Understanding the Impact of Engineering Through Appropriate Technology Development

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nickey Janse van Rensburg ◽  
Z. Simpson ◽  
N. Malan
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Research Collaboration ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Open Market ◽  
Market Growth ◽  
The Impact

This research describes a pilot project which aimed to introduce CDIO-type (Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate), project-based learning through a community-based project in a third year Material Science module. The project formed part of an agriculture research initiative, and relied on interdisciplinary research collaboration between engineering, social sciences, management, entrepreneurship, and industrial arts. The initiative seeks to develop an agribusiness solution that will create an open-market, growth-oriented food economy. As part of the initiative, engineering students, participating in teams, worked alongside a community of urban farmers, most of whom are working poor, so as to develop appropriate, intermediate technology/ies that could support the farmers. This was informed by the need to have students demonstrate high level understanding of disciplinary content, but also to engage in human-centered design thinking and practice.

scholarly journals Project-based STEM-courses for engineering students

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-68
Author(s):  
Galyna Vasylivna Lutsenko ◽  
◽  
Oksana Mykolaivna Podolian ◽  
Lyudmyla Mikhailivna Ozhyndovych ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Optimal Strategies ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Project Work ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Stem Disciplines ◽  
National University ◽  
The Impact

One of the world-recognized practices of modern higher education is the application of problem-based and project-based approaches to teaching STEM-disciplines. In case of integration of problem-based and project-based learning, the educational process is organized around the problem to be solved by students and stimulates them to find optimal strategies for solving, and project activities are chosen as a way of organizing work. The article describes the ongoing experience of implementation of project-based STEM-courses "Hydro- and Gas Dynamics" and "Applied Mechanics and Fundamentals of Design", which is part of training of engineering students of 151 Automation and Computer-integrated technologies speciality at the Bohdan Khmelnytskyy National University of Cherkasy during 2017-2019 academic years. The impact of problem-based and project-based approaches to teaching STEM-disciplines on the formation of professional and general competencies of future engineers had been analyzed. The dynamics of changes of personal and interpersonal skills of junior students during the teamwork on mono- and multidisciplinary projects had been studied. The case study method was chosen as the general research method, which corresponds to the number of research participants and the active role of researchers in the educational process. The results of surveys developed using the 5-point Likert scale, demonstrates that students mostly positively evaluate the projects and teamwork. The possibility of self-grouping, which made possible to form teams based on common interests and promote freer and more natural communication within the team, was the important factor of positive perception of project work. The disadvantages of the implemented approaches include the difficulties that manifested itself at the stage of students' planning of the project process. One of the reasons for this is the lack of previous experience in the realization of students' team projects. The introduction of multidisciplinary projects made it possible to optimize the workload of students working simultaneously on a project in two disciplines and increase the motivation to study the disciplines of the STEM cycle.

Enhancing Visual Thinking in a Toy Design Course Using Freehand Sketching

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elkin Taborda ◽  
Senthil K. Chandrasegaran ◽  
Lorraine Kisselburgh ◽  
Tahira Reid ◽  
Karthik Ramani
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Design Tools ◽  
Visual Thinking ◽  
Engineering Knowledge ◽  
Principles Of Design ◽  
Toy Design ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Creativity And Innovation

Engineering graduates in advancing economies are not only expected to have engineering knowledge, but also use them in creative and innovative ways. The importance of visual thinking has been critical for creativity and innovation in design. However, today’s engineering students are proficient in detailed design tools but lacking in conceptual design and ideation, and engineering curricula needs to develop a more effective framework for teaching visual thinking. In this paper, we report our efforts to embed principles of design thinking and visual thinking practices, like McKim’s “seeing, imagining and drawing” cycle [1]. We use a toy design course in mechanical engineering for our pilot study as a scaffold for introducing these principles in an engaging, creative, and fun environment. We introduced free-hand sketching as a tool for visual thinking during the design and communication of concepts. We also report the impact of these changes through information gleaned from student feedback surveys and analysis of design notebooks. We use our findings to propose ways to provide the students with a set of balanced techniques that help them in visual thinking, communication, and design. An improved implementation of this experience is discussed and future work is proposed to overcome barriers to thinking and communication.

scholarly journals TEAM FORMATION IN ENGINEERING DESIGN COURSES

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Galaleldin ◽  
Justine Boudreau ◽  
Hanan Anis
Keyword(s):  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Team Composition ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Great Opportunity ◽  
Project Outcome ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Engineering design courses often include a team-based project. Project-based learning offers a great opportunity for engineering students to learn about teamwork and collaboration. It also gives students a chance to learn about themselves and improve their conflict management skills. Choosing the right team members for a specific project is not trivial, as the choice of the team often affects the project outcome and the students’ experience in the course. Moreover, there is a debate among engineering educators as to whether it is better to force team composition or not. In this paper, we investigate the impact of team composition and formation on project outcomes and student satisfaction in a second-year engineering design course at the University of Ottawa. The course is open to all engineering students and has an accessibility theme. Students work in teams with a client that has a specific accessibility need. Students meet the client three times during the semester and deliver a physical prototype by the end of the semester. For this study, students in the design course were divided into two groups. Students in the first group were allowed to pick their teams, while the instructor created the teams in the second group based on multidisciplinary composition and year of study. Both groups had the same instructor and the same course material, labs, project choices, etc. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a few teams in each group.

Exploring the Effect of Design Education on the Design Cognition of Mechanical Engineering Students

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher B. Williams ◽  
John Gero ◽  
Yoon Lee ◽  
Marie Paretti
Keyword(s):  
Design Education ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Protocol Analysis ◽  
Design Cognition ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Protocol Study ◽  
The Impact

In this paper, the authors report on progress of a longitudinal study on the impact of design education on students’ design thinking and practice. Using innovations in cognitive science and new methods of protocol analysis, the authors are working with engineering students to characterize their design cognition as they progress through engineering curricula. In this paper, the results from a protocol study of sophomore Mechanical Engineering students are presented. Specifically, data gathered from two experimental sessions (conducted before and after the students’ introductory design course) are analyzed to identify changes in design thinking cognition. Design cognition is determined using protocol analysis with the coding of the protocols based on a general design ontology, namely, the Function-Behavior-Structure (FBS) as a principled coding scheme (as opposed to an ad hoc one). Preliminary results indicate that statistically significant changes in students’ design cognition occur over the course of their sophomore year. The change manifests itself in an increase in focus on the purposes of designs being produced, which is often a precursor to the production a higher quality designs, and an increase in the design processes associated with the introduction of purposes of designs.

Improving Project-Based Learning Outcomes by Formative Assessment and Strategic Time Optimization

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Stocco ◽  
Roberto Rosales ◽  
Ignacio Galiano ◽  
Andy Liu ◽  
David Feixo
Keyword(s):  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Student Survey ◽  
Optimization Strategy ◽  
Time Optimization ◽  
The Impact

The 3rd year Electrical Engineering Design Studio (EEDS) course is a project-based learning (PBL) course that gives students hands-on experience with putting electrical engineering principles into practice. It is an electro-mechanical project which provides a particular challenge since electrical engineering students often lack mechanical design skills. It is found here that learning outcomes are improved by a 2-stage formative assessment and time optimization strategy that allows students to extract as much value as possible out of the limited time they have to devote to this exercise. It consists of an innovative assessment strategy that includes formal, informal and self-assessments, and an innovative budgeting, lecture scheduling, parts distribution, and order queueing system. The impact on efficiency is shown through an end-of-term student survey and a subjective evaluation of their work, in comparison to the previous year.

scholarly journals COMM151: A PROJECT-BASED COURSE TO ENHANCE ENGINEERING STUDENTS’ COMMUNICATION SKILLS

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 027
Author(s):  
Tanju Deveci ◽  
Roger Nunn
Keyword(s):  
Communication Skills ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Intrapersonal Communication ◽  
The Impact

Engineering is a discipline that requires its practitioners to learn and use a variety of soft-skills, which include academic and non-academic written and spoken communication, inter- and intrapersonal communication skills, critical thinking ability, an ability to work in teams and an ability to analyze, interpret and synthesize interdisciplinary information from a variety of sources. However, students who pursue their engineering education in English as their second language can face formidable challenges acquiring these skills. It is our observation that such students are often only given assistance through English courses designed to improve their individual linguistic abilities. We believe that although this approach may help in the short term, it may not sufficiently cater for students’ overall needs and well-being in the long term. With this in mind, this paper describes our attempt to reduce this problem in our local context of the Petroleum Institute (PI) through a long term innovation effort.A project-based approach has been adopted to provide students with an opportunity to enhance their language skills through meaningful learning experiences that also develop professional, personal and academic skills. This approach has also allowed the university to meet ABET criteria related to communication needs of engineering students. In this paper, we give a detailed rationale for our belief that a holistic approach to developing abilities required by engineering and other students is a better option. This is followed by a description of the different components of our current curriculum that has been developed over 12 years. We describe particular activities, and discuss their merits. We also present students’ perceptions about the impact of their project-based learning experience on their language and skills development. We also outline the way the course is designed to be adaptable for unpredictable future needs in a fast developing professional and academic environment.

scholarly journals IS THE FASHION STORE, PT MATAHARI DEPARTMENT STORE TBK STILL PROFITABLE IN THE ERA OF DIGITAL INNOVATION? For the Period of 2008-2017

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Wiwiek Mardawiyah Daryanto ◽  
Fransiscus X John Brazer ◽  
Jodipati Alif
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Department Store ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Retail Industry ◽  
Digital Innovation ◽  
Financial Ratio ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact

Retail industry in Indonesia has grown rapidly alongside with the current growing of technology. By the ever-growing technology development, the behaviors of Indonesian people are also slightly changes to become more efficient and simple way of buying things. The study sought to observe the performance of PT Matahari Department Store Tbk (MDS) before and after the digital innovation that took place in the early 2010s. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the advent of E-commerce has affected PT MDS’s performance. Financial ratio such as profitability and overall measures were used to analyze PT MDS’s financial performance. Period taken in this study were in before (2008-2010) and after the appearance of E-Commerce in retail  industry (2011-2017). This study found that in 2008-2010 (E-commerce first pilot project) the profitability performance of PT MDS was not in good condition. However, in 2011 or E-Commerce Emergence & Transition, PT MDS began to improve its financial performance by successfully recording positive trends in all financial ratios except ROE. This has occurred due to the impact of reverse stock and corporate restructuring in 2009. Additionally, an increase in the shareholding of public ownership was also taken in action in 2013 to drive up the price of company’s shares and boost the company's ratio. Thus, it can be sum up that PT MDS’s financial performance was not affected by the presence of E-commerce, instead it influenced by company’s actions. However, with an objective to adapt in this era, PT MDS has launched Matahari.com for targeting other segments and other strategies to keep up the improvements.

scholarly journals SCAFFOLDING STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING ENGINEERING DESIGN IN A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Galaleldin ◽  
Hanan Anis ◽  
Patrick Dumond ◽  
David Knox
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Skill Assessment ◽  
Collaborative Project ◽  
The Impact

 Abstract –Collaborative Project Based Learning (CPBL) is known for enhancing deep learning, professional skills development, student engagement and motivation, cultivating interdependence in learning, thinking, problem solving, and creating interest and excitement in learning. This article describes the impact of an engineering design course on first-year engineering students. Student performance was evaluated before and after taking the course using a pre-and-post design skill assessment test, peer feedback evaluations, and thematic analysis of each student’s self-reflection of lessons learned. Initial analysis of the data indicates that a CPBL environment has a significantly positive impact on the development of engineering students’ ability to describe the engineering design process and relate it directly to real-world problems. Students also realized the importance of communication, team work, investigation and project management skills.

scholarly journals Deregulation in the Energy Sector and Its Economic Effects on the Power Sector: A Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3429
Author(s):  
Pablo David Necoechea-Porras ◽  
Asunción López ◽  
Juan Carlos Salazar-Elena
Keyword(s):  
Technology Development ◽  
Reducing Power ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Systemic Review ◽  
Open Market ◽  
Electricity Cost ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Energy reforms play an essential role in technological change as they aim to contribute to an open market: costs reduction, competitiveness, and technology development. This article seeks to assess the impact and effect of reforms on the energy sector. The article’s objective is to evaluate the process of deregulation policies and their micro and macroeconomic effects on the energy sector, and specifically on electricity, by analyzing literature related to electricity reforms. Further, the article intends to explore the impacts of deregulation on power pricing, power market, electricity accessibility, innovation, and competitiveness. Another objective of the article is to analyze the role played by various stakeholders in the deregulation policies, including the government, national entities like states, the private sector, and consumers. The article identified ways to improve the economic impacts of deregulation policies in the energy sector. After a systemic review of specialized articles regarding their theoretical approach, results showed a positive relationship between reform and innovation, competitiveness, opening-up of the market, technology, and price changes. Although deregulation measures aimed to reduce the consumers’ electricity cost, the changes in power prices were achievable only in the long-term and not in the short-term. Additionally, government regulators and stakeholders participated in implementing various measures to ensure that deregulation achieved its primary objective of reducing power prices. Such efforts include developing divestiture policies and implementing rate cuts.

scholarly journals Project Based Learning experience with engineering students for the design of steel structures

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Ibáñez Usach ◽  
David Hernández Figueirido
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Industrial Process ◽  
Steel Structures ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Industrial Building ◽  
Master Of Science ◽  
Degree Of Satisfaction ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Academic Year

This work describes the Project Based Learning (PBL) experience carried out with engineering students in the field of steel structures design during the academic year 2016-2017 at the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón de la Plana (Spain). This experience is integrated in the Master of Science in Industrial Engineering. The experience consists of simulating the activity of a technical office dedicated to the development of structural projects. A real situation comprising the design and calculation of an industrial building for a costumer is presented to the students. Some geometrical aspects according to the customer desires and the industrial process to be set at the building are specified. The students are organized in groups and have to work in a project to develop a competitive solution to this real necessity within deadline. Finally, a survey is conducted to evaluate both the impact of this experience in the learning process and the students’ degree of satisfaction with respect to this technique. The results of the survey show that PBL promotes the technical training of the students in this field and encourages the development of transversal skills, enhancing, at the same time, their motivation.

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