traffic control, social networking, credit/debit cards, and anti-lock brakes are only a few functions enabled by complex systems of systems. We depend on these systems with little or no conscious concern about their correct behavior. More important, the problems we face on a global scale will require the understanding of systems and solutions that are possibly more complex than we have ever imagined. Systems engineering is a multi-disciplinary practice that uses a holistic, systems approach to make sense of and manage the complexity of problems and solutions. Systems Engineering ensures that systems under development meet the needs of the stakeholders and that associated risks do not outweigh their benefits.Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC

Systems engineering education in an accredited undergraduate engineering program

Abstract: Developing countries are mostly reliant on external technologies and this augments the need for systems engineering capability in these economies. It is therefore imperative that systems engineering as theory and practice is included in undergraduate engineering curricula to strengthen the internal technological capability of a country’s developing engineers. In South Africa, the quality of undergraduate engineering programs is governed by the Engineering Council of South Africa (affiliated under the Washington Accord); and the exit level outcomes of the programs are predetermined explicitly per module. Systems engineering was introduced to an undergraduate electrical engineering program offered in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of Johannesburg; and a framework developed to ensure that the program still meets the requisite ECSA exit level outcomes and therefore international standards. This paper presents the design and implementation of the framework, as well as the challenges that students are exposed to when faced with real-world systems engineering practice. Students were grouped into independent product development teams using a software support tool which promotes diversity and skill-level targets for each team. The independent team structure required the use and application of the systems engineering process and supported the development of management and communication skills. Furthermore, the framework allowed assessment of the performance of each product development team towards achieving the overall project objectives. One of the accreditation requirements of undergraduate engineering programs is peer assessment and this was achieved by the process. The paper closes by presenting the results of the stated framework implementation in an undergraduate electrical engineering program offered in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of Johannesburg

Video and image systems engineering education for the 21st century

Includes bibliographical references.We are developing a new graduate program at Purdue in Video and Image Systems Engineering (VISE). The project is comprised of three parts: a new curriculum centered around a degree option in VISE to be earned as part of the Masters or Ph.D. degrees; a state-of-the-art lecture/laboratory facility for instruction, laboratory experiments, and project and homework activities in VISE courses; and enhancement of existing courses and development of new courses in the VISE area.Supported by an Image Systems Engineering Grant from Hewlett-Packard Company

A reverse order life cycle approach to enhance systems engineering education at undergraduate level

Abstract: The advances of Industry 4.0 lead the transition into the era of complex systems, requiring systems solutions for complex problems, increasing the interest in the development of systems engineers. However, traditional systems thinking may lose its effectiveness in this new context, which leads to a challenge in systems engineering education. This research aims to better prepare systems engineers of the future by addressing the disconnect which exist between systems engineering education at undergraduate level, and the real-life complex systems seen in society today though the implementation of a reverse order life cycle approach. By following the reverse order life cycle approach with a familiar electrical appliance, such as the electric kettle, in the classroom, undergraduate systems engineering students were able to gain the necessary insight and understanding regarding the dynamics of complex systems the underlying systems engineering concepts

A reverse order life cycle approach to enhance systems engineering education at undergraduate level

The advances of Industry 4.0 lead the transition into the era of complex systems, requiring systems solutions for complex problems, increasing the interest in the development of systems engineers. However, traditional systems thinking may lose its effectiveness in this new context, which leads to a challenge in systems engineering education. This research aims to better prepare systems engineers of the future by addressing the disconnect which exist between systems engineering education at undergraduate level, and the real-life complex systems seen in society today though the implementation of a reverse order life cycle approach. By following the reverse order life cycle approach with a familiar electrical appliance, such as the electric kettle, in the classroom, undergraduate systems engineering students were able to gain the necessary insight and understanding regarding the dynamics of complex systems the underlying systems engineering concepts.Institute for Science and Technology Education (ISTE

Model-Based Systems Engineering Education With CubeSat Education Kit HEPTA-Sat LITE

In this study, we propose education using the CubeSat system education kit HEPTA-Sat LITE in order to learn Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) practically. HEPTA-Sat LITE is a CubeSat system education kit that contains a satellite bus system including a microcomputer, battery, and sensor devices on a single 55mm x 55mm palm-sized board, and has an external power supply and communication interface, making it expandable and versatile. The kit has expansion boards such as a universal board and a breadboard, which can be connected to HEPTA-Sat LITE to easily install other devices. Therefore, participants can experience satellite system development from start to finish at their own hands. Before modeling the system, we thought it would be effective to learn the satellite system in a hands-on way, actually touching the physical components and raising the level of abstraction to functional and operational. Next, in understanding modeling, the HEPTA-Sat LITE system is learned by representing the system from three perspectives (operational, functional, and physical) and two aspects (static and dynamic), while maintaining consistency among the models so that numerous subsystems can be integrated over the life cycle of the system. Then, in order to incorporate the knowledge gained from the modeling study into the actual experience, participants will implement their own missions. The versatility and scalability of the HEPTA-Sat LITE system and its small size simplify the system design and implementation of missions, allowing the user to implement their mission in a short time

Development of sustainable energy systems: a new challenge for process systems engineering education

This paper presents the main features of the master-level programme in “EcoEnergy” offered as a full-time one year course at “Institut National Polytechnique of Toulouse” in order to provide engineers with a state-of-the-art education in the area of advanced energy technologies and systems. It is based on an original and equilibrated combination of process systems engineering and electrical engineering disciplines, with an interdisciplinary problem-solving approach necessary for identifying sustainable solutions in the energy sector. More precisely, the students learn how to design, develop and implement energy systems and technologies in various industrial sectors for which efficient management of energy issues is vital to remain competitive

Standing on ye shoulders of giants : promoting a social systems engineering education using ICE president addresses (1820 - 2014)

Given the paucity of engineering history presently taught on civil engineering programmes, the purpose of this paper is to promote the role of historical testimonies for the delivery of an enhanced, contemporary and social systems educational experience. Drawing on the addresses of the presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) (1820–2014) as a source of inspiration and motivation, civil engineering students (n=428) were required to select and read six inaugural addresses of former ICE presidents and use these as a catalyst for writing their own ‘ICE presidential address’ while keeping an eye forwards to the year 2050.The results reveal that the ICE presidential addresses help introduce undergraduates to the real and ‘human’ world of civil engineering and provide the students with a ‘social’, as opposed to a scientific, understanding of their profession. Exploring and exploiting the substantial depository of knowledge, values, wisdom and social context of ICE presidential addresses are both innovative and novel and worthy of adoption and adaptation by other academies seeking to prepare civil engineering undergraduates as global citizens