Search

Increasingly volatile and complex manufacturing environments make the continuous development of engineering professionals' knowledge and competences in changeable and reconfigurable manufacturing a major source of competitiveness in manufacturing companies. Enablers of this include modular and platform-based product and manufacturing system design, as well as industry 4.0 related technologies and digitalisation. Therefore, this paper focuses on Continuing Engineering Education (CEE) in changeable and reconfigurable manufacturing and investigates the implications of applying a university-industry collaborative approach to Problem-based Learning (PBL) for CEE in company-settings. The paper builds on a four-year CEE initiative from Swedish manufacturing industry and includes insights from implementing a CEE course in changeable manufacturing, which was designed based on PBL principles and run as an industry-university cooperation for four consecutive years. Implications addressed in the paper relates to (1) PBL as a suitable approach for CEE, (2) Research transfer to industry through PBL-based CEE, and (3) industryuniversity collaboration for CEE, which provides valuable insights on how to conduct successful CEE in knowledge fields that are fast evolving in order to enable fast industry transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changeability and reconfigurability are some of the most important sources of competitiveness in today's manufacturing industry. However, the development and implementation of reconfigurable manufacturing systems still appear to be challenged and limited in industry. Therefore, it is increasingly relevant for engineers and professionals in the manufacturing industry to build knowledge and competences in reconfigurability. This paper presents preliminary insights and learnings from developing and running a problem-based learning (PBL) course in reconfigurable manufacturing for continuing engineering education (CEE). Presented insights cover both observed benefits and learnings for professionals participating in the course, as well as important learnings on how to best transfer knowledge from research to practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of employees' skills and competences has become a key driver of economic growth in the developed world. It is widely recognised that enhancing people's skills and competences will be a major cause of future competitive advantage. Consequently, companies need to be able to identify precise areas where they have, or can build, distinctive competences. To meet these needs, various models and approaches for continuing engineering education have emerged. One such approach is the facilitated work-based learning (FWBL) model, the aim of which is to introduce an approach to tailor-made courses built on work-based learning (WBL) and problem-based learning (PBL). This paper addresses the implementation of tailor-made continuing engineering education in company settings through the use of FWBL. It draws on a huge amount of documentation produced within the Via Nord project, which was supported by the European Social Fund and engaged various companies in northern Denmark. The aim is to investigate how the FWBL model worked in practice when implemented as a means for tailor-made continuing engineering education applied in a company setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a non-classical logic course primarily indicated for graduate students in electrical engineering and energy engineering. The content of this course is based on the vision that it is not enough for a student to indefinitely accumulate knowledge; it is necessary to explore all the occasions to update, deepen, and enrich that knowledge, adapting it to a complex world. Therefore, this course is not tied to theoretical formalities and tries at each moment to provide a practical view of the non-classical logic. In the real world, the inconsistencies are important and cannot be ignored because contradictory information brings relevant facts, sometimes modifying the entire result of the analysis. As consequence, the non-classical logics, such as annotated paraconsistent logic – APL, are efficiently framed in the approach of complex situations of the real world. In APL, the concepts of unknown, partial, ambiguous, and inconsistent knowledge are referred not to trivialise any system in analysis. This course presents theoretical and applicable aspects of APL, which are successfully used in decision-making structures. The course is divided into modules: Basic, 2vAPL, 3vAPL, 4vAPL, and Final Project. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports the results of a study of engineering students’ approaches to an open-ended design problem. To carry out this, sketches and interviews were collected from 9 freshmen (first year) and 10 doctoral engineering students, when they designed solutions for orange squeezers. Sketches and interviews were analysed and mapped with a descriptive ‘ideation framework’ (IF) of the design process, to document and compare their design creativity (Carmona Marques, P., A. Silva, E. Henriques, and C. Magee. 2014. “A Descriptive Framework of the Design Process from a Dual Cognitive Engineering Perspective.”International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation2 (3): 142–164). The results show that the designers worked in a manner largely consistent with the IF for generalisation and specialisation loops. Also, doctoral students produced more alternative solutions during the ideation process. In addition, compared to freshman, doctoral used the generalisation loop of the IF, working at higher levels of abstraction. The iterative nature of design is highlighted during this study – a potential contribution to decrease the gap between both groups in engineering education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While the continuing education of working engineers is important, relatively few recommendations are given in the literature for how to design effective instructional materials for those engineers. The study reported here addressed this gap by investigating working engineers’ multimedia type preferences. Four media types in four different categories (in parentheses) were compared: text (verbal), drawing (static graphic), animation (dynamic non-interactive graphic) and simulated virtual reality (dynamic interactive graphic). The results showed working engineers strongly preferred graphics (drawing, animation and simulated virtual reality) over verbal (text) multimedia. There was relatively little difference in preferences among the graphic types. These results suggest a variety of graphic multimedia types should be used in the instructional design of continuing engineering education content and text should not be solely relied on to carry information content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Professionals who pursue a doctorate after significant post-baccalaureate work experience, a group we refer to as returners, represent an important but understudied group of engineering doctoral students. Returners are well situated to leverage their applied work experiences in their advanced engineering training. Purpose/Hypothesis We drew on results from the Graduate Student Experiences and Motivations Survey to explore the dimensionality of our scales measuring value and cost constructs. We used these scales, as well as measures of student expectancy of success, to compare returners with direct-pathway students. Design/Method We surveyed 179 returners and 297 direct-pathway domestic engineering doctoral students. We first conducted Exploratory Factor Analysis on our cost and value measures. We then used both Ordinary Least Squares and Ordinal Regression Model analyses to assess the relationships of various student characteristics and experiences (including returner status) with student expectancy of success and the emergent cost and values factors associated with doctoral study in engineering. Results Factor analysis revealed three categories of values (interest, attainment, and career utility) that were largely consistent with those in Eccles' expectancy-value framework. A similar analysis identified three categories of costs (balance, financial, and academic) associated with pursuing a PhD. Returners felt significantly less confident in their ability to complete their degrees prior to enrolling and perceived higher levels of all cost types than direct-pathway students. Conclusions Given the differences between returning and direct-pathway students, it is important to consider how universities might best recruit and retain returners. Tracking returner status could be critical in better supporting these students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Increasing human resources in engineering is a key concern for the United States. While some research has considered pathways to doctoral study, there is no clear empirical evidence on the role of undergraduate experiences in motivating engineers to continue to graduate school, both in engineering programs and more broadly. Purpose/Hypothesis We investigated three influences on engineers' decisions to enter graduate school: mathematics proficiency, self-assessments of engineering skills, and co-curricular experiences. Design/method Using data from 1,119 engineers, we developed a hierarchical multinomial logistic model to examine engineers' graduate school enrollment patterns. Results Math proficiency, participation in undergraduate research, and self-assessed leadership skills are significant positive predictors of attendance in an engineering graduate program, although self-assessed teamwork skills are a negative predictor. For attendance in a nonengineering graduate school program, math proficiency, nonengineering community volunteer work, and engineering clubs were positive predictors, but none of the self-assessed skills were significant predictors. Conclusions Our findings support past research that emphasized academic preparedness in mathematics, and further corroborate the claim that K-12 math education is a key policy lever to the engineering pipeline from undergraduate to graduate education. Our findings also indicate differences between engineering and nonengineering graduate study in relation to self-assessed skills and co-curricular experiences. Future research is needed on which types of preparation during college are needed for graduate school choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many have argued for the importance of continuing engineering education (CEE), but relatively few recommendations were found in the literature for how to use multimedia technologies to deliver it most effectively. The study reported here addressed this gap by investigating the multimedia category preferences of working engineers. Four categories of multimedia, with two types in each category, were studied: verbal (text and narration), static graphics (drawing and photograph), dynamic non-interactive graphics (animation and video), and dynamic interactive graphics (simulated virtual reality (VR) and photo-real VR). The results showed that working engineers strongly preferred text over narration and somewhat preferred drawing over photograph, animation over video, and simulated VR over photo-real VR. These results suggest that a variety of multimedia types should be used in the instructional design of CEE content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practical training and actual application of acquired knowledge and techniques are crucial for the learning of technical skills. We established a wireless sensor network system (WSNS) based on the 5E learning cycle in a practical learning environment to improve students’ reflective abilities and to reduce difficulties for the learning of technical skills. Student learning was investigated using a Technical Expertise Assessment Form and Reflective Abilities Investigation Tool that we had developed. Results of the forms showed that the 5E learning cycle-based WSNS helped improve students’ reflection and the ease in acquiring technical skills. Students’ reflection was also shown to be significantly correlated with the learning of technical skills. We concluded that reflection provided by the sensory functions of the WSNS was able to reduce students’ difficulties when learning technical skills. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years, there have been increasing calls for an overall transformation of the nature of engineering Ph.D. programs and the way theses are assessed. There exists a need to understand the examination process to ensure the best quality outcome for candidates in engineering. The work we present in this paper uses data collected between 2003 and 2010 for a total of 1220 Australian Ph.D. theses by analysing examiner reports. Our analysis indicates that Ph.D. theses in engineering,N = 106, differ considerably from those in other fields in areas such as gender of candidates and examiners and the examiners’ geographical location. We also found that assessment areas such assignificance and contribution of the thesis,publications arising from the thesis,breadth, depth and recency of the literature reviewandcommunication and editorial correctnessare areas in which the proportion of text of engineering examiners' comments differs significantly from other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In spite of tremendous efforts, women are still under-represented in the field of science. Postgraduate education and early tenure track employment are part of the academic career establishment in research and development during periods that usually overlap with family formation. Though women tend to leave science mainly after obtaining their PhD, and the timing of motherhood plays a vital role in a successful research career, qualitative data on this life period are scarce. Our paper focuses on how the normative and institutional contexts shape female PhD engineering students' family plans. The research was based on intersections of life course and risk and uncertainty theories. Using qualitative interviews we explored how contradicting social norms of childbearing cause tensions in postgraduate students' lives, and how the different uncertainties and risks permeate young researchers' decisions on early life events. We concluded that, despite the general pattern of delaying motherhood among higher educated women, these students struggle against this postponement, and they hardly have any good options to avoid risk stemming from uncertainties and from some characteristics of studying and working in engineering. Findings of this research may call the attention of stakeholders to possible intervention points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 60% of adult learners participating in continuing graduate professional development through Purdue University's Center for Professional Studies in Technology' and Applied Research (ProSTAR) are engineering and/or technology bachelor degree holders. Offering successful programs to engineering and technology professional working adult learners requires an in-depth understanding of these two target audiences. This paper builds on a recently published academic study by Land (2012) that reports the business/industry position titles of graduates from engineering and technology degree programs. The Land study, enhanced by an understanding of where in the product/process life cycle these persons are employed and therefore what function or role each performs, provides valuable insight into the continuing professional development needs of engineering and technolog' professional working adult learners, henceforth referred to as simply adult learners. This study examined responses from nearly 200 technolog'-oriented companies. A part of the study reflected, while there were titles assigned to both, the titles of design engineer, senior engineer, and engineer were in many instances assigned to engineering graduates. This, while the titles of engineering technologist, technologist, engineering technician, and technician were more commonly assigned to technolog> (BS Engineering Technology, BSET) graduates, though not exclusively so (Land 2012, 36). Understanding the curriculum continuum most applicable to business and industry is critical to providing targeted and relevant course delivery to learners pursuing graduate degrees through professional studies organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case illustrates the process of developing a learning module to support BA students in their use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tools in their learning. At the university where this case occurred, the skill level of ICT use among students in a learning context was very heterogeneous. The E-learning Competency Centre, or ECC, which was in charge of techno-pedagogical development at the institution, created a hybrid learning module that offered students learning materials and activities with both face-to-face workshops and online tutorials for autonomous learning. The students were able to choose subjects they wanted to learn "à la carte" by taking tutorials on their own and/or by participating in face-to-face workshops. The module described in this case is currently under construction. The design phase of this project is the focus of this case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Research regarding international female engineering graduate students tends to be aggregated with that about the experiences of international students in the United States or as the struggles of female engineers in engineering disciplines. Therefore, this study was conducted to understand the unique experiences of international female students in U.S. engineering graduate programs. Purpose/Hypothesis This study examined the theoretical intersections of sustainability and liminality in the experiences of international female graduate students in U.S. engineering programs. The study explored the tensions and challenges faced by international female engineering students in navigating engineering graduate programs. Design/Method Using qualitative detailed interviews and focus groups conducted with 49 participants, I explored the ways international female engineering students understood the tensions they experienced and developed strategies of persistence in responding to their liminal status within the engineering graduate programs. Results Three themes on the practices of sustainability in navigating liminality emerged from the data: constructing inclusion, challenging invisibility, and reengineering professional efficacy. The themes reflect the everyday strategies of survival the students participate in amid the challenging environment of the academic organizations. Conclusions International female engineers in U.S. graduate engineering programs exist in liminal spaces where their identities are continually being challenged. Through reconstructing inclusion, challenging their invisibility, and reengineering professional efficacy, they transform these liminal spaces to their advantage and persist in their struggles with the challenges they experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In the fields of science and engineering, Chinese students earned the largest number of doctorate degrees among foreign students in U.S. institutions from 1989 to 2009. Although prior studies have explored Chinese students' adjustment issues in U.S. institutions, such as language capabilities, socialization, and learning experiences, little is known about the cognitive aspects of their academic experiences. Purpose This study adopted Perry's theory, which describes college students' epistemological development from a dualistic to a relativistic manner of thinking in four stages, to map the epistemological developmental profiles of Chinese engineering doctoral students in U.S. institutions. Method The dominant epistemological development stages of Chinese engineering doctoral students from five Midwestern universities were identified through a quantitative survey with four subscales corresponding to Perry's four stages. ANOVA tests explored differences in the subscales concerning demographic parameters. Results The results suggested that the dominant thinking styles of nearly 80% of the students fell into the latter two stages of Perry's theory. Significant differences were observed in survey subscales regarding factors such as students' academic progress and university at the time of research. Conclusions The study offers a profile of Chinese engineering doctoral students' epistemological development using Perry's theory. Our results highlight the possible effect of U.S. engineering graduate training and demographic factors on students' epistemological development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing continuing education programs for industry professionals can be challenging due to several reasons like limited direct student-teacher interaction, variegated knowledge level of the attendees, complex teaching materials, and participants' expectations for applying the concepts learned in classes immediately in real life. In this study, we propose an efficient teaching methodology for continuing education programs specifically designed for industry professionals. We conclude that the most crucial factors required for effective teaching in such programs are ( i) bidirectional interactive learning between students and instructors, (ii) opportunities to examine different real life scenarios in the classroom, (in) improved student confidence, and (iv) communication of the overall objectives of the course without slowing the learning process with theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous learning for professionals such as engineers has undergone sea changes around the world in the past few decades. This paper explores some of these changes in China. It starts by examining the learning experiences of five engineers and the training policies in three companies with different types of ownership. It shows three major learning pathways for engineers: shadowing, title and license-related learning, and further education. Associated with these learning pathways are issues such as differential training support from companies, tensions between the pursuit for professional standardization and experiential knowing, and gendered streaming. The paper further traces the changing institutional relations that work in concert to shape companies' investments in training and engineers' motivations for learning. Specifically, it maps the traditional vocational title system, the newly adopted practice licensure systems, as well as governmental sectoral regulations. The study pinpoints not only the pervasive power of state regulation, but also the profession's desire for internationalization or to 'connect rails' with the engineering educational and professional regulation systems in the West. Within this context, continuous development has increasingly become a professional mandate for engineers in China. It has also given rise to issues such as commodification of professional licences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of its overall strategy, the Systems Engineering (SE) graduate program at an Engineering School has adopted a broad partnership with industry, which consists of sponsorship of professional students to complete a Masters and/or PhD degree in SE. The main objective of the present study is to evaluate the impact of a Graduate Systems Engineering Program (GSEP) of this small university in the workplace through assessment of the program sponsors' satisfaction and the performance of the program's professional student graduates in their jobs. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected for the period 2004-2010 to assess and evaluate GSEP through survey questionnaires, interviews, and course evaluations. The results of this study revealed that overall up to 95% of the program sponsors and its students are satisfied with the program. The main reasons for partnering with the present studied institution were stated by the program sponsors to be tailoring the program and its courses to their needs and offering the program at the sponsors' sites. Through its broad partnership with industry, GSEP corporate partners were able to successfully deploy SE concepts and understand the value that SE brings to their organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current production scenario, with a globalized economic environment, companies increasingly need to become more competitive to face up to the global market. This means production systems are constantly changing in the direction of the replacement of the low productivity equipment, rearranging the plant layout, the redirection of the transport stream from the supplier to the end customer and adding new models to plan and control production. All these changes aim to improve product quality and to reduce production lead time by eliminating waste, reducing costs and increasing competitive advantage through the process flexibility. For these changes to happen effectively is necessary that the current employees and the future production engineers are inserted and fit in this new reality. Currently, the Lean Manufacturing concepts are applied in an industrial environment to optimize production flow eliminating the waste found in the process. However, there is a challenge to put these concepts effectively in the industrial environment and in the university environment. The traditional learning process based on teacher, classroom, non-integrated theoretical and practical concepts, case studies with static production characteristic (controlled variable) has been shown to be ineffective in the consolidation of these concepts in a dynamic production environment. In university, this same model applied in the production engineering course and fragmented into different disciplines makes production engineers not fully prepared for the challenges of the new industrial environment, requiring an adjustment period. This adaptation will result in low competitiveness of the company in front of global competitors. Thus, this article aims to present a laboratory model for integrated learning of the Lean Manufacturing concepts based in practices able to reproduce the dynamic production environment, thus speeding the process of training employees of the industrial environment and the learning of future production engineers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Practicing engineers must continuously renew their knowledge and skills in order to remain competitive in the field. Yet, recent studies have found very little improvement in engineering graduates' lifelong learning skills. Research on information literacy, a critical component of lifelong learning, in technical fields is limited. Purpose/Hypothesis This study sought to evaluate the information skills of first-year engineering students. Specifically, it investigated the extent to which students gather information from a variety of sources and from high-quality sources, use gathered information to support an argument, and document information sources. Design/Method This study used content analysis of memos written by teams of engineering students. A random sample of 40 memos, selected from a pool of 263, was coded using InfoSEAD, a structured coding protocol developed for this study. Results Overall, 82% of the sources used were Web resources, of which 12% were of high quality. From the information threads that could be traced to the original source, 68% were relevant and used appropriately. Due to documentation errors in the memos, 28% of the sources cited could not be classified, and 57% of the information threads identified could not be traced to the original source. Conclusions Student teams mostly relied on Web resources, but their documentation skills were weak. When students did successfully document information, it was generally done appropriately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes the methodology developed for adapting project-based learning to the practice part of one subject of surveying engineering. The main innovation is the use of a system for evaluating the groups of students selected for the application of this methodology. This evaluation complements the one obtained from the project report developed by students, and it allows for individualizing the grade outcome of the members of the groups. For this purpose, the system takes into account the evaluations carried out by students of their own experience of teamwork. The system has been tested with several groups of students of surveying engineering. The results have demonstrated the efficiency of the system in showing and detecting the behavior of the groups, some problems appearing during the work, the involvement of students, and the sharing of tasks performed by some groups, among other issues. This experience can be applied to any other subject of engineering that contains a high level of practice work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydraulic experiment courses in engineering education usually require students to follow a 'standard procedure.' Students are expected to learn the underlying theories through manipulating the equipment, observing the phenomena of fluid mechanics, and analyzing the data recorded in the laboratory. However, the procedures are usually complicated and require large amounts of preparation to ensure the success of the experiment. In this research, current paper-based preparations are improved by providing virtual equipment that can provide instant and realistic feedback, with the ability to deliver these over the Internet. This research selected the Venturi tube experiment as a case study. Five steps were defined in the development process: (1) defining the experiment procedure, (2) building a three-dimensional (3D) virtual reality model, (3) adding procedure controllers, (4) adding physics rules to the virtual world, and (5) adding 3D manipulation functions. The virtual experiment of Venturi tube was implemented and evaluated in a real class, with the involvement of 48 undergraduate students in National Taiwan University. The students were separated randomly into two groups, one using paper-based preparation and the other using the virtual equipment for experiment preparation. The results showed that the students who prepared using the virtual equipment performed significantly better in both speed and skill application in the real experiment. Their attitudes toward learning were also significantly more positive than that of the other group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching complex engineering problems can often be enhanced by utilizing students' prior knowledge in analogously similar problems. Flow of electrical current through a conducting medium is analogous to groundwater flow through a porous medium because both are governed by Laplace equation. This analogy was used in an alternate representational approach by the authors in teaching flownet concepts. The authors employed the easily demonstrable electrical counterpart to represent the groundwater flow problem in a laboratory setting. This paper discusses the efforts of authors to teach the flownet principles better by using the electrical analogy for selected groundwater flow situations. However, it was also demonstrated that the electrical analogy concept can be applied for a wide range of groundwater flow situations with a few simple modifications. Students also used a groundwater flow computer model to obtain flownets for the same flow situations as the ones that were obtained using an electrical analogy. The student feedback indicated that this approach could improve student learning of flownet concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advancement of a profession relies heavily on the participation of its members. Leadership roles must be filled at many levels. To effectively prepare future leaders, efforts must be undertaken to educate and mentor them both about their professions and how to lead within them. The authors sought to identify the perceptions of those who recently earned a doctoral degree with focus on technology and engineering education. In the past, this group developed and assumed major roles in leading their education professions. This study reports on new doctoral graduates' perceptions related to the focus of content taught in formalized K-12 technology and engineering education programs, methods used to prepare future technology and engineering teachers, characteristics of their planned professional involvement, and future forecasting for their school subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IEEE Educational Activities has launched Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS)?a program that enables university and high school students to work on engineering-related projects for local humanitarian organizations. The purpose of this program is to empower Student Branches as well as IEEE Graduates of the Last Decade groups to work with high school students on community-related engineering projects. Through this worldwide expansion, IEEE Educational Activities hopes to build a mechanism to further institutionalize the program within the IEEE by sustaining and disseminating the EPICS model to IEEE Sections around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined the extent to which college women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors demonstrated differential levels of leadership capacity and/or leader efficacy than their non-STEM, female peers. Data represented 14,698 women from 86 institutions of higher education in the United States. Results indicated similar levels of leadership capacity but significantly lower leader efficacy for women in STEM majors. Implications explore unique predictors of leader efficacy for women in STEM majors along with recommendations for changes to policy and professional practice that might address how the differential organizational contexts shape leadership development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]