Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Session 2566

INTEGRATED CURRICULUM DESIGN IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING – OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

SWAMI KARUNAMOORTHY and K. RAVINDRA

Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Parks College of Engineering and Aviation Saint Louis University

ABSTRACT

The undergraduate engineering curriculum around the nation is being modified to meet the needs of the next century; to prepare the students to accept the challenges of a new century, and to satisfy the guidelines of ABET 2000 – the new criteria for accreditation. Mechanical engineering is the widest of all engineering disciplines. The reengineering of engineering curriculum gives an excellent opportunity to introduce new courses and to integrate multi- disciplinary topics. However, the challenges are to give an adequate exposure in appropriate areas in the discipline and to minimize the number of credits. An emphasis is given in this paper to optimize the number of credits and to integrate the various aspects of mechanical engineering in the undergraduate curriculum at Parks College of Engineering & Aviation at Saint Louis University.

INTRODUCTION

After the Second World War, we had industrial revolution. Now, due to the global economical changes, we have industrial reorganization. The role of an engineer has been redefined due to various changes in industries. Integration has gained importance and the concept of Integrated Product Development (IPD) has become the current industrial practice. The feed back from industrial peers and alumni has helped to reshape or modify the academic practices and the result is the Integrated Curriculum Design (ICD). The industrial peers can effectively contribute to the program through Industrial Advisory Committee (IAC). The Industrial Advisory Committee has been established for the continuos improvement of the Mechanical Engineering program at Parks College of Engineering. The input from the industrial committee and alumni are considered as important feedback to the system as shown in Figure 1.

In the beginning of this century, engineering curriculum was focused on training and learning of various skills. After the world war, the focus shifted to engineering science and the emphasis was on education and knowledge. Now, the focus is on a balanced combination of education and training to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge in Mechanical Engineering. In order to prepare the next generation of engineers with such attributes, the Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology has developed a new set of guidelines with outcome-based assessment, exposure to current industry practices and integration of design across the curriculum.

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Karunamoorthy, S., & Ravindra, K. (1998, June), Integrated Curriculum Design In Mechanical Engineering … Opportunities And Challenges Paper presented at 1998 Annual Conference, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/1-2--7201