SUSTAINING CURRICULUM INNOVATION: THE DIPLOMA IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE

ABSTRACT Curriculum innovation can be a long and challenging process in which a variety of conflicting interests and constraints have to be thoughtfully negotiated and addressed. It may take a number of years before the beneficial results of the desired curriculum change become evident. Adopting the CDIO Engineering Education Framework proved to be no exception. This paper details a major curriculum innovation for the Diploma in Chemical Engineering at Singapore Polytechnic in its journey to integrate CDIO into the three-year course program. The entire course structure of the chemical engineering curriculum was completely revamped to include systematic teaching of skills in conceiving, designing, implementing and operating as well as other selected CDIO skills, such as Interpersonal Skills (teamwork and communication), Personal and Professional Skills and Attributes, etc. This was achieved through a combination of structural curriculum changes, including introduction of new modules, integration and removal of existing modules. The outcome is a more efficient and integrated curriculum format that clearly incorporates appropriate learning outcomes for both technical content areas and CDIO skills. Using the principles of an aligned curriculum, we identified the most appropriate pedagogic approaches to meet these learning outcomes, wherever appropriate, through an active and experiential learning context. This involved a careful analysis of module content and the learning opportunities they offered, and infusing CDIO skills that would naturally support the learning of technical subject content. The curriculum development planning cycle was completed through establishment of an assessment approach calibrated to the learning outcomes. The paper firstly outlines the key phases of the CDIO implementation. This is followed by a detailed discussion of our sustained approach to infuse various CDIO skills into laboratory sessions of selected core chemical engineering modules. The final section presents main findings from a wide range of evaluation data collected over the past 2 years, identifies the significant learning experiences as well as the planned action for sustaining and enhancing the success of the innovation in future

The CDIO Syllabus 3.0 - An Updated Statement of Goals

The CDIO Initiative is going through a process of reconsidering and updating the CDIO approach for engineering education development. Previous work resulted in substantial updates of the twelve CDIO standards and the introduction of “optional” CDIO standards. This paper reports on a similar review and update of the CDIO Syllabus to version 3.0. It has been developed by a working group consisting of four sub-groups and iterated and refined guided by feedback from the whole CDIO community. There are mainly three external drivers that motivate the changes: sustainability, digitalization, and acceleration. There is also an internal driver in the form of lessons learned within the CDIO community, from using the Syllabus in curriculum and course development. Approximately 70 updates are proposed, amongst them three additions on the X.X level, namely 1.4 Knowledge of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3.1 Teamwork and Collaboration, and 5.3 Research

The CDIO Syllabus 3.0 - An Updated Statement of Goals

The CDIO Initiative is going through a process of reconsidering and updating the CDIO approach for engineering education development. Previous work resulted in substantial updates of the twelve CDIO standards and the introduction of “optional” CDIO standards. This paper reports on a similar review and update of the CDIO Syllabus to version 3.0. It has been developed by a working group consisting of four sub-groups and iterated and refined guided by feedback from the whole CDIO community. There are mainly three external drivers that motivate the changes: sustainability, digitalization, and acceleration. There is also an internal driver in the form of lessons learned within the CDIO community, from using the Syllabus in curriculum and course development. Approximately 70 updates are proposed, amongst them three additions on the X.X level, namely 1.4 Knowledge of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3.1 Teamwork and Collaboration, and 5.3 Research

CHEMICAL PRODUCT DESIGN AS FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION AS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

ABSTRACT This paper shares the experience of the Diploma in Chemical Engineering (DCHE) of Singapore Polytechnic (SP) in using chemical product design which was integrated into all 3 years of its curriculum, to achieve the CDIO goal of "Conceive -Design -ImplementOperate complex value-added engineering systems in a modern team-based engineering environment to create systems and products". In particular it focuses on the Year 2 module Chemical Product Design and Development which serves an important role as a "bridge" that connects together the initial product conceptualization in year 1 until its eventual realization in year 3 Final Year Projects (FYPs), i.e. capstone project. The paper first briefly introduces the DCHE model of Education for Sustainable Development that is built on chemical product design. It explains the emergence of chemical product design in chemical engineering education and the increasing importance of including sustainability principles in product design and development. It explains how a key concept of in product lifecycle analysis (cradle-to-cradle design); and a key competency (systems thinking) are integrated into the module Chemical Product Design and Development. The integration of product and process design is also covered in the module. The paper then describes 3 case studies of sustainable development themed projects to illustrate various works related to sustainable development in realizing the CDIO learning outcomes: (1) Floatable toilet system in Cambodia, (2) Rainwater harvesting system in Nepal, and (3) Herbal soap production in India. Following this, the paper shares 3 key challenges faced in our teaching of this module: (1) Prototyping chemical products, (2) Encouraging students to extend their work done into capstone projects; and (3) Integrating process and product designs as one holistic project for our students. Lastly, it outlines broad areas where we can continue to improve the teaching of this module. KEYWORDS Sustainability, chemical engineering, chemical product design, CDIO Standards 3, 5 and 7, systems thinking, social responsibility NOTE: Singapore Polytechnic uses the word "courses" to describe its education "programs". A "course" in the Diploma in Chemical Engineering consists of many subjects that are termed "modules"; which in the universities contexts are often called "courses"

CHEMICAL PRODUCT ENGINEERING USING CDIO ENHANCED WITH DESIGN THINKING

ABSTRACT The Diploma in Chemical Engineering (DCHE) of Singapore Polytechnic (SP) adopted the CDIO framework as the basis for its curriculum since 2007. In an earlier paper (presented at the 6 th International CDIO Conference in 2010), the authors shared on the inclusion of a module Product Design and Development in Year 2 of the DCHE curriculum as a response to the emergence of chemical product engineering in the chemical engineering discipline. This present paper is an update of work done since then. It briefly explains what design thinking (DT) is, and how it fits into the CDIO framework. It then explains the coverage of the new module Introduction to Chemical Product Design and how we customized the teaching of DT to meet the needs of chemical engineering. It shares the general outline of the syllabus and how it guides our approach in designing the various learning tasks in an integrated curriculum, including the use of reverse engineering. It shares how we integrate the new module with existing modules Product Design and Development and Final Year Project to provide a seamless coverage of C-D-I-O skills across the diploma's 3-year curriculum; as well as important revisions made to the original Product Design and Development module. The paper then discusses some challenges faced by the team and some approaches that we have taken to overcome these difficulties. Lastly, we shares some learning points from this initiative, which at the time of this submission, had just completed its first pilot run. Ideas for furthering improving the teaching of this exciting subject in chemical engineering will also be presented. (NOTE: Singapore Polytechnic uses the word "course" to describe its education "programs". A "course" in the Diploma in Chemical Engineering consists of many subjects that are termed "modules"; which in the universities contexts are often called "courses".

CURRICULUM INTEGRATION: TWINNING OF A CORE CHEMICAL ENGINEERING MODULE WITH A TEAMWORK & COMMUNICATION MODULE

ABSTRACT Teaching in the Diploma in Chemical Engineerin

The CDIO Syllabus 3.0 - An Updated Statement of Goals

The CDIO Initiative is going through a process of reconsidering and updating the CDIO approach for engineering education development. Previous work resulted in substantial updates of the twelve CDIO standards and the introduction of "optionel" standards. This paper reports on a similar review and update of the CDIO Syllabus to version 3.0. It has been developed by a working group consisting of four sub-groups and iterated and refined guidedby feedback from the whole CDIO community. There are mainly three external drivers that motivate the changes: sustainability, digitalization, and acceleration. There is also an internal driver in the form of lessons learned within the CDIO community, from using the Syllabus in curriculum and course development. Approximately 70 updates are proposed, amongst them three additions on the X.X level, namely 1.4 Knowledge of Social Sciences and Humanities,3.1 Teamwork and Collaboration, and 5.3 Research

The CDIO Syllabus 3.0 - An Updated Statement of Goals

The CDIO Initiative is going through a process of reconsidering and updating the CDIO approach for engineering education development. Previous work resulted in substantial updates of the twelve CDIO standards and the introduction of "optionel" standards. This paper reports on a similar review and update of the CDIO Syllabus to version 3.0. It has been developed by a working group consisting of four sub-groups and iterated and refined guidedby feedback from the whole CDIO community. There are mainly three external drivers that motivate the changes: sustainability, digitalization, and acceleration. There is also an internal driver in the form of lessons learned within the CDIO community, from using the Syllabus in curriculum and course development. Approximately 70 updates are proposed, amongst them three additions on the X.X level, namely 1.4 Knowledge of Social Sciences and Humanities,3.1 Teamwork and Collaboration, and 5.3 Research