The National Academy for Engineering announced 14 Grand Challenges for the 21st Century engineers to address in order to ensure a sustainable future for the generations to come. These grand challenges are in four broad areas, namely, energy and environment, health, security and learning and computation. This paper reports on a Grand Challenges Scholars’ Programme that is developed to prepare the engineering students to be able to address the grand challenges using the CDIO framework and focusing on five components; research experience, interdisciplinary curriculum, entrepreneurship, global dimension and service learning. The programme is voluntary and the candidates are expected to commit additional learning time. The programme was launched with 16 participants who are expected to graduate in 2016. A preliminary assessment of the programs shows that the participants found the programme useful in developing an array of CDIO skills. The School intends to continue offering this programme with the intention of integrating it with a holistic education approach

DOUGLAS TONG KUM TIEN

MUSHTAK AL-ATABI

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Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Special Issue on Engineering Education April (2013) 80 - 86 © School of Engineering, Taylor’s University    80 A BLUEPRINT FOR IMPLEMENTING GRAND                     CHALLENGE SCHOLARS’ PROGRAMME:                                             A CASE STUDY OF TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY MUSHTAK AL-ATABI, DOUGLAS TONG KUM TIEN* School of Engineering, Taylor’s University, No. 1 Jalan Taylor’s 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor DE, Malaysia *Corresponding Author: DouglasKumTien.Tong@taylors.edu.my           Abstract The National Academy for Engineering announced 14 Grand Challenges for the 21st Century engineers to address in order to ensure a sustainable future for the generations to come. These grand challenges are in four broad areas, namely, energy  and  environment,  health,  security  and  learning  and  computation.  This paper reports on a Grand Challenges Scholars’ Programme that is developed to prepare the engineering students to be able to address the grand challenges using the  CDIO  framework  and  focusing  on  five  components;  research  experience, interdisciplinary  curriculum,  entrepreneurship,  global  dimension  and  service learning. The programme is voluntary and the candidates are expected to commit additional learning time. The programme was launched with 16 participants who are  expected  to  graduate  in  2016.  A  preliminary  assessment  of  the  programs shows that the participants found the programme useful in developing an array of CDIO skills. The School intends to continue offering this programme with the intention of integrating it with a holistic education approach. Keywords: Grand Challenges for Engineering, CDIO syllabus, National Academy                     for Engineering.    1.   Introduction Engineering  education  has  been  responding  to  the  needs  of  the  society  and industry throughout the past century. Engineering professional and accreditation bodies  embraced  the  increasing  set  of  skills  and  competencies  that  employers required in graduate engineers such as communication skills, teamwork and other A Blueprint for Implementing Grand Challenge Scholars’ Programme     81    Journal of Engineering Science and Technology                Special Issue 4/2013  technical and non-technical skills through the establishment of outcome based education  (OBE)  standards.  International  agreements  such  as  the  Washington Accord  are  signed  to  ensure  the  equivalency  of  the  standards  of  engineering education across the national borders. The globalised marketplace and the global challenges such as climate change, security and economic growth set the scene to an emerging global competence that is expected from engineers [1]. With that in mind in 2009, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) identified 14 Grand Challenges that need to be addressed by engineers for the humanity to make it sustainably into the next century. These Grand Challenges are listed below [2]. Energy and Environment 1.  Make solar energy economical 2.  Provide energy from fusion 3.  Develop methods for carbon sequestration 4.  Manage the nitrogen cycle 5.  Provide access to clean water  Health 6.  Advance health informatics 7.  Engineer better medicines  Security 8.  Prevent nuclear terror 9.  Secure cyberspace 10.  Restore urban infrastructure  Learning and Computation 11.  Reverse engineer the brain 12.  Enhance virtual reality 13.  Advance personalised learning 14.  Engineer the tools of scientific discovery  Academic institutions, mainly in North America, responded by creating Grand Challenges  Scholars’  Programmes  aimed  at  preparing  students  to  address  the grand challenges [2]. A Grand Challenges Scholars’ Programme (GCSP) has five main  components;  research  experience,  interdisciplinary  curriculum, entrepreneurship,  global  dimension  and  service  learning.  These  elements  are aimed at providing global awareness and extra edge for the students in order to equip them with the skills necessary to be ready to contribute towards addressing these challenges.  The alignment between the Grand Challenges Scholars’ Programme (GCSP) components and the CDIO syllabus and framework [3] is clear and riding on the synergy between the two to provide an enhanced students’ experience seems to be logical. A proposed mapping of the CDIO syllabus to the GCSP components is provided in Table 1. This paper reports on Taylor’s Grand Challenges Scholars’ Programme (TGCSP) that is developed using the CDIO framework.  82       M.  Al-Atabi and D. Tong                             Journal of Engineering Science and Technology                Special Issue 4/2013  Table 1. Mapping of CDIO Syllabus to GCSP Components.  GCSP Components Project or Research Interdisciplinary Curriculum Entrepreneurship Global Dimension Service Learning Technical  Knowledge of Underlying Mathematics, Science  ✓  ✓       Core Engineering Fundamental Knowledge  ✓  ✓       Advanced Eng. Fundamental Knowledge, Methods, Tools  ✓  ✓       Personal Analytical Reasoning and Problem Solving  ✓  ✓       Experimentation, Investigation and Knowledge Discovery  ✓         System Thinking    ✓       Attitudes, Thought and Learning        ✓   Ethics, Equity and Other Responsibilities        ✓  ✓ Inter-Personal  Teamwork  ✓         Communications  ✓         Communication in Foreign Languages    ✓    ✓   CDIO External, Societal and Environmental Context        ✓  ✓ Enterprise and Business Context    ✓  ✓     Conceiving, Systems Engineering and Management  ✓  ✓       Designing  ✓         Implementing  ✓         Operating  ✓          2.   Taylor’s Grand Challenges Scholars’ Programme (TGCSP) The School of Engineering at Taylor's University joined the Grand Challenges initiative in 2011. The school developed “Taylor’s Grand Challenges Scholars’ Programme” to educate a diverse cohort of students preparing them for a leading role in addressing the grand challenges at both local and global levels. Besides the outcomes  and  objectives  of  the  programmes  that  they  are  enrolled  in,  Grand Challenges Scholars are expected to achieve additional objectives and outcomes that are related to the Grand Challenges. These are outlined below.  2.1.  Programme Educational Objectives The Grand Challenges Scholars are expected to achieve the following within 5 years of their graduation from the 4 year programme. 1. Play  a  key  role  in  Conceiving,  Designing,  Implementing  and  Operating sustainable  and  innovative  solutions  for  basic  human  needs,  laying  the foundation for a sustainable society.  2. Add value through developing new entrepreneurial opportunities. 3. Revolutionise human interactions, promoting understanding and collaboration. 4. Employ technology to serve the global society  A Blueprint for Implementing Grand Challenge Scholars’ Programme     83    Journal of Engineering Science and Technology                Special Issue 4/2013  5. Use systems thinking effectively to provide innovative solutions taken into account the unintended consequences.  2.2.  Programme Outcomes Upon  completion  of  the  Engineering  programme,  a  successful  Grand Challenges Scholar will be able to  1.  Use engineering, innovation, business and management skills to develop sustainable solutions addressing the Grand Challenges.  2. Conduct research activities related to the Grand Challenges 3. Successfully manage events and projects (including social services) ensuring the achievement of the requirements and the satisfaction of stakeholders. 4. Effectively lead and motivate teams and manage conflict.  5. Lobby for new concepts, rally support of different stakeholders and raise funds. 6. Communicate ideas and concepts effectively in verbal, written, and visual format both to groups and individuals.   2.3.  Programme Structure The Grand Challenges Scholars will undertake a well-structured and systematic programme that will allow them to acquire and develop the skills required to address the Grand Challenges. The programme structure is shown in Table 2. Table 2. Taylor’s Graduate Scholars’ Programme (TGCSP) Structure. Code  Module Name  Credits  Semester  Status ENG1513  Engineering Design & Communication  3  1  Core TGCSP01  Engineering for the Grand Challenges  1  1  TGCSP Elective ENG1523  Engineering Design and Ergonomics  3  2  Core TGCSP02  Communication for Impact  1  2  TGCSP Elective ENG2513  Multidisciplinary Engineering Design  3  3  Core TGCSP03  Managing Events  1  3  TGCSP Elective ENG2413  Managing Projects for Success  3  4  Core ENG2523  Engineering Design and Innovation  3  4  Core TGCSP04  Engineering and Community  1  4  TGCSP Elective ENG3913  Engineering Group Project 1  3  5  Core TGCSP05  Technopreneurship 1  1  5  TGCSP Elective ENG3923  Engineering Group Project 2  3  6  Core TGCSP06  Business Skills for Engineers  3  6  Core TGCSP07  Technopreneurship 2  1  6  TGCSP Elective ENG3815  Industrial Training  5    Core ENG4916  Final Year Engineering Project 1  6  7  Core ENG4613  Globalisation, Innovation & Creativity  3  7  General Elective TGCSP08  Engineering Leadership 1  1  7  TGCSP Elective ENG4926  Final Year Engineering Project 2  6  8  Core TGCSP09  Engineering Leadership 2  1  8  TGCSP Elective 84       M.  Al-Atabi and D. Tong                             Journal of Engineering Science and Technology                Special Issue 4/2013  2.4.  Selection Criteria To qualify for the TGCSP, a candidate should apply in writing and be 1.  Engineering student in good standing.  2.  Committed to engineering of the Grand Challenges. 3.  Passionate about positively contributing towards social and global issues. 2.5.  Programme Content For  the  first  semester  of  this  programme,  students  took  two  modules, “Engineering Design & Communication” which is a core module taken by all the engineering  students  and  “Engineering  for  the  Grand  Challenges”  which  is specific to the Grand Challenges scholars. The objective of the first semester is to develop understanding, awareness and Grand Challenges focus and the students were involved in a variety of activities including talks, workshops, design and build activities and team building and discussion sessions related to the Grand Challenges.  They  were  required  to  develop  a  personal  mission  statement  and personal Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis and maintain  a  portfolio  to  track  the  development  of  the  achievement  of  the programme outcomes. For the design activity, the students were required to work in a group to design and  build  a  remotely  operated  model  solar  boat.  Working  within  the  design requirements and limitations, the students develop a boat that needs to perform a certain set of manoeuvres in a lake.   The TGCSP participants developed a website for the programme as well as a logo [4]. This is to ensure that the programme has its own identity and character.  3.  Preliminary Assessment of the Programme To  assess  the  effectiveness  of  the  Grand  Challenges  Scholars’  programme  in developing CDIO skills, the students were requested to complete a survey. The survey is outlined in Table 3 and it was designed to assess the development of CDIO skills as perceived by the students. The respondents were required to indicate their response on a 5-point Likert scale with 1 denoting strong disagreement and 5 representing strong agreement. Table 3 also shows the number of respondents who opted to select each of the different points on the scale.  4.  Results and Discussion Although the Grand Challenges Scholars’ Programme at Taylor’s (TGCSP) is still in its infancy, there are numerous signals that indicate its success. Thirteen out of the sixteen participant responded to the survey and their responses were generally very positive. There seems to be an overwhelming agreement on the willingness to  continue  with  the  programme  and  recommending  it  to  the  juniors.  To  the delight of the author, the participants did not seem to perceive their involvement at TGCSP as time consuming. The  top  3  areas  of  development  (with  the  highest  number  of  participants agreeing or strongly agreeing- 4 and 5 on the Likert scale) seem to be knowledge A Blueprint for Implementing Grand Challenge Scholars’ Programme     85    Journal of Engineering Science and Technology                Special Issue 4/2013  discovery  (number  of  partricpants  agreeing  or  strongly  agreeing,  N=12),  oral communication in English (N=11) and presentation skills (N=11). In contrast, the bottom 3 areas of development are project management (N=5), writing in English (N=7) and problem solving (N=7).  These results seem to indicate that TGCSP is showing signs of health and success.  Future  modules  will  attempt  to  address  areas  like  writing  skills  in English, as it is a common area of weakness for Malaysian students.  Table 3. Assessment Survey. My involvement with TGCSP helped me  1  2  3  4  5 Improve my knowledge underlying mathematics and science   1  1  3  8  0 Improve my problem solving skills   0  0  6  5  2 Improve my ability to discover new knowledge   0  0  1  5  7 Develop holistic thinking capabilities   0  0  3  7  3 Improve my decision making capabilities   0  1  4  4  4 Improve my leadership skills   1  0  3  7  2 Develop an awareness of social responsibility for engineers   0  0  3  6  4 Improve my teamwork skills   0  1  1  7  4 Improve my English writing skills   1  2  5  4  1 Improve my English oral communication skills   1  0  1  7  4 Improve my presentation skills   1  0  1  5  6 Develop a global understanding and perspective   0  0  3  8  2 Set goals and achieve them   0  0  3  5  5 Manage projects and achieve objectives on time and within budget   0  2  6  4  1 I found my involvement with TGCSP very fulfilling and   rewarding  0  1  4  3  5 I shall recommend my juniors to join the TGCSP  0  0  1  6  6 I shall continue to be a member of TGCSP  0  0  0  4  9 My involvement of TGCSP was very time consuming  1  5  5  5  0  5.  Future Development Undergraduate  education  is  generally  regarded  as  a  process  of  imparting knowledge  and  skills  to  an  individual  so  that  he  or  she  will  be  adequately equipped for future employment. It is seldom viewed and deliberately practiced as a process of holistic character development such that the individual is not only equipped  with the  necessary job skills but also  with  much  more  valuable life skills.  It  is  anticipated  that  equipping  future  graduates  to  address  the  Grand Challenges would require a greater outcome than that which a more traditional engineering  education  approach  can  deliver.  Grand  Challenge  scholars  would require beyond just additional knowledge and skills. It is expected that a holistic education  approach  would  be  needed  to  adequately  equip  them.  The  question becomes whether a structured program based on the Grand Challenges can deliver over a period of study this holistic development of a student.  Holistic education is regarded as a paradigm, a set of basic assumptions and principles related to educating the whole person to develop into his or her fullest potential and that these principles can be applied in many diverse ways [5]. Holistic  education  will  be  integrated  into  the  Grand  Challenge  scholars’ program from the next semester. This integration will be closely monitored and it 86       M.  Al-Atabi and D. Tong                             Journal of Engineering Science and Technology                Special Issue 4/2013  is  expected  that  over  a  period  of  study  this  observation  will  yield  a  clear understanding  of  how  various  pedagogical  approaches  effect  such  holistic development.  Through  this  understanding,  it  is  hoped  that  a  comprehensive framework  to  guide  the  design  and  to  assess  the  level  of  effectiveness  of undergraduate  Engineering  programmes  in  delivering  holistic  character development can be formalized. A synergistic alignment of objectives is anticipated as the Grand Challenge scholars’ program is well suited to the holistic education approach. The holistic education approach is considered highly appropriate in ensuring that the outcomes of the Grand Challenge scholars’ program are met.   5.  Conclusions A Grand Challenge Scholars’ Programme was initiated at Taylor’s University to provide  students  with  a  global  awareness  and  to  enhance  the  achievement  of CDIO  skills.  After  the  first  semester,  the  results  indicate  that  the  participants found the programme useful in developing an array of CDIO skills. The School intends to continue offering this programme with the intention of integrating it with a holistic education approach.  References 1.  Parkinson,  A.  (2009).  The  rationale  for  developing  global  competence. Online Journal for Global Engineering Education, 4(2), Article 2. Available at: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/ojgee/vol4/iss2/2. 2.  NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering. Retrieved March 13, 2013 from http://www.engineeringchallenges.com. 3.  Crawley, E.F.; Lucas, W.A.; Malmqvist, J.; and Brodeur, D.R. (2011). The CDIO  syllabus  v2.0.  An  updated  statement  of  goals  for  engineering education. Proceedings of the 7th International CDIO Conference, Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen. 4.  Perry, W.; Broers, A.; El-Baz, F.; Harris, W.; Healy, B.; and Hillis, W.D. (2008). Grand challenges for engineering. National Academy of Engineering, Washington, DC. 5.  Mahmoudi,  S.;  Jafari,  E.;  Nasrabadi,  H.A.;  and  Liaghatdar,  M.J.  (2012). Holistic  education:  An  approach  for  21  century.  International  Education Studies, 5(2), 178-186. 

A BLUEPRINT FOR IMPLEMENTING GRAND CHALLENGE SCHOLARS’ PROGRAMME: A CASE STUDY OF TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY

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