You can't become a physician without completing an internship. If your preferred profession is plumbing or you strive to be an electrician, you don't get a license to practice before logging countless hours of real-world apprentice work.
Yet that kind of on-the-job problem solving has not become an established part of most engineering curricula at universities and colleges. Traditionally, this segment is still stuck with programs that focus on the theoretical as opposed to providing a practical, hands-on approach to solving real engineering problems.
A recent blog post by my colleague Chuck Murray pointed out this gap in light of The Princeton Review's 2012 edition of the "Best 376 Colleges," where engineering schools once again dominated the list of "least happy students." One of the points Chuck made was that college administrators are still making little effort to link theoretical classes to real-world engineering problem solving, particularly in the initial semesters.
Arizona State University appears to have taken that message to heart, as illustrated by some big changes to its aerospace engineering program, reflecting students' desire for hands-on training and independent discovery. In response to a pilot study conducted by one of its engineering education researchers, the department found that students were generally doubtful about their mastery of course material and were skeptical that what they learned in junior-level courses was properly preparing them for future engineering roles.
Based on that feedback, two aeronautical engineering faculty members, with support from the school's director, embarked on a new, more practical approach to certain courses -- the goal being to better motivate students and to provide more useful training. Specifically, faculty member Dr. Valana Wells wanted to incorporate computational approaches in aerodynamics classes; and Professor Praveen Shankar, lecturer of aerospace engineering at ASU's School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy, wanted to build a solid understanding of flight simulation and visualization into the core curriculum for Aircraft Dynamics and Control courses to boost students' understanding of fundamental concepts.
"The basic idea in both courses was to invert the traditional theory to an application approach to improve student motivation," Shankar told me.
So are you saying TJ, that providing the real-world design tools in the classroom to do simulation or virtual prototpying doesn't go far enough in terms of delivering that "nuts and bolts" education? Are you saying that there needs to be a hands-on physical prototyping aspect as well so students get their hands "dirty" not just with the technology tools, but with "bending real metal" etc. to learn by doing? If so, that's an interesting point given all of the focus today on virtual prototyping.
The literal nuts and bolts are being ignored. Matlab / Solidworks in the curriculum gives a more practical basis, but you're still talking about simulations. There should also be something tangible, something memorable to the class. Doing a root-cause failure analysis on the 737 skin failure earlier this year works well in the Matlab simulations (varying rivet hole size, for instance). But that should be followed by several lab demonstrations to prove the Matlab simulations actually jibe with the real world. Watching a test to failure of something they initially design will be a memory students carry for their entire life.
It seems to me that more participation from vendors like MathWorks should be a no-brainer. By providing their software and support to engineering programs and doing their part to add a practical slant to the curriculum, they get a built-in potential customer base as graduating students are already versed and hooked on their programs.
There is definitely lots of activity in terms of design tool vendors sponsoring student competitions and doing regular donations of software. Let's hope that all of the effort pays off in terms of helping to fuel this shift.
It can be easy to criticize engineering curricula for not providing a hands-on learning experience, but hands-on experience can be difficult and expensive for universities. Kudos to The MathWorks for lending a helping hand here. Engineering programs need this kind of help to provide a solid learning experience.
I can really appreciate the practical aspects of an engineering curriculum. As interesting as the theoretical foundations are, engineering requires a practical approach. To me the Scientists were usually engaged in more theory and research while the engineers were usually trying to figure out how to put some of those interesting discoveries to work.
A good hands on education that emphasizes solutions to problems is usually appreciated by engineering students.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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