Modeling student success with students

Engineering education is a fairly new field of research and student success is in many aspects unexplored territory. Yet, student success is among the most researched topics in higher education. Several agencies have stressed the importance of engineering student success, because they found that there is a shortage of engineers in Europe and it is important that schools of engineering and technology will train more engineers for the labour force [1]. Research has yielded a lot of insight on factors that are related to student success. However, this research has not led to any major changes in student retention, neither in engineering nor in non-engineering subjects [2]. Most studies into student success are based exclusively on statistical analysis, e.g. [3, 4, 5]. In this project we intend to develop a situated model for student success. We include input from students in our research and we use this to enhance our understanding of students and their success and as input for our analysis. This paper is part of this ongoing research effort. In this paper we report on one of the research activities where we collected data from students on their perceptions of factors that contribute to their success. We invited first year students from different engineering programmes to workshops where we asked them which factors influence their success and how these factors are related, in the students' perceptions. We compare the student models with models based on survey data collected in the same university and in the same cohort. The aim of this comparison is to find out if students’ models correlate with models based on data analysis.Multi Actor SystemsTechnology, Policy and Managemen

Merging Standard CVD Techniques for GaAs and Si Epitaxial Growth

A commercial Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) system, the ASMI Epsilon 2000 designed for Si and SiGe epitaxy, has, for the first time, been equipped for the growth of GaAs compounds in a manner that does not exclude the use of the system also for Si-based depositions. With the new system, intrinsic, Si-doped and Ge-doped GaAs epitaxial layers with excellent quality have been grown on GaAs substrate wafers by the decomposition of trimethylgallium (TMGa) and AsH3 in the reactor at reduced pressure and at temperatures in the 600-700°C range. A low AsH3 concentration, 0.7 % in H2, is used as one of the precursors, which has the added advantage that the severe safety precautions always associated with MOCVD systems need not be implemented.Delft Institute of Microsystems and NanoelectronicsElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc

Values and beliefs on trainee selection: What counts in the eye of the selector? A qualitative study exploring the program director’s perspective

Objectives: Postgraduate trainee selection is a high-stakes process. While many studies focused on selection methods and psychometrics, little is known about the influence of selectors’ personal values and beliefs in the judgment and decision-making process. A better understanding of these factors is vital since selectors determine the future workforce. Methods: We interviewed programme directors (PDs) from 11 specialties in one University Hospital. Thematic analysis was conducted with a combined approach of generic and in-vivo coding. Results: PDs value excellence, ‘fit’ and personal characteristics. The content of these values are subject to personal interpretation and differ between PDs. PDs use various ‘proxies’ as alternative indicators of performance. They consider intuition, teamwork and autonomy important in judgement and decision-making. PDs find selection challenging and feel great accountability towards candidates and society. Conclusions: Selectors criteria of judgement- and decision-making often remain implicit and focus on prior achievements and ‘fit’ with the current trainee-pool, possibly compromising the workforce’s diversity. Implicit ‘proxies’ and intuitive decision-making may be an unwitting source of judgemental bias. ‘Making the implicit explicit’, by increasing awareness of personal values and beliefs and structuring the selection interview, may improve the quality of trainee selection.Science Education and Communicatio

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation