Paper ID #46825Analyzing the Impact of Two Co-Curricular Undergraduate Experiential LearningPrograms on STEM Students’ Career ReadinessDr. Rea Lavi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dr. Rea Lavi is Digital Education Lecturer and Curriculum Designer with the Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics in the School of Engineering at MIT, where he leads the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as virtual reality and generative A.I. into residential education. He is also Lecturer and Curriculum Designer for the New Engineering Education Program (NEET) in the same school, for which he teaches a first-year problem
medical applications, photocatalytic water treatment, solar energy-to-fuel conversion, and thermocatalysis for clean fuel and functional materials production to contribute to the goal of affordable, accessible clean water for everyone, and climate change mitigation. Recently, she has extended her research interests to include work in STEM Education with a focus on interdisciplinary scientist identity, teaching/faculty identity, and impact of multi-tiered mentoring networks on scientist identity and broader impact’s identity.Dr. Jessica C Hill, Worcester Polytechnic Institute Dr. Hill directs Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Morgan Teaching & Learning Center in its mission to support faculty across all career
. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Empowering Undergraduate Motivation Through Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning: Insights from Self-Determination Theory Abstract This Full Empirical Research Paper aims to showcase the findings from the first year ofan interdisciplinary project-based learning course in the Department of Engineering Education ata large mid-Atlantic research university. Both literature and industry have expressed the need forundergraduate students to gain experience in interdisciplinary environments and prepare for theirpost-graduate careers, whether they aim to continue their education or enter industry aftercompleting their bachelor’s
students receive issupporting their careers beyond the classroom, though changes could improve their transitions.In this section, we provide a brief overview of the findings from three sources of data: a surveyof alumni, a small study of novice professionals, and a small study focused on teamwork.Alumni SurveyAs part of a goal for continuous improvement, the materials science program implemented aalumni survey. The goal of the survey was to capture information about how graduates viewedthe program and how prepared they felt. Surveys were distributed to 108 alumni who graduatedfrom 2016 to 2023 and 18 responses were received, with at least one response from each year.The low response rate was likely because the survey came from the department as a
students and the matriculation rate in the minor is small (averaging 3 students per year), due to thedifficulty in completing the requirements on top of a nominal academic load. The proposed full-fledgedBachelor of Science major in Robotics Engineering provides an alternative where students canspecialize in robotics design, controls, and applications (as opposed to layering robotics coursework ontop of a separate major program of study). Building upon the foundation of the existing RoboticsEngineering minor, this new major seeks to attract a diverse group of students who are motivated topursue a career in robotics. The program blends foundational engineering courses with the core topicsof robotics in the areas of software engineering, mechanical
begins with early education in K12 through first-year college students. This instills notonly the necessary knowledge base but also a passion and curiosity for these fields. It has beenestablished that students' attitudes toward their educational and career paths begin to form in theearly stages of their schooling. Integrating engineeringeducation in K-12 and early stages of college studentscan significantly expand students' career perspectives,offering them a broader array of opportunities [3], [4].Given the need for engaging and accessible STEMeducational strategies, along with the vital roleteachers play in cultivating a passion for science andtechnology, addressing the challenges of implementingengineering programs in K–12 education is
, an extra Friday session in theirEngineering classes, and weekly lunches each to build community within the students. Thesupplemental instruction in the first year was targeted towards the engineering and math coursesthat all students were taking. Although the program continues career development, socialsupport, and financial assistance into the sophomore year, the supplemental instruction and extraFriday engineering sessions were phased out as students segregated among seven engineeringdisciplines.The SSP program has resulted in a statistically significant increase in exam performance in first-year engineering and mathematics classes and a much higher success rate of completing the finalfirst-year engineering and math course by the end of
for Engineering Education, 2025 Integrating Robotics and Automation in STEM Education: Preparing the Future Workforce for Advanced ManufacturingAbstractThe landscape of STEM education is undergoing a significant transformation, with an increasingfocus on equipping middle and high school students for careers in advanced manufacturing androbotics. Through the NSF-RET initiative, we provided advanced manufacturing researchexperiences to twenty-eight K-14 educators during six-week summer workshops in 2023 and2024. Among these educators six of them are community college educators and rest of them arehigh school educators. These educators not only conducted research but also developedcurriculum modules for their students during the
engineering manager in Powertrain. Her research has included the prediction of in-tube condensation using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimental validation. Throughout her career, Dr. Cash received many technical and diversity awards. She is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator instrument facilitator. Dr. Cash is passionate about higher education and actively promotes studies in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) field. She splits her time between Michigan and Florida with her husband of over thirty years. They are the parents of three children. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Transforming the Applied Engineering
,engaging pedagogy could help students in all disciplines appreciate the courses and recognizethe sequence’s value to their education.This work-in-progress paper focuses on the Electrical Engineering and Circuits course within thesophomore sequence by outlining updates made to the course. These adjustments wereimplemented in a pilot section during the 2024-2025 academic year. Testimonials from non-electrical engineers in industry were presented at the beginning of class each day to helpstudents connect the course content with majors outside of electrical engineering and see howthe course can be beneficial in their careers. In addition, problem- and project-based learningactivities were added to the course.A survey assessing the students’ perceived
planned on expanding this idea through video; however it was not possible with the given time we had.”The benefits of this approach are that it demonstrates the importance of collaboration betweenscientists of various fields for the development and implementation of innovation solutions andprepares students for careers that bridge sections of the STEM field. For example, engineeringstudents were exposed to microbiological techniques, such as cell culturing, biohazardous wastehandling, and aseptic techniques which are traditionally not part of the engineering corecompetencies but essential skills for researchers in the field of biomedical or biomaterialengineering. Another sample post project reflective questionnaire and student response about
be the casemore often for doctoral/masters institutions). These two sets of data can be aligned byrecognizing that many institutions who offer a single engineering program are classified asmaster’s degree granting institutions even though all of the master’s degree offerings (typically arelatively small number) are in areas outside of engineering or STEM.In pie chart 5c, institutions are categorized by the range of instructional programs offered. Thiscaptures the relative percentage of majors within the institution that can be classified as “arts andsciences” (typically associated with traditional liberal arts subjects) as opposed to “professionalprograms” (typically focused on preparation for a particular career). Institutions with a
thevalue of integrating lab-scale projects into engineering curricula [7]. This setup, incorporatedinto courses like Water Quality and Environmental Engineering, provided students with technicalknowledge while exposing them to complex, open-ended challenges. It fostered creativity,sustainability, and research experiences, with some students even pursuing careers inspired bythese projects [7].At Juniata College, the engineering program launched in Fall 2022 with a modest cohort of sevenstudents and has since grown to over 25 students. This promising growth underscores the need toexpand and improve laboratories and facilities essential for hands-on learning, a cornerstone ofengineering education. The concept of a "living" engineering laboratory was
guestlectures. Topics included in the reflection seminars include personal character development,cultural / societal implications of engineering work, stakeholder analysis, teamwork skills, intra-cohort formation, inter-cohort advising, academic skills development, career exploration, andprofessionalization. There are several programs that make for useful curricular comparisons. Here, I will comparewith programs at Dartmouth College[4], Santa Clara University [5], Smith College [6],Swarthmore College [7], University of San Francisco [8], and Wake Forest University [9]. Theseinstitutions were chosen as they are all generally structured as liberal arts institutions and offeran ABET-accredited general or interdisciplinary engineering program
Tecnologico de Monterrey, currently collaborating with this university since 2004 holding different positions and responsibilities, among which stand out; the creation of the electronics laboratories in 2005, assuming the direction of the Electronic Engineering and Communications degree in 2006, the creation of the networks laboratory in 2007, the creation of the media center laboratories in 2008, assuming In the same year the position of director of academic programs, which included the career directorates, the admissions directorate and the marketing directorate of the Campus. His work especializes in attracting new students to STEM programs at University level. In 2017, he took the position of career director of
: Students decompose a problem to explore, design, and implement creative solutions, continuously evaluate progress, and navigate uncertainty. Develop scientific habits of the mind: Students apply scientific content from diverse fields to appropriately design experiments, gather and manage data, analyze and draw conclusions. Develop personal and professional identities: Students reflect upon their experiences to further their sense of self in order to become confident career-ready leaders.1B. The InSciTE modelTo accomplish the program objectives, InSciTE was designed as a stand-alone undergraduatecertificate housed by CSE. This provides the independence and flexibility necessary to navigatethe barriers that marginalized students face in
in the findings, faculty—especially those in early career stages—often facecompeting pressures related to tenure and promotion, with institutional reward structuresprivileging disciplinary research and grant acquisition over teaching innovations. Embeddingresearch in teaching could serve as a bridge between these demands, offering a way to makeconvergence education more legible and valuable within prevailing academic structures. Moreover, this dual focus on teaching and research may offer a pathway to navigate someof the institutional misalignments identified in transdisciplinary course development —such asscheduling constraints, faculty availability, and difficulty fitting new courses into existing plans ofstudy. When research and
opportunities for practical engagement.Providing students with more exposure to real-world engineering projects wouldbetter prepare them for long-term success in engineering careers.4 Discussion4.1 Balancing Interdisciplinary and Engineering CharacteristicsAs shown in figure 11, this study identified two critical issues in interdisciplinarycourse design: (i) the industry relevance of courses was generally rated lower thantheir satisfaction levels, highlighting a misalignment with practical needs; (ii) coursesincorporating hands-on project components, such as "Data Structure Fundamentals",achieved higher ratings in both satisfaction and industry relevance. Conversely, purelytheoretical courses, like "Engineering Principles", were less favorably received
algorithm development. Each topic is introduced through robotics-centric examples, ensuring students understand the relevance of these concepts to their field. For example, loops and conditionals are taught in the context of controlling robotic actuators, while data structures are introduced through applications like pathfinding algorithms.Through these innovative components, the course equips students with not only the technicalproficiency required for advanced robotics courses but also the confidence to apply these skills incollaborative, real-world settings. This comprehensive approach ensures that students arewell-prepared to meet the demands of both their academic progression and future careers inrobotics engineering.The
’ perceptions of workplace English," Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, p. 23294906231182613, 2023.[19] C. DuPre and K. Williams, "Undergraduates' Perceptions of Employer Expectations," Journal of Career and Technical Education, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 8-19, 2011.[20] M. Hirudayaraj, R. Baker, F. Baker, and M. Eastman, "Soft skills for entry-level engineers: What employers want," Education Sciences, vol. 11, no. 10, p. 641, 2021.[21] (2025) ABET Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs, 2025 – 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.abet.org/accreditation/accreditation-criteria/criteria-for-accrediting- engineering-programs-2025-2026/[22] E.H. Pflugfelder and J. Reeves, J. (2024). Surveillance Work
and beyond the classroom: Research ethics and participatory pedagogies. Area, 40(4), 500-509.Boucher, J., Smith, G., & Telliel, Y. (2024). Is Resistance Futile?: Early Career Game Developers, Generative AI, and Ethical Skepticism. In Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-13).Davis, M., Hildt, E., & Laas, K. (2016). Twenty-Five Years of Ethics Across the Curriculum: An Assessment. Teaching Ethics, 16(1), 55-74.Dutta, R., Pashak, T. J., McCullough, J. D., Weaver, J. S., & Heron, M. R. (2019). From consumers to producers: Three phases in the research journey with undergraduates at a regional university. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2770.Goldberg, D. E., & Somerville, M
Wrong equation Wrong method Problem 4 5/25 Wrong equation & derivation Wrong methodTotal 35/100 Letter grade of FDiscussionAlthough many AI tools are available, and this number is increasing every day, studentsprimarily reported using or being aware of the most prominent ones: ChatGPT, Grammarly,Gemini and GitHub Copilot. This highlights the need for educators to introduce AI tools in theclassroom to familiarize students with their potential benefits in their careers or daily lives.Students who leverage these tools can complete tasks more efficiently, effectively, and eveninnovatively. Equipping students with such tools will also make them competitive in
robotics curriculum toprepare students for the many robotics industry positions and research careers that utilize thismiddleware [5]. Learning ROS can at times be non-intuitive and overwhelming for students[1].Limited online resources exist to help students learn ROS asynchronously[6], and none havestudied how students perceived self-efficacy in tackling future robotics project challenges.Asynchronous tutorials help students learn material that would take too much time to step throughin class, enhancing the principles taught. They can help students troubleshoot specific issues theyrun into, allow students to go at their own pace, and allow flexibility in how students approachdifferent challenges. In this Introduction to Robotics course, over three
study of a student-producedpodcast surveyed for skill development, education and community, finding ‘community’ was thehighest outcome from the project [17]. For students using podcasts in technical courses, theReduced Instructional Material Motivation Survey has been used to understand motivation levelsfor engaging with podcast-based material [18]. One study found that motivation was highindependent of learning style [19]. Therefore, podcasts have the potential to bring many favorableoutcomes to engineering educators: • to enable faculty to develop curiosity in each other’s work • to allow students to develop curiosity about disciplinary work that informs their education • to promote the pursuit of educational careers to engineering
for careers in robotics, automation, and mechatronics by equippingthem with both the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to succeed in the field.6. ConclusionThis paper introduces a novel, low-cost testbench and controller designed to teach Pythonprogramming with applications in robotics for mechatronics education. The testbench andaccompanying experiments allow students to grasp Python fundamentals while interacting with avariety of actuators and sensors. Designed, built, and tested for a hands-on robotics course aimedat sophomore engineering students, the testbench supports extensive prototyping of roboticmechanisms. During the Python programming laboratory sessions, students learn how to controlvarious DC motors and servo
competencies and seeing an example four-year student plan particularly helpful.Background and MotivationThe Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) at Arizona State University (ASU) is a co-curricular program that typically spans a student’s entire undergraduate career. Majority of thestudents join the program either before their first semester or during their first year at theuniversity. Throughout their time in the program, each student engages in a personalizedcombination of courses and/or experiences, all focused on an overarching theme of their choice(Sustainability, Health, Security, Joy of Living), to achieve five program competencies: Talent,Multidisciplinary, Viable Business/Entrepreneurship, Multicultural, and Social Consciousness[1]. Each
hubs for cross-disciplinary learning and innovation.These findings align with the FREE Competency Taxonomy, demonstrating that student-ledmakerspace workshops effectively cultivate technical, professional, and personal competenciescritical for engineering graduates.Future research should explore longitudinal tracking of workshop participants to assess whetherinterdisciplinary mindsets persist beyond graduation, as well as multi-institutional studies tovalidate these findings across different educational settings. Additional questions remain aboutthe depth of discipline achieved, the specific competencies most impacted, and how theseexperiences influence career pathways or entrepreneurial pursuits. Addressing these gaps willstrengthen the case
the belief that brillianceis a predominantly male attribute at a young age. Once internalized, this stereotype begins to shape their interestsand can significantly constrain the range of careers they consider in the future [9, 10]. When, from an early age,girls are exposed to the pervasive stereotype that men possess superior abilities in mathematics and science; thiscan negatively impact their experiences and opportunities across multiple stages of their lives [11]. This usuallyresults in girls exhibiting diminished interest in STEM related fields and are less inclined to pursue them. To mitigate the effects of this ”STEM is for guys” stigma, it is imperative to expand access to as well as en-gagement with technology and STEM fields within
project-based methodology, creates a model that can be replicated at other institutions beyond UW and SIT. This can expand opportunities for students globally, enabling them to engage with cutting-edge robotics education and gain skills necessary for future careers in robotics. 6. Boosting Innovation in Robotics: Exposure to cutting-edge robotics research, including the use of ROS 2, Turtlebot3 robots, and multimodal sensors, places students at the forefront of technological innovation. The course encouraged creativity and innovation as students work together to develop solutions that are user-centered and applicable to real-world challenges. 7. Contributing to Global Robotics Leadership: By equipping students
by AI has made AI literacy a crucial competency forindividual development, turning its cultivation into a “human issue [3].” This need isparticularly urgent for higher education students [4], as industries worldwide require top talentswith AI literacy to drive the intelligent transformation of business processes and products,while making trustworthy and ethical decisions [5]. In response, students are calling for AIliteracy to be integrated into their higher education curricula to better prepare for the challengesof the intelligent era and future careers. For instance, a survey on the use of generative AIamong undergraduates [6], found that students most commonly recommended offering relevantcourses and lectures, with a particular focus on