scholarly journals Engineering Design Concept Generation: The Effect of Concept Combination and Classification

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saurabh Deo ◽  
Katja Hölttä-Otto ◽  
Yogesh Bhalerao ◽  
Abhijeet Malge
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Engineering Problem ◽  
Design Concept ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering Education ◽  
World Economic ◽  
Concept Combination ◽  
Primary Focus

Abstract World economic forum reported that creativity is one of the most sought after skills by employers globally. Preliminary research lead to multiple initiatives on enhancing creativity and innovation. To contribute in this field, we investigated the effect of two interventions on the creativity of undergraduate engineering students, particularly on engineering design concept generation. The primary focus of this investigation was on assessing the effect of two interventions, combining and classifying concepts, on the originality and quantity of the concepts produced. In this research, we used the Decision Tree for Originality Assessment in Design (DTOAD) as a measure of concept originality. Statistical analysis showed that both the combine and the classify interventions lead to concept generation with higher originality. We also found that students produced higher number of the radically different concept, i.e. concepts with originality score 7.5 and above, however this effect was observed in all the test groups. These interventions made improvements and thus can be encouraged as a part of an ideation or an engineering problem solving task in the undergraduate engineering education to help the students develop creative skills.

Initiating Development of a Concept Inventory for Engineering Design

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey R. Mountain
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Design Concept ◽  
Concept Inventory ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Education Community ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Fundamental Understanding

It has been stated that the topic of design is not conducive to assessment by concept inventory. While design problems are more ambiguous than problems in analytical subjects, such as physics, statics, or thermodynamics; the broader design education community of scholars might agree on a set of concepts that are essential to the fundamental understanding of design. Following a review of textbooks, industry interviews, and other literary sources, this paper will propose a set of commonly accepted overarching concepts that might form a nucleus of an engineering design concept inventory. This is intended primarily to initiate a dialog among the design engineering education community about the future development of a design concept inventory and it’s applicability in assessing the design content knowledge of undergraduate engineering students prior to entering the profession as graduate engineers.

How Engineering Design Students’ Creative Preferences and Cognitive Styles Impact Their Concept Generation and Screening

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Heininger ◽  
Hong-En Chen ◽  
Kathryn Jablokow ◽  
Scarlett R. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Risk Tolerance ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Engineering Design Process ◽  
Individual Traits ◽  
The Impact

The flow of creative ideas throughout the engineering design process is essential for innovation. However, few studies have examined how individual traits affect problem-solving behaviors in an engineering design setting. Understanding these behaviors will enable us to guide individuals during the idea generation and concept screening phases of the engineering design process and help support the flow of creative ideas through this process. As a first step towards understanding these behaviors, we conducted an exploratory study with 19 undergraduate engineering students to examine the impact of individual traits, using the Preferences for Creativity Scale (PCS) and Kirton’s Adaption-Innovation inventory (KAI), on the creativity of the ideas generated and selected for an engineering design task. The ideas were rated for their creativity, quality, and originality using Amabile’s consensual assessment technique. Our results show that the PCS was able to predict students’ propensity for creative concept screening, accounting for 74% of the variation in the model. Specifically, team centrality and influence and risk tolerance significantly contributed to the model. However, PCS was unable to predict idea generation abilities. On the other hand, cognitive style, as measured by KAI, predicted the generation of creative and original ideas, as well as one’s propensity for quality concept screening, although the effect sizes were small. Our results provide insights into individual factors impacting undergraduate engineering students’ idea generation and selection.

A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Examination of the Development of Innovation Capability in Undergraduate Engineering Students

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trina C. Kershaw ◽  
Rebecca L. Peterson ◽  
Molly A. McCarthy ◽  
Adam P. Young ◽  
Carolyn Conner Seepersad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Senior Year ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
The Difference

Multiple research studies have examined the role of the undergraduate engineering curriculum on students’ innovation capabilities. The majority of these studies have used cross-sectional samples to compare students at the beginning and end of their college careers, and most results have shown that seniors outperform freshmen. In the following paper, we use a combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons to uncover when innovation capabilities grow. Over a two-year period, undergraduate engineering majors at different points in their college careers completed concept generation tasks. Their resulting concepts were scored for originality. While no difference was found from freshman to senior year using a cross-sectional comparison, a significant increase in originality was found between separate senior groups at the beginning and end of a capstone course. The difference between the senior groups occurred despite no difference between these students in academic performance or engineering design self-efficacy. In addition, a significant increase in originality was found from junior to senior year using a longitudinal analysis. This increase in originality occurred without corresponding changes in academic performance or engineering design self-efficacy. These results are discussed in relation to prior research regarding the interplay between curricular and individual difference factors in the development of students’ innovation capabilities.

Collaborative Information Behaviour of Engineering Students

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasser Saleh ◽  
Andrew Large
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Information Behaviour ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering

Collaborative information behaviour is an emerging area in information science that studies when two or more actors identify, seek, search, and use information to accomplish a task. This paper reports on a recent research investigating the collaborative information behaviour of undergraduate engineering students in the context of engineering design group projects.Le comportement informationnel collaboratif est un sujet émergent en sciences de l’information qui s’intéresse aux moments où deux acteurs ou plus cherchent, repèrent, sélectionnent et utilisent l’information pour accomplir une tâche. Cette communication présente une étude récente sur le comportement informationnel informatif des étudiants en génie dans le contexte de projets de groupe en conception technique.

A High-Flux Solar Furnace for Undergraduate Engineering Education and High-Temperature Thermochemistry Research

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Scott Duncan ◽  
Shahin Nudehi ◽  
Robert Palumbo ◽  
Luke J. Venstrom
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Optical Design ◽  
Solar Furnace ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Chemistry Research ◽  
Energy Science ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering Education ◽  
Motivating Factor ◽  
Engineering Pedagogy

The optical design and engineering features of a 10 kW solar furnace now operational at Valparaiso University are described. The solar furnace is anticipated to achieve a mean concentration ratio of 3000 suns over a 6 cm diameter focus. It will support high-temperature solar chemistry research and undergraduate engineering pedagogy. Many of the components of the solar furnace were designed and constructed by undergraduate engineering students. Some of these students cite their participation in the solar furnace project as the motivating factor for continuing to work in the area of energy science in industry or graduate school.

Can Design Teams Be Empathically Creative? A Simulation-Based Investigation on the Role of Team Empathy on Concept Generation and Selection

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Alsager Alzayed ◽  
Scarlett R. Miller ◽  
Jessica Menold ◽  
Jacquelyn Huff ◽  
Christopher McComb
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Computational Simulation ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Research on empathy has been surging in popularity in the engineering design community since empathy is known to help designers develop a deeper understanding of the users’ needs. Because of this, the design community has been invested in devising and assessing empathic design activities. However, research on empathy has been primarily limited to individuals, meaning we do not know how it impacts team performance, particularly in the concept generation and selection stages of the design process. Specifically, it is unknown how the empathic composition of teams, average (elevation) and standard deviation (diversity) of team members’ empathy, would impact design outcomes in the concept generation and selection stages of the design process. Therefore, the goal of the current study was to investigate the impact of team trait empathy on concept generation and selection in an engineering design student project. This was accomplished through a computational simulation of 13,482 teams of noninteracting brainstorming individuals generated by a statistical bootstrapping technique drawing upon a design repository of 806 ideas generated by first-year engineering students. The main findings from the study indicate that the elevation in team empathy positively impacted simulated teams’ unique idea generation and selection while the diversity in team empathy positively impacted teams’ generation of useful ideas. The results from this study can be used to guide team formation in engineering design.

Experiences of Belonging in Engineering Undergraduate Education at Queen’s

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Buitenhuis
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Education ◽  
Undergraduate Education ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Engineering Profession ◽  
Socialization Process ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Engineering Program ◽  
Canadian Context ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering Education

The purpose of this study is to explore the role that the engineering undergraduate degree plays in the socialization process of professional engineers.  I will look at how exclusion is normalized through undergraduate education.  To do this, I will analyze the history and content of the Iron Ring Ceremony. This ceremony has symbolic significance to engineering students as it marks the completion of the undergraduate degree. It is also a ceremony unique to Canada, which will provide insights into the engineering profession in the Canadian context. I will also conduct interviews with 12 graduates of the Queen's undergraduate engineering program to gain insights into how engineering undergraduate education plays a role in shaping engineering identities. I will use my findings regarding the Iron Ring Ceremony to understand feelings of belonging and patterns of exclusion and inclusion throughout undergraduate engineering education.

International Trends in Engineering Design Education—A Partial View

1979 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 540-545
Author(s):  
A. Bar-Cohen
Keyword(s):  
System Design ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Engineering Program ◽  
International Trends ◽  
Engineering Design Education ◽  
Partial View ◽  
Developed Nations

Approaches to engineering design education in several developing and developed nations are reviewed and found to suggest widespread recognition of the need for early and frequent student exposure to the pragmatic and often controlling aspects of mechanical system design. In this context, it appears that the undergraduate engineering program at most U.S. Universities may not contribute to the ability of engineering students to pursue successful careers in engineering innovation and design.

scholarly journals Improving professional skills in a multidisciplinary team of undergraduate engineering students through project-based learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 2102 (1) ◽  
pp. 012001
Author(s):  
K R Ccama-Mamani ◽  
D Chipoco Haro ◽  
M R Gutierrez ◽  
L Palomino-Marcelo ◽  
J C F Rodriguez-Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Systems Design ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
User Centered Design ◽  
Air Filtration ◽  
Professional Skills ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering Education ◽  
Interdisciplinary Projects

Abstract Even though undergraduate engineering education often considers laboratory experiments as its practical component, these activities may not contribute to the development of soft (professional) skills. At “Universidad de Ingenieria y Tecnologia”, Perú, a series of courses called interdisciplinary projects has been created to promote the development of professional skills through project-based learning; herein, we report the experience of an interdisciplinary group of students focused on designing an indoor air filtration system to improve air quality and to reduce the spread of coronavirus diseases. Eight undergraduate engineering students were organized into three groups and worked collaboratively to learn about antiviral nanocomposites, user-centered design, and electromechanical systems design; they showed their progress and received feedback from each other through weekly meetings. In addition, they leaned on applications to organize the group work and share the bibliography consulted; finally, we collected feedback from these students on the proposed learning method. The positive impact of our problem-based learning approach on undergraduate engineering students is discussed.

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