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Effective Implementation of Industry Sponsored Senior Design at Stevens Institute of Technology

Leslie R. Brunell, PhD., P.E. Lecturer and Senior Design Coordinator Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering Charles V. Schaefer Jr. School of Engineering Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, New Jersey 07030

Abstract:

The success of the industry-sponsored Civil Engineering senior design program at Stevens Institute of Technology and its impact on meeting the learning objectives established for the two- semester capstone design sequence is described. The effective use of industry sponsors to formally assess the student’s performance will be presented as will the recruitment of sponsors. The dynamics of group size and structure will also be discussed. The information presented in this paper is based on the five years that the program has existed at Stevens.

Initially established to meet ABET 2000 criteria and introduce Civil Engineering students to real world design problems, the industry-sponsored program began during the 2000-01 academic year with two industry consultants (both Stevens Alumni), and 18 students. This program has grown to involve eight industry sponsors and 40 students. The diversity of these projects parallels the Civil Engineering profession and provides the students with first hand exposure of real industry projects, practices and regulations.

Additional benefits of this program include the continual interaction between students and practitioners. Schedules are established and must be adhered to, technical writing and oral communication skills are honed while the students become responsible to an outside consultant. This relationship in many cases has facilitated job placement for the graduates of the program.

Introduction:

With the implementation of ABET 2000 several changes had to be made within the engineering curriculum at Stevens Institute of Technology. One of the major changes included revising the capstone design to accomplish some of the goals set forth in ABET Criteria a through k and meet the outcomes established by the Civil Engineering program. In order to successfully accomplish these outcomes and provide each Senior Civil Engineering graduate with a comprehensive design experience, external industry sponsors were recruited to work with the students. The first industry sponsors were members of the Civil Engineering Visiting Committee (CEVC). These Professional Engineers thought the opportunity to mentor and work with the Stevens graduates would be a worthwhile undertaking for both the sponsors and the students.

“Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2005, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Brunell, L. (2005, June), Effective Implementation Of Industry Sponsored Senior Design In A Civil Engineering Program Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--14353