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This paper reflects on the process followed in the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh to cultivate an innovative and entrepreneurial culture among students and faculty. As a member of the first cohort of the Pathways program, a strategic process was initiated to unlock the innovation capabilities of students and to feed the demand that early activities suggested existed for more entrepreneurial-focused courses and programs. The plan focused on four inter-related areas of development: people, policies, places, and programs. This paper describes steps undertaken for each key area, as well as why it is believed that each of these areas is necessary for a healthy and sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship culture. Quantified measures of results in each area are presented to describe progress and performance. The near-term mission of the program is to develop a culture in which students learn to create, cultivate, and launch impactful ideas, but the long-term goal is for students to carry those skills with them to realize impactful careers of innovation and entrepreneurship.

'Assessment' and 'feedback' are inherently embedded in a course curriculum of engineering education settings. These components are indispensable for the teaching-learning processes. It is observed that engineering faculty members do not require any 'teacher-training' to join the engineering institutions across the globe. Hence, they may not have adequate experience in assessing students' performances and providing feedback to students. Only a few research studies have been carried out on assessment and feedback from the engineering education context. Therefore, this paper attempts to critically analyse the literature pertaining to learning through different types and methods of assessment practices in the engineering education settings. Further, it examines the significance of qualitative feedback in assessment and the principles of good feedback practice. It highlights the implications of assessing student performance and providing feedback from the engineering education perspective. Finally, the paper offers some recommendations on assessment and feedback practices in the engineering education settings.

As part of a larger study on academic dishonesty, this paper aims to be a simple investigation of students' opinions on some ethical issues, such as cheating in exams and plagiarism in assignments. The main goal was to explore the level of awareness of cheating and plagiarism, the frequency of these dishonest behaviours, students' attitudes toward cheating and plagiarism and differences between demographic variables and the three dimensions mentioned above. This study was conducted through a questionnaire completed by 138 first-year engineering students at a university in Romania. The study showed that cheating and plagiarism practices are sometimes common among students; at the same time, it is necessary to increase students' awareness and attitudes in order to combat such misconduct. Also, students' ethical values and actions are in dissonance. The differences in gender and residence area of students are insignificant. The paper recommends that different actors collaborate to continuously educate and discourage students from engaging in academic dishonesty.

Studies show that a significant fraction of students graduating from high schools in the U.S. is ill prepared for college and careers. Some problems include weak grounding in math and writing, lack of motivation, and insufficient conscientiousness. Academic institutions are under pressure to improve student retention and graduate rates, whereas students are under pressure to graduate and find employment. Consequently, there is room for substantial innovation in better motivating students, improving their performance, and helping them succeed. This paper describes two interventions consisting of cinematic meditation and online books. We utilized them to improve student engagement while developing important skills including conscientiousness and communication. In cinematic meditation, we engaged students in goal-directed and guided viewing of films concerning important technological developments. We administered this exercise during the first week of class, which helped to motivate students and stimulate classroom discussion. We asked students to write an essay describing their responses to questions related to the films. Online books help to log student activity and provide supplementary learning material for the students to master. Both these interventions produce quantitative data about student behavior, such as timeliness, which we used to predict subsequent student performance. A timeliness measure, obtainable as early as within 5 weeks of the semester, is correlated (r = 0.4, p < 0.001) with a cumulative score computed at the midpoint of the semester. This facilitates the early identification of at-risk students, and could avert further performance problems in the semester. The interventions and data-driven techniques described in this paper are easy to administer and scalable to large class sizes.

Engineering mechanics is a core course for mechanical engineering university students. In recent years, the lecturers of a second-year undergraduate engineering mechanics course faced many new challenges arising from ever-increasing class sizes, as well as evolving learning styles and expectations of new generation students due to advances in technology. This paper describes the evolution of a mechanics course in the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of New South Wales using blended learning. Significant changes were implemented to: (1) reduce the administrative burden associated with the large number of students; (2) maintain student interest and engagement throughout the semester; and (3) successfully deliver the learning outcomes. Student participation was observed to increase with integration of additional information and communication technology, as well as implementation of online assessments into the course structure. Surprisingly, implementation of the blended learning did not improve student academic performance in the summative assessments. This paper reflects what we have learned in the development of this blended learning mechanics course.

In this paper, we strive to provide a primer for students on how to thrive and learn effectively in engineering education in the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) times following the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, which has disrupted the educational enterprise massively with universities physically closing in many parts of the world and students and faculty transitioning to remote learning. Although the immediate audience assumed in this paper comprises engineering students (such as those enrolled in electrical, electronics, or computer engineering programs) studying in an outcome-based education (OBE) environment--the global educational paradigm mandated by the Washington Accord that aims to standardize engineering competencies in terms of the attained student learning outcomes--the presented ideas are more general and broadly useful for learners of all types. We will describe seven evidence-based steps that the students can adopt to thrive in OBE settings in these challenging times. The main contribution of this paper is practical: we present a synthesis of the vast research literature on effective student learning in normal, online, and disrupted settings to present practical insights that students can leverage to substantially improve their learning. At the end of the paper, we also present a discussion of important issues related to remote teaching and online education such as ensuring equity and the handling of lab work for engineers in such settings (e.g., through simulators and virtual labs).

COVID-19 has brought with it a tremendous sea-change in higher education globally. It has brought an opportunity to reconsider the way in which assessment is approached. The context for this paper is a chemical engineering department in a research-intensive university located in central London. Open book exams are used minimally in the degree programmes with retention and knowledge being tested mostly through closed-book exams. The COVID-19 outbreak meant there was now a pressing need to reconsider how students could effectively be assessed under extraordinary circumstances. In the UK [United Kingdom], students were effectively nearing the end of the academic year when ordered into lockdown. Students departed for home, both nationally and overseas and there were only a few options to address assessment. The authors turned to an examination provision that comprised open-book examinations which were taken in fixed, timed sessions. This raised several issues related to: (1) the use of open book exams which many students had not experienced as part of their university assessment; (2) the implication of staggered assessments, accommodating different time zones, given that a large proportion of students are international; (3) using appropriate platforms to deliver and mark exams; and (4) providing pastoral care and support to students during their examination and study periods. This paper outlines the authors' approach to these issues and the impact they have on future assessment provision.

This article presents a summary of the keynote speech presented at the ITEEA Conference in Columbus, OH, March 4, 2013, by Steven Hicks. Hicks is former Director, Research & Development, Flavor & Fragrance Development Global Capability, for the Procter & Gamble Company. Educated as a chemical engineer, his outside interests include advocacy for better math and science teaching in public education. A STEM advocate for many years, Hicks says that his conviction comes from the belief that the competitive advantage of America must come from superior innovation. He says that America seriously risks losing that advantage, as American's did in manufacturing and services, if America doesn't get really serious about investing in making it greater. He further posits that America needs to be graduating not just more, but better-skilled engineers and scientists. Ten years from now, American corporations need to believe again that the very best engineers on the planet are coming out of U.S. schools. Hicks offers his personal list of what he believes are necessary skills for the innovators of the future, and closes by challenging educators to inspire their students to love technology, to be creative, and to teach their students to love the disciplines of math and science.

First-generation college students (FGCS) in engineering bring a wealth of knowledge to their academic and social experiences in higher education, in contrast to deficit-based narratives that students are underprepared. By listening to FGCS' own experiences navigating higher education and using information literacy in their project-based work, librarians and educators can better understand students' funds of knowledge, social capital, and identities, as well as the institutional barriers that must be removed. This paper shares interview findings with (n = 11) FGCS and suggests implications for professional practice that are relevant to information literacy for design, project-based, or practitioner focused disciplines.

The Bachelor's Degree Final Project (BDFP) of our school aims to develop a real constructive project, enhance cooperative teamwork and increase productivity of students. We present a real case study, related with engineering and scientific innovation results obtained by BDFP, which has led to an innovative scientific study presented at the 7th European Meeting on Chemical Industry and Environment and published in EMChIE 2015 Conference Proceedings. The objectives of this paper are: (1) Describing the design and implementation of a BDFP of engineering that encompasses the development of the characteristic elements of engineering and constructive work and, at the same time, it is scientifically innovative; (2) Showing the methodology used for its development; (3) Presenting the results obtained; (4) Emphasizing the importance of teachers, teamwork of students and the use of real case studies in the conceptual development of a BDFP; (5) Enhancing the possibility that the BDFP of Engineering can solve real engineering problems and to be precursors of Innovation and Scientific Knowledge developers; and (6) Learning engineering and, at the same time, providing Science new knowledge and applications. [Paper presented at the International Conference on University Teaching and Innovation (CIDUI): Learning and Teaching Innovation Impacts (9th, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain, Jul 5-7 2016.)]

Calculus courses often present a large number of difficulties to undergraduate students of scientific studies, especially in engineering degrees. These difficulties are sometimes related to teaching and assessment strategies. In this paper, a teaching innovation experience is presented within the framework of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. This teaching experience is focused on a continuous assessment through a systematic use of the so-called WIRIS quizzes. Academic outcomes are very positive from both quantitative and qualitative viewpoints. [Paper presented at the International Conference on University Teaching and Innovation (CIDUI): Learning and Teaching Innovation Impacts (9th, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain, Jul 5-7 2016.)]

This paper presents a blended-learning strategy for improving the teaching method applied in the laboratory subject Manufacturing Technologies. The teaching method has been changed from a predominantly teacher-centred to an active learning system with a student-centred focus and e-learning activities. In face-to-face classes, a game-based learning platform has been used. This methodology ensured engaging classes at the same time that provided a useful live feedback for students and teachers. The virtualization of the laboratory was achieved by two different e-learning activities, self-assessment tasks and video clips. These e-learning tools have been used not only to improve the students' learning but also to enhance their motivation. Academic results show a significant improvement after the new blended learning method is applied. Moreover, a student satisfaction survey shows the positive impact of the methodology on the students' engagement and motivation. [Paper presented at the International Conference on University Teaching and Innovation (CIDUI): Learning and Teaching Innovation Impacts (9th, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain, Jul 5-7 2016.)]

Real-life room-escape games are ludic activities in which participants enter a room in order to get out of it only after solving some riddles. In this paper, we explain a Room Escape teaching experience developed in the Engineering School at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. The goal of this activity is to increase student's motivation and to improve their learning on two courses of the second year in the "Computer Engineering degree: Computer Networks and Information and Security". [Paper presented at the International Conference on University Teaching and Innovation (CIDUI): Learning and Teaching Innovation Impacts (9th, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain, Jul 5-7 2016.)]

Engineering products and solutions have revolutionized daily living, resulting in longer and more productive activities. However, the continued development of electronic components will be hindered as their sizes are reaching quantum levels. Creative engineers are needed to find solutions to this problem so that innovation in technology can be sustained. In this paper, we suggest that technical engineering courses can support developing creative culture by using game-based learning. Specifically, engineering students can design their own games as a pedagogical approach to develop creativity, learn innovation, and increase their technical learning outcomes. We illustrate this suggestion using examples from senior electrical engineering technical content.

This paper discusses a global program for first-year engineering students that typically combines a spring semester course with an international module in the summer. This year, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the course component of the program was redesigned for the post-COVID environment. The purpose of this paper is to present the decisions made during this process and explore their outcomes through analysis of students' feedback and global competence survey results. Four major decisions shaped the program redesign by balancing the desire for students to develop global competence with the acknowledgement that student motivation and energy would be impacted by the lack of travel and COVID-19. Data from students' responses on assignments, survey administration and teaching evaluations were analyzed to understand student experiences after the program redesign. Results from our analysis show students were able to develop global competence without international travel. Implications from the results and next steps are discussed in this paper.

It is reported that engineering for play-based settings is a new body of knowledge under debate and contradictory. Many studies show how play-based settings are full of engineering possibilities for young children, whilst others have identified missed engineering teaching possibilities. In order to better understand the research, this paper answers the questions, 'How is engineering knowledge being constructed through research into play-based settings?', and 'What do the results show for practice and future engineering research for preschool settings?' To answer these questions, a critique of those studies which focused on engineering education in play-based settings was undertaken. By examining existing studies in relation to the study designs and the results, this paper reports on how categories of engineering knowledge were established and how knowledge was constructed for engineering education for play-based settings. Using cultural-historical theory, the results show that studies of play-based setting have primarily been guided by practices from only some engineering professions, knowledge construction is based on both pre-defined and emergent categories, and research has tended to focus mostly on constructing (e.g. blocks). Gendered engineering knowledge was also identified, suggesting only partial understandings of engineering education evident. The critique not only identified knowledge construction that positively contributes to scholarship but also found gaps in what was being studied, thereby contributing to research by cautioning against full acceptance of the existing analytical concepts in the literature and suggesting that the building of a broader set of analytical categories for future research is needed.

This paper explores how primary teachers might be prepared through their pre-service training to feel more confident to include engineering in their teaching. Prompted by concerns about young people's lack of interest in STEM subjects and careers, engineering is gradually gaining visibility in the primary curriculum in several forms, particularly through integrated STEM programmes. However, the status of engineering relative to science, technology and mathematics remains contested in schools and engineering has low visibility in pre-service preparation programmes for primary teachers. Therefore, this case-study investigated how two strategies might give students learning to be primary technology, computing and science teachers greater confidence to introduce the concept of engineering into their teaching. By reframing engineering as engineering habits of mind and by giving students experience of engaging with practising engineers, the study found that it was possible to enhance primary trainee teachers' understanding of the world of engineering and increase their confidence to introduce engineering habits of mind in lessons with primary children. The paper concludes with some implications for practice of this approach.

An undergraduate degree in engineering requires students to not only be proficient in engineering knowledge but also acquire comprehensive skills such as independent learning ability, strong communication skills, social knowledge, and innovative thinking. Therefore, problem-based learning (PBL), which is a student-centered approach, is getting wide recognition among academicians in institutions of higher education. PBL is one of the learning strategies in which students are guided by instructors through problem solving and develop additional generic skills and attributes, apart from the content-specific knowledge and skills that they require. This paper presents a case study of PBL in the subject of Structural Analysis and evaluates its effectiveness and acceptance by students. The main objective was to see how students evaluate this initiative and its learning potential to achieve the educational goals set for the course. For this, a closed-ended questionnaire survey was distributed among current students of civil engineering focusing on different aspects of PBL in the Structural Analysis course. The results of the questionnaire survey indicated that PBL, though time-consuming, is seen as effective, relevant, and motivating, which promotes independent learning among engineering students. Therefore, it is recommended that the implementation of similar PBL techniques be promoted by academicians for students' lifelong learning.

Higher education is challenged by workforce needs to transform its outcomes from "knowledge-based" to "competency-based" outcomes. High-impact educational practices, commonly referred to as HIPs, provide, among other benefits, efficacious development of workforce-ready specific competencies. Strategic implementation of HIPs has yet to be diffused at Saudi universities. The Northern Border University (NBU) has identified a set of core competencies graduate workforce-ready graduates. To effectively realize the intended outcomes of its core competencies, NBU selected a set of HIPs to increase student success. This paper discusses NBU's processes and implementation strategies in selecting core competencies and HIPs with ultimate aim of translating both to the local higher education culture and norms in order to effectively achieve desired outcomes.

In this message from the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) president, Andy Stephenson stresses the need for technology, innovation, design, and engineering (TIDE) education. He cites the recent report--"Preparing for the Perfect Storm, a Report on the Forum, Taking Action Together: Developing a National Plan to Address the "T & E" of STEM"--which states that the strategic significance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in today's classroom has never been more evident and that the national security and economic competitiveness of the United States rests on the skills developed through STEM education. He says focusing on advocacy efforts will revolve around developing visions of technological literacy and the creation of documents and advocacy materials, public relations guidelines, and providing workshops to create advocacy initiatives among technology educators and affiliate associations. The object is to make the message clear and concise and enable the profession to show a unified message of the important role TIDE plays in the delivery of STEM. He encourages technology educators to take every opportunity to share the message of TIDE: the positive impact their teaching has on students and their ability to thrive in a society whose economy depends on technology, innovation, design, and engineering.

"Global Engineering Education Accreditation" (GEEA) is an internationally accepted quality assurance system for engineering education in universities, and technology competitions for college students are also considered important approaches to achieve the educational objectives and meet graduation requirements of GEEA in practice aspects. In this paper, the competency of guiding teachers of technology competitions for Chinese college students is evaluated through a case of "National Competition of Transportation Science and Technology for Students" (NACTranS). Firstly, 7 theoretical hypotheses of the modified "structural equation modeling" (SEM) for competency were developed by concentrating on some principles pertaining to the key concepts of GEEA. Secondly, competition results were set as the dependent variable and 3 dimensions of competition (topic selecting, works producing and team managing) were set as the independent variables under the modified SEM. Meanwhile, both administrative ranks and regional locations of universities where guiding teachers work were set as intervening vectors so as to explain the formation mechanisms of competency. Thirdly, a case study of NACTranS data from 68 universities in China's mainland was done through modified SEM calculating. The conclusions indicate that competency of guiding teachers is not only represented by 3 dimensions but also indirectly manipulated by 2 intervening vectors. According to the case calculating by modified SEM, the determinant of guiding teachers' performance in topic selecting is the administrative ranks of universities, whereas their performance in works producing is dictated by the regional locations of universities. Various improvements on the competency of guiding teachers can be carried out in schools of engineering in Chinese universities, such as sufficient academic communications, efficient industry-university-research cooperation and so on.

This case study presents a teaching strategy for an engineering dynamics course using a range of different learning options supporting different learning styles. The teaching strategy was implemented in a blended learning environment by combining traditional lectures with online resources. Additionally, hand-in assignments based on authentic research papers were introduced. Two sets of questionnaires were given to evaluate the students' perception of the different learning options. The study shows that the students found online pencasts very useful as a means to increase the outcome of studying a traditional textbook. The implementation of an electronic audience response system to enhance active learning by peer instruction in combination with traditional lecturing was highly appreciated by the students. The students found it difficult and time consuming to work with real research papers but many students expressed that it was stimulating to see that the theory is used today by practitioners in engineering. Finally, the study indicates that the proposed teaching strategy as estimated by the students leads to increased motivation and engagement in their study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are indebted to him for his careful editing of the final versions of the papers published in this special issue, for the opportunity to publish this special issue, and for his dedicated support for the entire process, without which this special issue would not exist. The 3 SP rd sp International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Infrastructure (ICRAM-2021) was organized by the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management (IITRAM), Ahmedabad, India during August 6-8, 2021. [Extracted from the article]

This paper reflects upon the mechanisms that enable development of curricular approaches to multidisciplinary architecture/engineering higher education. Building upon recent calls for integrated multidisciplinary building design practice, academics at UCL, industry partners and respective professional bodies embarked upon developing a new course that challenged disciplinary boundaries and defined the needs of a new design professional. Whilst there have been attempts internationally to better integrate architecture as well as engineering education, efforts have largely been focused on bolt-on solutions based on pre-existing education programmes. In addition, there has been little discussion (empirical or theoretical) on practical measures associated with developing multidisciplinary education in the built environment. Drawing on mixed data including documentary evidence, semi structured interviews and observations, the study begins to shed light on the approaches underpinning the development of a multidisciplinary built environment MEng course at UCL that integrates architecture, building services and civil engineering. The paper's contribution is threefold. First, the findings have implications for developing multidisciplinary built environment education curricula, through revealing key mechanisms including the need for shared attitudes and expectations. Second, the paper highlights the conditions that enable the negotiation of multidisciplinary curricula including institutional support, shared values and a collective need and willingness to explore new solutions. Third, the paper reflects upon the value of design studio learning as a critical integrative component to the delivery of multidisciplinary education in the built environment and STEM more widely.

Power engineering certification in Canada comprises a hierarchical, graduated system available to both young and adult learners. This paper offers insight into the knowledge gap regarding factors influencing Canadian power engineers' decision to pursue advanced certification in the Provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, with implications for adult learning in the power engineering sector of Canada. Comprehension of factors that influence intentions for power engineering certification may illuminate barriers and enablers to adult learning and provide evidentiary knowledge to support a format that facilitates advancement of certification. The research methodology was quantitative correlational design in which linear and logistic regressions employing a modified Bonferroni equivalent alpha were utilised. An original survey was developed for the study and pilot tested for validity and reliability. The sample comprised 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Class power engineers in British Columbia and Alberta. The dependent variable (DV) was the power engineers' advancement intention. In the context of this paper, advancement intention is an influence leading to the inclination or reluctance to pursue promotion, succession, or advancement in employment. The independent variables (IVs) were time commitment, educational support, locus of control, time elapsed since previous certification, responsibility, and peer appraisal. Revealed in the results were positive, statistically significant relationships between the DV of advancement intention and three of the six IVs. Time commitment, responsibility, and elapsed time exert statistically significant effects on advancement intention (DV). The three remaining IVs that did not exhibit significant relationships with the DV were educational support, locus of control, and peer appraisal. This indicated that the IVs of educational support, locus of control, and peer appraisal did not significantly influence the DV when compared to the significant influences of time commitment, responsibility, and elapsed time on the DV. Comprehension of the influential factors regarding the intention of Canadian power engineers to pursue advanced certification may assist industry and academia with insight into the barriers and enablers to higher certification, and the correlation of decision factors with advancement intention.

The purpose of this study is to discuss the effects of visuals, visual literacy, visualization and multimedia design strategies using instructional design (ID) models for developing projects in education and science education, as well as engineering education. This study discusses and presents ways to evaluate visuals, visualization, and virtual technologies (as VR/AR and 2D-3D) in science education and engineering education based on research and foundations of visual learning, visual thinking, and visual communication. This study is a literature review work concerning visual effects, visual literacy, learner perceptions and technological variables for designing multimedia instruction and learning projects in visualization. In addition, this paper discusses similarities and constraints in using ID models for designing multimedia projects from the perspective of the use of visuals and ID models for developing visual materials in education. These procedures include the perceptual and theoretical foundations of visual learning, cognitive factors of visual images, visual design and program of systematic evaluation steps, as well as multimedia projects design and development materials with ID models, such as the decide, design, develop, and evaluate (DDD-E) model (Ivers, Barron, 2010) and a human information processing model (Mayer, 2001). With these models, all considerations for visual typology will be indicated in the implementation of visuals, learning design, visualization using virtual reality technologies and evaluation of visuals in multimedia development. Concluding the paper, meaningful connections between visuals and technological variables for developing multimedia project design will be considered. Indicators for learners and designers and teachers will be shown in learning imagery for visualization activity and educational technology. This will be followed by a discussion of the use of visuals and evaluation of visual materials based on the program of systematic evaluation developed by Dwyer (1972, 1978, 1987, 1994).

This paper explores the potential opportunities to enhance the entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial attributes of graduates in the Metallurgy and Materials Engineering curricula at two universities in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Due to the diminishing geographical constraints between Zimbabwe and South Africa, and the strong juxtaposition between the two economies, this paper adopts a simplified comparative education methodology to benchmark education best practices between these two countries. While the reviewed curricula in their present form may be providing learners with opportunities for disciplinary problem solving and inquiry-based learning, this paper proposes a body-centred cubic (bcc) model to integrate a new dimension of entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial education into the teaching and learning space. Based on the 3D bcc lattice with six planes, where the first five planes represent the current curricula, pedagogy practices and desired attributes, the sixth plane is taken to represent the additional dimensions of the desired entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial attributes.

Higher education provides plenty of opportunity for theory and in many cases, even the ability to apply theory in a laboratory setting. Yet, there remains limited opportunity for students to learn by doing through participation in authentic learning experiences. The purpose of this paper is to provide one potential solution for integrating authentic learning into the engineering classroom by cultivating the entrepreneurial mindset. As entrepreneurship serves as an integral part of the economy, developing an entrepreneurial mindset through authentic learning experiences is essential for engineers. While online discussion prompts represent a useful way for educators to facilitate student learning, less is known about how to facilitate online discussions in a way that truly cultivates an entrepreneurial mindset for engineering students. In this paper, the key intentions of entrepreneurially-minded learning are reviewed, and a guide for creating online discussions applicable to any engineering course is presented. Example online discussion prompts incorporating the entrepreneurial mindset are then shared from an Introduction to Engineering course. Results from a mixed methods survey instrument suggests positive impacts towards student perceptions of online discussions and development of the entrepreneurial mindset. Recommendations for effectively and efficiently facilitating online discussions for entrepreneurially-minded learning in the engineering classroom are offered.

Teaching Project Management module to undergraduate students is important and has been globally considered in multiple academic disciplines by many higher institutions. Students in undergraduate level encounter difficulty in understanding the topic of project management since there have no prior knowledge before the course. This paper aimed to determine the effectiveness of flipped teaching and active learning in Project Management module for undergraduate students in Civil Engineering. However, the paper discussed the effective practices in teaching and learning project management and their impacts into students' learning experience, and assessments development and marking. The Padlet and SurveyMonkey e-tools were used to collect students' feedback on the instructor practice; either by tagging comments or filling questionnaire. The results indicated that the use of multiple in-class activities and digital technology in a flipped classroom are important to enhance students' performance. It is also observed that the use of multiple assessments engaged students deeply with the course and provide deeper learning. Students' performance in summative assessments showed that there is a noticeable improve in student's scores in the current semester in contrast with previous semester where traditional teaching was practiced.

Telecom operators and companies ask for graduates with a specific education on the standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) or the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and the University curricula must consider these needs. The standards are written in a technical form, in a language understandable only by experts, and the technical details and algorithms are not often outlined. Therefore, a new educational methodology must be applied because the teachers have to bridge the gap between the basic knowledge (and the poor technical language) of students and the technical specifics of the standards. The paper presents a structured methodology to provide innovative teaching of the wireless standards for the Engineering Master's degree, according to the Conceive, Design, Implement, and Operate (CDIO) initiative and project based learning. The methodology is organized in three learning phases to understand the standardization process and improve students' skills to implement standard compliant communications systems. This challenge can be only won with laboratory activities to assist students in understanding wireless standards and with hands-on experiences during the internship period at telecom operators with the vision of a close cooperation between universities and telecom operators. Only in this way can the students achieve a solid background in designing and developing prototypes compliant with wireless communications standards and working skills for their future professional engineering careers. The effectiveness of the adopted educational methodology to provide innovative learning of wireless standards is evaluated by questionnaires filled in online by students and by the achieved skills implemented as confirmed by telecom operators. In this vision, the paper provides decision support to leaders in educational organizations to teach wireless standards effectively.

This paper is an overview of approaches to teaching physics courses delivered to students of engineering disciplines. It addresses, first, the history of teaching physics to engineering students starting in the early 20th century, then reviews the main issues presented and discussed over the last decade in a series of conferences on Physics Teaching in Engineering Education (PTEE). Finally, this paper discusses more contemporary views on the subject, including the latest technologies and new methodologies. It is not a critical review of teaching physics to engineering students, but rather a summary of various views and approaches over the span of the entire century. The common denominator of the study is the relevance to the competency-based approach: how the papers focus on teaching engineers the principles of physics in a manner that contributes to success in their professional careers.

This paper describes the use of a large-scale, multi-semester design project as a means of integrating six courses in the mechanical engineering curriculum. The project, a bench-scale hybrid powertrain, is built up -- component by component -- as students advance through the curriculum. The authors used the project to test two research hypotheses: (1) that a long-term, large-scale design project would increase long-term subject matter retention and (2) that a long-term, large-scale design project would increase students' design and problem-solving skills. The authors found that the design project had no measurable effect on long-term subject matter retention, but did have an impact on design thinking and skill. The paper gives a full description of the project and assessment effort, and provides some of the insights acquired by the authors while conducting this research. A complete description of the project and videos of student designs can be found on the project website, www.benchtophybrid.com.

There is growing interest in the engineering education community in "making" and the Maker Movement as a context for young people to learn and develop interest around design and early engineering competencies. Although some researchers argue that making has the potential to serve a liberating and anti-oppressive function in education, there are deep and abiding concerns that making as it exists today is not serving the goals of equity, but is in fact reproducing patterns of inequality in access and participation. In this paper, we consider an educational innovation we designed to create a more equitable maker learning experience for high school aged youth. We designed our innovation around a core pedagogical commitment to meeting youth "where they are." We mean this in three senses: First, we mean this literally/geographically, as youth need physical access to resources to learn. We addressed this goal by creating a mobile makerspace. Second, we mean this cognitively, as new knowledge must be built on existing knowledge. We addressed this goal by creating flexible project structures with "just-in-time" teaching. Third, we mean this affectively, so that we meet students as "who" they are. We addressed this goal primarily by giving youth the freedom to make choices about their project work, in what they worked on, in how they wanted it to look, and in who their audience or client for the work would be. The paper describes the design of the mobile workshop and the pedagogical approach and offers two cases of educational programs implementing these models, one from an out-of-school context and one from an in-school context.

Educational approaches in structural engineering have focused on classical methods for solving problems with manual calculations through assignments, quizzes, and exams. The use of computational software to apply the learned knowledge has been ignored for decades. This paper describes an educational approach to tackle the lack of applicable practical exercises in the structural engineering class "CE 506-Prestressed Concrete" at a university in the western United States during the spring of 2017. The class was designed to provide students with the theoretical concepts of prestressed concrete and the ability to interpret applicable design codes. In their project, students continued to build this knowledge by designing a prestressed bridge superstructure according to a unique state design manual. Students prepared a literature review of their selected state in the U.S.A. and used commercial software to perform an analysis and design of their bridge. Additionally, students were asked to backcheck their design using theoretical methods through manual calculations. By the end of the class, students presented their projects in a head-to-head presentation format, to contrast the differences between their designs in a competitive style. This paper summarizes the class structure, the outcome of the design project, and recommendations for future applications of computer technology in structural engineering education.

This paper addresses the problem of the formation of the self-regulation of educational activities of students studying in a technical university. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the problem of the self-regulation of educational activities of students, presenting data from an experimental study of students' self-regulation. Special attention is paid to the distinction between the terms self-control and self-regulation. This paper presents data on the state of self-regulation among students studying technical specialties. The research methodology is based on the theoretical analysis of the results of scientific works, which present the main provisions on the formation of students' self-regulation. The research methods include questioning and a methodical experiment. The stages of the formation of students' self-regulation are highlighted, and the main directions of teachers' work on the formation of students' self-regulation are determined. The structure of self-regulation is described and the condition for its formation is justified using the technology of self-regulation formation. Based on the study, students' self-regulation is linked to the awareness of their professional and personal goals, as well as to the level of regulatory and reflective qualities. Personal and professional self-improvement in the process of vocational education depends on the level of the formation of regulatory and reflexive qualities.

Industry engagement, commonly implemented as a 12 week industry placement during a vacation towards the end of the degree, has traditionally been a provider-mandated component of externally accredited professional engineering degrees in Australia. Such placements are intended to bridge knowledge and capability gaps between academic study and engineering employment and contextualise the final phase of academic study. Changes in the composition of Australia's engineering industries have made it progressively harder to source such placements. In-curriculum exposure to engineering practice has also been expected, but has been delivered with considerable variability. In 2014 the authors completed a national project, led by the Australian Council of Engineering Deans (ACED), with peak industry bodies and several partner universities, funded from the Commonwealth Department of Industry Workplace Innovation Program, to explore how improving industry engagement could contribute further to engineering graduates' learning outcomes and employability. The data collected from the engineering students and employers, reported in this paper, can now be regarded as baseline data on industry engagement, against which subsequent developments can be referenced. For the first time, students' ratings of the value of different methods for industry engagement are shown to be related to their 'authenticity'. Several industry-inspired in-curriculum interventions were also trialled at partner universities. Guidelines for good practice were developed from melding the experiential findings with theoretical perspectives. In the years since completing the project, the accreditation body, Engineers Australia, has updated and intensified its focus on engagement with practice (including changing its language from 'exposure' to 'engagement'), and many engineering faculties have significantly enhanced their models and requirements for work integrated learning and industry engagement. This paper outlines these changes and examples of new implementations, including virtual and electronically-mediated methods that also reflect ongoing changes in engineering industry practice.

Engineering education addresses the development of professional competencies in undergraduates. In this context, the core set of professional competencies includes critical thinking and problem solving, effective communication, collaboration and team building, and creativity and innovation--also known as the four Cs--as well as socio-professional ethics and sustainable development--referred in this paper as the two Ss. While the four Cs were identified by the associates of the American Management Association based on the needs of the society, professional associations, and businesses; this paper proposes the two S extension to ensure that future engineers contribute to the well-being of individuals and the preservation of life on Earth. It proposes a tangible framework--the 4C2S--and an application method to analyse the contributions made by engineering capstone programmes to the development of these core competencies in future engineering professionals. The method is applied to an engineering capstone programme--the European Project Semester (EPS) offered by the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP)--and a specific project case--EPS@ISEP Pet Tracker project developed in 2013, constituting, in addition, a road map for the application of the 4C2S framework to engineering capstone programmes. The results show that EPS@ISEP complies with the 4C2S framework.

In this paper, we report and expand on research questions designed to improve undergraduate engineering education. These questions are based on a yearlong process that included a three-step Delphi study and a subsequent two-day workshop. The Delphi study, conducted during winter and spring of 2015, engaged subject matter experts from engineering education research and engineering academic administration. It resulted in the formation of three writing teams, one each for the critical areas of improving student learning in undergraduate engineering education, improving and diversifying pathways of engineering students to increase retention, and using technology to enhance learning and engagement in engineering. Participants in the two-day workshop, held in October 2015, were chosen for their expertise in one or more of the three areas, such that the workshop could explore priorities for research that would address each of these areas. Using results from the Delphi study and the workshop, the writing teams worked to synthesize and expand on the research questions to guide future work. This paper addresses the first area: improving student learning in undergraduate engineering education. Comprehensive, systemic, and systematic improvement of student learning in the undergraduate engineering education system will require change across numerous elements in the system. The Delphi study and the subsequent workshop clustered major issues related to these numerous elements into four themes: (1) change the organizational culture, (2) research effective assessment practices, (3) promote adoption of research-based teaching practices, and (4) characterize successful faculty development. For each of the four themes, we present a rationale to support selection of the theme and offer categories to organize the research questions. We expect these questions will catalyze scholars to generate new areas of research, will inspire engineering instructors to pursue ideas for improving teaching and assessment in their classrooms, and will galvanize administrators to apply insights to change institutional policies, teaching and assessment activities, faculty development initiatives, and, ultimately, their organizational cultures.

Through the project-based instruction (PBI) method, this paper described the design, implementation, and assessment of a technical communication course for engineering graduate students. The paper first addressed an increasing demand of engineering students with great communication skills through analyzing the existing literature and industry criteria. It then introduced concepts and characteristics of PBI and explained why PBI is a fit pedagogy in teaching technical writing to engineering students. Next, it elaborated components involved in the holistic design of the PBI course, including student sample, timeline, designed sections and units, and designing rationale and principles. This paper then reported the teaching effectiveness of this course through the course evaluation. Through the instructor's critical reflection, the paper finally discussed challenges in implementing and assessing a PBI method in this course and also provided insights to improve curriculum design for future scholars.

The significant global challenges faced in the world today require innovative solutions and creative thinking. In traditional postsecondary education, technical programs such as engineering often focus on technical competencies as opposed to creative thinking. However, as industry demands for creative technical employees continue to increase, postsecondary institutions must adapt their education accordingly. This work combines ideation and creative writing techniques with engineering design to turn initial ideas into significant ideas using an avant-garde literary device referred to as 'pataphysics. Tested by both faculty and student demographics, the final three-module framework uses disruptive thinking that leads to the accelerated development of creative solutions.

Civil engineering, specifically transport engineering, is a continually evolving profession. Recent developments in technology have resulted in more automated and visual problem-solving techniques, involving the use of computer programs and simulation, as practitioners and researchers move away from traditional pen and paper approaches. Accordingly, teaching undergraduate university students the basic principles of transport planning, traffic engineering, and highway design effectively is fundamental to the sustainability of the profession. It also is a challenging and dynamic task for educators because enhanced accessibility to technology has changed the way students understand and learn the material being delivered at tertiary education institutions. This paper presents the development of, and feedback from, the implementation of a series of blended learning initiatives (interactive polling exercises, online quizzes, supplementary learning videos, and authentic real-world design project) within an introductory large class-size transport planning and geometric design subject. The process of developing the blended learning initiatives was documented to clearly highlight the benefits and challenges in the transformation process. In addition, qualitative student feedback and student performance between 2016 and 2018 were reviewed to understand the impacts of the transformation. The initiatives were well received; students valued self-paced learning and the exposure to real-world design exercises. From an educator's perspective, blending made it feasible to deliver complex content whilst offering tailored learning opportunities across the cohort. Although further comprehensive experiments and statistically oriented research are necessary, this case study adds to a growing body of literature that indicates the potential value of blended learning initiatives, especially in the context of large class-size university subjects.

The article focuses on the benefits of the hands-on science presentations that the authors do and it explains how the "single sheet of paper challenge" works. The challenge for this team exercise is for students to figure out how to use a sheet of paper to support their history class textbook one inch above the table. Suggestions are made for how to manage the classroom during the activity by keeping students focused on the one inch part of the challenge. The teacher shows the students how the structure of cardboard gives it its strength.

The present paper investigates the gender perspective of flipped classroom. In particular, it considers how the collaborative setting of in-class group-work affect the female population of students. The paper draws on an in-depth analysis of the interview with one such student. The focus of this interview was on interactional collaboration between peers during group work activities in a mathematics course. Such work is vital in a flipped classroom arrangement. The student, called Sofia, highlighted arguments of value for a deeper investigation. The analysis draws on Bjerrum Nielsen's framework with four different gender perspectives (2003). Our analysis illuminates a number of arguments about interactions and interpretations of gender and challenges when collaborating in groups in a flipped classroom setting. Arguments informs both context and individual levels of the setting. What is realised in the case of Sofia is that there are dualistic viewpoints raised within all gender perspectives, sometimes conflicting each other. Result is that guidance from a teacher in formation of groups is necessary but will need careful considerations.

Purpose: With past studies indicating a lack of skill development in engineering education, there is a need for new pedagogical tools that are application and skill-oriented. Hackathons are widely accepted in the corporate world, in the engineering domain for skill development and recruitment but have not gained acceptance in mainstream engineering education. Very few studies have discussed engineering educator views regarding hackathons and their benefits. This paper intends to study engineering educators' perception of the hackathon and its benefits after participating in it. The findings could support hackathons as a pedagogical tool to develop an industry-oriented and skill-based engineering education. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed methods design was employed where initially qualitative study was conducted. Its findings were used to conduct survey of 162 engineering educators who had participated in a hackathon. A five point Likert scale was employed for data collection. Findings: The findings reveal that engineering educators who participated in the hackathon perceived hackathons to support industry-focused learning, problem-solving and new skill development. They also acknowledged its role in their professional development. The further discussion suggests that engineering educators and institutes may collaborate with industry to design and use hackathons as a teaching tool to develop industry-ready graduates. Research limitations/implications: The study was not designed to study how different aspects of hackathon lead to different benefits derived from participating in it. There is a need to study hackathons as a tool of pedagogy and assessment, focusing on how variables linked to it facilitate, moderate and hinder the learning and assessment process in participants. More in-depth studies need to be conducted to adopt the hackathon as a pedagogy and assessment tool in higher education. Practical implications: The discussion suggests that designing hackathons effectively as a tool for learning and skill development will result in skilled graduates. Engineering educators should adopt hackathons as a pedagogy for their students. Management and policymakers of engineering institutes should consider hackathons as a part of pedagogy for students besides conducting hackathons for educators for their professional development that will be investment in skills helpful at workplace. Originality/value: The notable contribution of this paper is to document perceptions of engineering educators regarding hackathons and their benefits after participating in a hackathon. The paper proposes that hackathons can be introduced in the engineering curriculum as they would offer educators a novel method of teaching and assessment and support engineering graduates in recruitment and making them industry-ready.

Purpose: This research article aims to prioritize the risks associated with the implementation of the project-based learning (PBL) concept in engineering institutions and develop possible strategies for risk management. Design/methodology/approach: In this research article, various risks associated with the implementation of the PBL concept in engineering institutions are discovered by taking inputs from academicians and performing a literature survey of peer-reviewed journal articles. Then, identified risks are prioritized by using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. Finally, the risk mitigation strategies are developed. Findings: From the literature survey, 11 risks associated with the implementation of the PBL concept are identified. The TOPSIS method resulted in group dynamics risk and faculty training risk as the top two risks in the implementation of the PBL concept, whereas anxiety risk and poor prior learning experience risk are relatively low-ranked risks. Research limitations/implications: The outcome of the research is based on the responses received through questionnaires. There are other methods also available for risk analysis, which are beyond this study. Practical implications The outcome of this research work will help the implementer of the PBL concept to effectively deal with the risks involved in implementing the PBL concept in engineering institutions by adopting strategies. Originality/value: This research paper gives an idea about risks associated with the PBL implementation in engineering institutions. Also, this paper uses TOPSIS method for ranking of identified risks.

Purpose: At present, humankind is facing rapid and profound changes in society, science, technology, economy and environment. The 21st century has witnessed extraordinary scientific and technological progressions. Improvement of technology has generated new educational technique known as e-learning. Nowadays, popularity of e-learning is growing rapidly and numerous educational organizations, public, academic and digital libraries are embracing it. Lately, engineering education is heading toward the blended education system as it successfully combines both chalk and talk system (face-to-face), computer-assisted learning methodologies and internet access feature to learners. Design/methodology/approach: This work discusses the potential of e-learning as an educational system for engineering topics and the challenges faced by educational organizations and public libraries as their partners in applying this system for engineering topics. In addition, number of national and international successful engineering e-learning trials that have been created, organized and/or hosted by educational organizations and public libraries are presented. Findings: The author presents challenges and obstacles that stakeholders, teachers, professors and librarians should be aware of to develop and support the e-learning system. Hence, a number of recommendations are provided to build a bridge linking e-learning and engineering education. Originality/value: This paper is a complementary work to a previously published study. In this paper, the author sheds light on the link between the e-learning system and the engineering education provided by the educational organizations and hosted by public libraries.