scholarly journals INTEGRATED LEARNING IN ENGINEERING - DEVELOPMENT OF THE FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING CURRICULUM AT UNB

Author(s):  
Michel Couturier ◽  
Dawn MacIsaac ◽  
Liuchen Chang

Following its rich tradition of over 150 years of excellence in engineering education, the Faculty of Engineering at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) is currently implementing an exciting first year program. In consultation with Atlantic businesses, governments and members of the Faculty, an Engineering Education Task Force was formed in the summer of 2003 with the mandate to enhance integrated learning in undergraduate engineering programs at UNB. The Task Force proposed a substantially-common first year program for all engineering disciplines with design projects in both the first and second terms. The design projects are used to integrate knowledge gained in the first year and are part of two new design courses. The first design course is centered on Design and Communications. The second design course is centered on Design and Computations. This new approach requires that teaching of core materials be integrated at a level that crosses disciplinary boundaries.

Author(s):  
Scott Sciffer ◽  
Mahsood Shah

The University of Newcastle, Australia has a long history of providing enabling education which provides access and opportunity for students to participate in undergraduate education. The enabling programs at the University allow higher school leavers, and mature aged adults to prepare for undergraduate degrees. Students who complete enabling education at the University undertake undergraduate studies in various disciplines including engineering. This paper outlines the extent to which enabling programs have played an important role in widening the participation of disadvantaged students in engineering disciplines. The different levels of academic preparedness of students in enabling programs and barriers faced in learning require effective strategies for teaching and engaging students in learning. The paper outlines the strategy used in teaching an advanced level of mathematics to the diverse groups of students to prepare them for success in first year undergraduate engineering programs. While research on undergraduate engineering education is significant, limited studies have been undertaken on enabling or university preparatory programs and their impact in various professions.


2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Kellam ◽  
Michelle Maher ◽  
James Russell ◽  
Veronica Addison ◽  
Wally Peters

Complex systems study, defined as an understanding of interrelationships between engineered, technical, and non-technical (e.g., social or environmental) systems, has been identified as a critical component of undergraduate engineering education. This paper assesses the extent to which complex systems study has been integrated into undergraduate mechanical engineering programs in the southeastern United States. Engineering administrators and faculty were surveyed and university websites associated with engineering education were examined. The results suggest engineering administrators and faculty believe that undergraduate engineering education remains focused on traditional engineering topics. However, the review of university websites indicates a significant level of activity in complex systems study integration at the university level, although less so at college and department levels.


Author(s):  
Marcia Friesen ◽  
Nadine Ibrahim ◽  
Grant McSorley ◽  
Stephen Mattucci

Industry engagement in undergraduate engineering education is a community-centred approach to learning that is hands-on and links the engineering theory to practice. This paper provides a review of existing Engineer-in-Residence (EIR) programs in Canada, including the University of Manitoba, Dalhousie University, University of Calgary, Ryerson University, University of Ottawa, and the University of Waterloo, as well as a brief international scan. We consider the motivations behind the institutions’ initiative to introduce EIR programs, different types of engagements, challenges, and opportunities. Programs are also examined externally relative to professional residency programs in business schools, among others, and relative to other forms of industry engagement in undergraduate engineering education. A brief overview of the history and role of EIRs within engineering programs is also presented. The paper will be of interest to those exploring a similar industry engagement framework at their institution, and offers a forward-looking perspective on ways to leverage the skills and experience of practicing engineers in preparing students to tackle the challenges of the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 63-79
Author(s):  
Norshahida Sarifuddin ◽  
Zuraida Ahmad ◽  
Ahmad Zahirani Ahmad Azhar ◽  
Hafizah Hanim Mohd Zaki ◽  
Amelia Wong Azman ◽  
...  

In line with the current global focus on sustainability and the well-being of the planet, becoming a professional engineer nowadays requires more than simple mastery of technical skills. Considering that engineers are required to have a deep sense of responsibility not only for humankind but also for the environment, engineering education and practices must be reformed substantially to prepare engineers that will contribute to sustainable development. This necessitates updating conventional engineering programs (CEE) to incorporate Humanizing Engineering Education (HEE). Although HEE is an old practice of individual engineers and other organizations outside the academic field, it is relatively new in academic engineering. While the definition of what truly merits being considered HEE remains debatable, many engineers believe that their work involves a humanitarian aspect. To streamline the development of HEE, there is a need for developing guidelines and frameworks for a comprehensive model. Ideally, that framework should integrate humanizing pedagogy in the new curriculum design. The objective of the paper is to share the experience of the authors in designing a new curriculum for a Materials Engineering Programme (MEP) that is embedded with Humanitarian Engineering (HE), which is among the main elements of HEE. Data collection was through interviews, qualitative surveys, reports from the stakeholders, accreditation bodies and benchmarking with other Higher Learning Institutions (HLI). An extensive scholarly literature review was executed to identify shortcomings in CEE and how it could be reformed by integrating it with HEE. The Sejahtera Academic Framework (SAF); a strategic framework for academic programmes developed by the university, was used as a reference to customize MEP to better meet students’ needs. Since the proposed model applies a new emerging concept, it inevitably raises challenges related to different levels of understanding among course implementers and perceptions of external stakeholders. Moreover, the developers had to consider the limitations imposed by the university's policies and structures while acknowledging the availability of finite resources (i.e. time, money, equipment, and expertise).


Author(s):  
Doug Reeve ◽  
Greg Evans ◽  
Annie Simpson

There is an urgent need for engineers to participate more fully in debate and decision-making to address the many challenges, local, national and global, that society faces. Engineering education provides graduates with technical competence but there are relatively few engineering programs that directly address development of leadership capability. At the University of Toronto, we have been developing leadership education since 2002 and presently offer wide-ranging curricular and co-curricular programming through Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT). Leadership can be defined as “a relational and ethical process of people together attempting to accomplish positive change”. Adding leadership capability to an engineer creates a powerful combined capability. A leader-engineer has the capability to leverage and empower engineering competence with leadership competence.


Author(s):  
Ralph O. Buchal

Society needs innovators to solve pressing design problems, and emerging technologies drive innovation. The Integrated Engineering Program offered at the University of Western Ontario develops engineering innovators by offering an interdisciplinary engineering education with emphasis on emerging technologies and engineering design. The program incorporates design in every year, and offers students the unique opportunity to participate in large multi-year design projects as part of their formal engineering education. A survey shows that students rate these features of the program important and valuable contributors toward their career goals.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachelle Reisberg ◽  
Joseph Raelin ◽  
Margaret Bailey ◽  
Jerry Hamann ◽  
David Whitman ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Peter Dare ◽  
Brian Cooke

A Task Force was created by the Faculty of Engineering at the University of New Brunswick in September 2004 charged with creating a new course for all first year engineering students to be delivered for the first time in September 2005. The course, to be taken by approximately 270 students, was to integrate material from other first year courses, introduce the students to working in teams, contain a substantial design element through a design project, and introduce communication skills. Nine professors from throughout engineering “volunteered” to help develop and deliver the course. In this paper we own up to what we did wrong during the first two years of delivery of this course, and (naturally!) counter this by celebrating our successes. Students are assessed based on a combination of individual and team submissions, with some submissions being oral and others written. This paper will outline the complex assessment scheme we initially used, and how we later simplified it. Rubrics were used to evaluate many of the course assignments. For most of the instructors, this was the first time they had used rubrics and so it was a learning experience to both develop and apply them. We show how we adapted their use in the second year of delivery after the experiences of the first year. We were pleased with the way that the assessments were mostly built around the design project – this helped the students grasp why clear communication is vital and enabled them to obtain continual feedback on the project. We were also delighted that an element of social responsibility was introduced into the course by making the project an international “Engineers Without Borders” project based in Africa. We believe this added an additional dimension to the course and especially the project. The professor-delivered skits were especially popular! Delivered by two wannabe actors, they introduced the students in a humorous manner to the different types of engineering that are taught at UNB. Engineering students at UNB have to commit to their specific engineering field from their first day at UNB, so these skits were included to ensure the students were exposed to all the UNB engineering disciplines. We conclude the paper with our plans for delivery of the course in September 2007 and beyond.


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