Conference Session

Women in Engineering Division Technical Session 5

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Andrea Nana Ofori-Boadu, North Carolina A&T State University; Victor Ofori-Boadu, Penuel Consult Inc.; Jacob Randall Vanderpool, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; Dongyang Deng, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

-Boadu, M. A. Shofoluwe, R. Kelley, E. R. Sowells, and R. B. Pyle, “Assessing theimpact of an industry-led professional development workshop on the 21st century ‘soft’ skills ofCM students at an HBCU,” Proceedings of the 2017 American Society for EngineeringEducation (ASEE) conference, Columbus, Ohio, USA, June 25 – 28, 2017, 2017, pp. 1 - 17.A. Phipps, “Engineering Women: The ‘Gendering’ of professional identities,” Int. J. Engng. Ed.,vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 409-414, June 2002.J. Piaget and B. Inhelder, The Psychology of the Child. New York, NY: Basic Books. 1969.D. Porter and A. N. Ofori

Conference Session

ECCD - Technical Session 1 - Energy & Electrical Engineering

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Radian G. Belu, Southern University and A&M College; Lucian Ionel Cioca, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

and manufacturing sectors, restructuring theutilities, smart grid, and low-carbon economy require graduates with a broader understanding oftechnology, economics, social contexts and skills [1-5]. There are growing recognition of theneeds to improve, restructure and reform electrical energy and power engineering curricula. Theissues surrounding this theme are receiving significant interests form faculty, industryprofessionals and often administration. Electrical energy professionals are required to havesignificant scientific capabilities, deep interdisciplinary understandings, and soft skills, e.g. self-learning abilities, communication or interpersonal competence. However, how and which are thebest approaches to better educate the next

Conference Session

Postgraduate Pathways and Experiences

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Jacqueline Rohde, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Jared France, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Brianna Benedict, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Allison Godwin, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

took the path less traveled to ensure I had a differentiated value proposition as a job candidate -- namely to hone my soft skills and business acumen in concert with the highly advanced technical skills I acquired... This combination proved invaluable toward taking the step from engineer, to engineering sales, to growing and selling a start-up, to ultimately starting my own venture capital firm.Claiming to be unconventional or nontraditional positions these alumni as differing from the normsin engineering. However, the quantitative data showing the prevalence of various career pathwayssuggest that these norms may be more of a shared expectation than based in reality.Discussion and ConclusionsIn this paper, we

Conference Session

Pedagogy and Teaching Preparation in Graduate Programs

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Locke Davenport Huyer, University of Toronto; Neal I. Callaghan, University of Toronto; Dawn M. Kilkenny, University of Toronto

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

multiple reasons provided by instructors who choose to discontinue participation inDiscovery. These include graduation, personal time constraints, perception that personal goalsare not being met, or lack of support from thesis advisor. The latter is unfortunate as we believethis program provides a legitimate platform for development of teaching skills, and the feel thatthe extracurricular time commitment is not excessive and should not impede research successes.In fact, involved trainees have often remarked on the value of involvement in teachingexperiences in helping them to mentally reframe their research pursuits, in addition to thevaluable soft skill development that is becoming ever more valuable. As an indicator ofinvolvement, graduate

Conference Session

Star Tech: Bringing Data Science and Technologies into the Classroom

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Sotiria Koloutsou-Vakakis, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

. Vogler, P. Thompson, D. W. Davis, B. E. Mayfield, P. M. Finley, and D. Yasseri, "The hard work of soft skills: augmenting the project-based learning experience with interdisciplinary teamwork," Instructional Science, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 457-488, 2017.[12] M. E. Beier, M. H. Kim, A. Saterbak, V. Leautaud, S. Bishnoi, and J. M. Gilberto, "The effect of authentic project‐based learning on attitudes and career aspirations in STEM," Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol. 56, no. 1, pp. 3-23, 2018.[13] N. Mvududu, “A Cross-cultural Study of the Connection Between Students' Attitudes Toward Statistics and the Use of Constructivist Strategies in the Course,” Journal of Statistics Education [online], vol. 11 no. 3, 2003

Conference Session

Cooperative and Experiential Education Division Technical Session 4 - Innovating Engineering Education through Industry and Community Partnerships, Maker Spaces, Competitions, Research Initiatives, and Experiential Education

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Jeremy Straub, North Dakota State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Cooperative and Experiential Education

benefits have beenshown from project-based learning. Students have been shown to learn soft skills [18] fromthese experiences. Project-based learning has also been shown to increase creativity [19] andimprove students’ self-image [20]. Perhaps for all of these reasons, students who haveparticipated in project-based learning have been shown to have enhanced levels of job placement[21].Project-based learning can be used in the classroom environment, for multi-week or term-longclass projects or in dedicated organized or extracurricular environments. Some projects can spandifferent types of participation [22] with the potential for projects to include students, eitherconcurrently or at different points during the project, who are participating for

Conference Session

Women in Engineering Division Technical Session 4

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Mary Kay Camarillo P.E., University of the Pacific; Eileen Kogl Camfield, University of California at Merced

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

cultivating inter-personal communication skills that would improve theexperiences of women working on design teams. Inherent in this endeavor is the belief that inter-personal communication and other “soft skills” can be taught, a perspective shared by others,such as those working to foster empathy in engineering courses [15].Capstone course structureThe first author is a civil engineering faculty member at the University of the Pacific where thecivil engineering capstone course is completed in one semester during the senior year, usuallyfollowing the mandatory co-op experience. Students work in teams and take on one of thefollowing roles: structural designer, geotechnical designer, water resources designer, orenvironmental designer. Each team has a

Conference Session

Biomedical Engineers and Professional Development - June 23rd

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Jeffrey A. LaMack, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Icaro dos Santos, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Larry Fennigkoh P.E., Milwaukee School of Engineering; Olga Imas, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Charles S. Tritt, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical Engineering

of topics such as regulatory affairs [1] and engineeringstandards [2]. Although the combination of technical and “soft skills” can be an importantdistinguishing characteristic of biomedical engineers in industry, it is challenging to effectivelyteach students professional topics in an undergraduate biomedical engineering curriculum thatalso attempts to cover the breadth of engineering and life science topics that is the hallmark ofthe discipline.Recognizing the importance of professional topics, students are often required to implementthem in their culminating capstone design project. A common approach is to teach the topics inthe capstone design courses themselves, often by providing didactic sessions covering each topicjust before students

Collection

2019 ASEE Zone I Conference & Workshop

Authors

Brandiff R Caron

., et al. "The changing face of engineering education." BRIDGE-WASHINGTON-NATIONAL ACADEMY OFENGINEERING- 36.2 (2006): 5.11visited repeatedly throughout the history of the professional “system” in the US. Resistance from industry (dueto the associated increase in cost of wages for professional engineers) as well as a general apathy toward the“soft skills” in engineering on the part of professional engineers seem to be the two biggest obstacles to the ideaof the coupling of licensure and accreditation being taken seriously. The argument for coupling the two is a simple one. Since it is the case that the profession values ethics(as demonstrated by the code of ethics that binds all professional engineers) and especially values publicwelfare

Collection

2016 St.Lawrence Section Meeting

Authors

Ryan Milcarek; Michael Garrett; Ryan Falkenstein-Smith; Jeongmin Ahn

involves many cognitiveprocesses and soft skills that characterize good designers. The following skills were listed asdescribing good designers. 1) Ability to tolerate ambiguity 2) Ability to apply systems thinking and focus on the big picture 3) Ability to handle uncertainty 4) Ability to make decisions 5) Ability to think as part of a team 6) Ability to communicate in diverse ways Currently, the design process is taught in most engineering curriculum through a first yearor cornerstone course3 and in the capstone course. The process or structure of engineering design,although lacking in a uniform application across all disciplines or even within disciplines, ofteninvolves elements such as determining the clients

Conference Session

How to Effectively Teach Using Teams

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Riddell, Rowan University; Eric Constans, Rowan University; Kevin Dahm, Rowan University; Jennifer Courtney, Rowan University; Roberta Harvey, Rowan University; Peter Mark Jansson, Rowan University; Paris von Lockette, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

discuss how CEE students at Rowan University are taughtdesign in a multidisciplinary, PBL environment, and to discuss how mechanics andcommunication are integrated into the design projects. Sophomore Engineering Clinic Iand II (SEC I and SEC II) are the innovations that allow this to be accomplished. SEC Iand SEC II afford the CEE students at Rowan University an integrated courseworkexperience for 1) learning and reinforcing material that is directly covered the CEEcurriculum, 2) gaining familiarity with material that is not explicitly covered in the CEEcurriculum, 3) developing formal communication skills, 4) developing into designers, and5) acquiring the so-called “soft skills” reflected in ABET 2000 A-K criteria.Sophomore curriculum for CEE

Conference Session

Integrating Mathematics, Science, and Engineering

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Günter Bischof, Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Department of Automotive Engineering,; Emilia Bratschitsch, Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Department of Automotive; Annette Casey, Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Department of Automotive Engineering,; Domagoj Rubesa, Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Department of Automotive Engineering,

Tagged Divisions

Mathematics

project, for some tasks a team of four is approved. One of them is designated bythe team as project leader and assumes the competences and responsibilities for this position.This structure promotes the development of certain generic skills, like the ability to work inteams, to keep records and to meet deadlines. Up to three groups are assigned with the sametask. In this way competition is generated, which in turn increases the students’ motivation.While in the second semester the main focus is on the acquisition of programming abilitiesand on soft skills, the tasks of the third semester projects focus more on the subject area of thecomplementary courses. Those courses typically are Engineering Mathematics, Mechanics,Strength of Materials, Machine

Conference Session

Programming for Engineering Students II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy Craig, North Carolina State University; Lisa Bullard, North Carolina State University; Jeff Joines, North Carolina State University; Tom Miller, North Carolina State University; Carolyn Miller, North Carolina State University; Dianne Raubenheimer; George Rouskas, North Carolina State University; Larry Silverberg, North Carolina State University; Eric Wiebe, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

participants were asked to organize thepost-its on their respective chalkboards to capture common or emerging themes. Some prevalentthemes are shown in Table 1: Table 1: Select Workshop Notes New hires After first year on job Next few years Specific applications Technological tools Architecture & (domain knowledge) technology skills Problem solving skills Systems knowledge Soft skills (global (critical thinking) issues) Communication skills Self motivated innovation Accountability Knowledge of a Understanding business

Conference Session

Teams and Teamwork in Design I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Keith Sheppard, Stevens Institute of Technology; Peter Dominick, Stevens Institute of Technology; Edward Blicharz, Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

design or design-relatedcourse every semester9 with the four courses in the freshman and sophomore years (EngineeringDesign 1 thru 4) being of particular importance to the early development of various “soft skill”threads, including teaming. These first four design courses are core engineering curriculumcourses; later design courses in the sequence are disciplinary, culminating in the two-semester Page 13.399.3capstone design project. In the first four courses the students are assigned by the instructor toteams rather than allowed to choose their team-mates. This produces diversity of interests andskills and as such is reflective of the reality

Conference Session

ChE: Assessment

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ronald Terry, Brigham Young University; W. Vincent Wilding, Brigham Young University; Randy Lewis, Brigham Young University; Danny Olsen, Brigham Young University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

asked to evaluate individual student’s abilities in these areas by providinga single composite score ranging from 1 (not proficient) to 4 (proficient). The composite score isbased on direct assessments obtained from rubrics or other quantifiable measures. The rubricused in the senior laboratory course has 39 components from which a written report is graded.Similarly, an oral communication rubric has 27 components. This extensive rubric providesdetailed feedback to each student. These scores are combined across the several classes involvedto provide a composite measure of proficiency for each student.The written and communication “soft” skills are often hard to track unless a grading rubric orsome other comprehensive measure is used. One method

Conference Session

TC2K Methods and Models

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Watkins, University of North Carolina-Charlotte; Nan Byars, University of North Carolina-Charlotte; Deborah Sharer, University of North Carolina-Charlotte

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

require projects were identified. For eachcourse measurement, a student opportunity, in terms of an assignment, test question, laboratoryresult or observation, or a portion of a project, was explicitly defined. Care was taken to ensurethat for each outcome, measures were taken from a variety of different sources, for example, atest question, a laboratory observation and a peer evaluation, rather than three different testquestions.This was effective for most performance criteria, and also most competencies within Criterion 2.But it was determined that the so-called soft skills, such as a recognition of the need for, and anability to engage in lifelong learning, and a respect for diversity and a knowledge ofcontemporary professional, societal and

Conference Session

Introducing Active Learning into ME Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ali Al-Bahi, King Abdulaziz University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

members involved in teaching required coursesmust now understand and be involved in the accreditation process on a continuing basis, notjust in the months preceding each visit.The connection between active/ cooperative learning and EC2000 is strong. Active/cooperative learning seems to be an efficient way to address the requirements of ABETEC2000. The careful design of an active/ cooperative learning course ensures that studentswill acquire technical as well as non-technical or soft skills specified in the famous eleven 3a-3k outcomes. Felder et al2 discuss the instructional paradigms of cooperative learning andproblem-based learning and estimates that each of them has the potential to address all eleven

Conference Session

Opportunities for Entrepreneurship Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Heidi Neck, Babson College; John Bourne, Olin College; Stephen Schiffman, Olin College

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

entrepreneurship division of ASEE, NCIIA, and Stanford’s REEprogram are developing a critical mass of resources supporting engineering entrepreneurship. The evidence in support of entrepreneurship education is growing. Economic impact, jobcreation, society enhancing innovation, understanding the financial value associated withinnovation and commercialization, the soft-skills of business, and the opportunity to actionorientation of entrepreneurship are undeniably beneficial to engineers graduating from Americancolleges and universities. Is education reform so slow really? Or are the issues around adoptingentrepreneurship as part of engineering curriculum similar to design teaching issues uncoveredby Bjorkland & Colbeck above. Do engineering

Conference Session

EMD Program Design

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Philip Gerhart, University of Evansville; Douglas Ramers, University of Evansville; Greg Rawski, University of Evansville

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

nothing special about this degree that would set them apart from other qualified candidates. Besides the technical skills, soft skills are used to screen/select candidates for supervisory positions.6. Would you consider hiring a graduate with an engineering management degree (as described by the enclosed curriculum)? Why or Why not? • Yes. We are seeing an increasing amount of emphasis placed on being able to analyze a businesses’ operational performance which often requires someone with some engineering skills as well as a strong business background. These types of individuals are seldom found in engineers who have taken a typical path through an engineering

Conference Session

Hands-on/Experiential Learning

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daria A Kotys-Schwartz, University of Colorado Boulder; Chiang Shih, Florida A&M University/Florida State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

designing engineering solutions under cultural constraints waspositively impacted in ways that would not change over time.AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank the U.S.-Brazil Partnership Program and the U.S.Department of Education, as well as the Brazil Ministry of Education for the funds that Page 23.643.15have supported this educational experience.Bibliography1. Del Vitto, C. (2008) Cross-cultural ‘soft skills’ and the global engineer: Corporate best practices and trainer methodologies, Online Journal for Global Engineering Education, 3(1) 1-9.2. Downey, G., Lucena, J., Moskal, B., Parkhurst, R., Bigley, T., Hays, C., Jesiek, B. Kelly, L

Conference Session

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Education Technical Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Abby M Kelly, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; David Jones, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Roger Michael Hoy, University of Nebraska; Evan Curtis, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Angela Kaye Pannier, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Richard R. Stowell P.E., University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

, businessand soft skills, and teamwork, specifically with diverse and interdisciplinary groups2. Anemphasis on these skills as well as a more rapid method of developing them is needed within thesenior capstone design sequence.Like other universities, we have found that our traditional approach to the teaching of capstonedesign is not addressing all of the challenges discussed above. As a means to begin to addressthese issues, our department implemented a two-week rapid design challenge (RDC), similar tothe challenge developed by Bucknell University1. The RDC was adapted to better suit our needsand initially implemented in the spring of 2010. The challenge has been conducted four timesand critically evaluated after each semester. Here, we present our

Conference Session

Introducing New Methodologies and the Incoming Students to Engineering Programs

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Salahuddin Qazi, State University of New York, Institute of Tech.; Adeel Khalid, Southern Polytechnic State University (ENG); Qaiser H Malik, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) Pakistan University

Tagged Divisions

International

://4h.missouri.edu/resources/materials/docs/LG732.pdf35. Shank, P. (2005). The value of multi-media in learning. Adobe Design Center. Retrieved from http://www.adobe.com/fr/designcenter/thinktank/valuemedia/The_Value_of_Multimedia.pdf36. Pulko, S. H., & Parikh, S. (2002). Teaching “soft” skills to engineers. International Journal of Electrical Engineering Education, 40(4), 241-54.37. Brint, S., Cantwell, A., & Hanneman, R. (2008). Two cultures: Undergraduate academic engagement. Research in Higher Education, 49(5), 383-402.38. Carini, R. K., Kuh, G., & Klein, S. (2006). Student engagement and student learning: Testing the linkages. Research in Higher Education, 47(1), 1-32.39. Ewell, P. T. (2002). An analysis of relationships between

Conference Session

Best of DEED

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Wang, University of California, Berkeley

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

, 26(3), 27-39.25. Committee on K-12 Engineering Education. (2009). Summary. In L. Katehi, G. Pearson, and M. Feder (Eds.), Engineering in K-12 Education: Understanding the Status and Improving the Prospects (pp. 1-14). Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.26. Bamberger, Jeanne. 1991. The laboratory for making things. In D. Schon, ed., The Reflective Turn: Case Studies in and on Educational Practice. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.27. Kumar, S. and Hsiao, J.K. (2007). Engineers learn “soft skills the hard way”: Planting a seed of leadership in engineering classes. Leadership and Management in Engineering, 7(1), 18-23.28. Tsang, E., Van Haneghan, J., Johnson, B., Newman, E. J., & Van Eck, S. (2001). A report on

Conference Session

Robotics and Automation

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Aleksandr Sergeyev, Michigan Technological University; Nasser Alaraje, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

tools used in the EM course are the midterm and final examinations, andstudents presentations. Due to globalization, the development of the student soft skills isbecoming an integral part of the curriculum in most universities. In most of classes offered in theSchool of Technology at Michigan Technological University, students are required to researchand present a technical journal paper on topics related to the class subject followed bysubmission of a comprehensive technical written report. The student performance is gradedbased on several factors such as: the ability to extract the key technical concept of the paper, thetechnical knowledge of the subject matter, proficiency and confidence in presenting, and thequality of the written report

Conference Session

"Best" of BED

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anthony J McGoron, Florida International University; Hamid Shahrestani, Florida International University, BME; Michael Edward Brown, Florida International University; James Dennis Byrne, Florida International University

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

typicallydone at the end of the semester (term). The Capstone Design experience can be a convenientopportunity to teach Professional Skills (sometimes referred to as the “soft skills”)23 that may notmake it into more traditional lecture courses. Engineering design is where these professionalskills are most important. These have often been difficult skills to assess. There may be as manyways to offer the capstone design experience as there are engineering programs. To give newprograms ideas, groups have reported on the specific elements of their own capstone designcourses10, 14, 22.Assessment tools for evaluating program learning outcomes are freely available9, 13, 28 and we inthe BME program at FIU have developed our own process and tools for the

Conference Session

Methods, Techniques, and New Programs in Graduate Education

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Niaz Latif, Purdue University, Calumet ; Joy L Colwell, Purdue University, Calumet (Tech)

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

Professor of Or- ganizational Leadership and Supervision, and former Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies in Technology. Professor Colwell writes frequently on the topics of soft skills in technology education, and on issues of graduate administration. Page 23.375.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2013 Design, Development and Implementation of a Master of Science Degree in Modeling, Simulation, and VisualizationAbstractThe School of Technology at Purdue University Calumet designed, developed and implementeda Master of Science Degree in Modeling, Simulation, and

Conference Session

Off the Beaten Path

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cynthia C. Fry, Baylor University; Kenneth W. Van Treuren, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

, Page 25.602.2 integrating oral and written communication into all facets of the discipline, and providing training in “soft skills” such as leadership, management, creative problem solving, etc.All the while schools are reducing the total number of hours in the engineering curriculum toallow the average student to graduate in four years. 5 Accomplishing all of this is an impressiveundertaking, considering the approach to educating engineers since the 1950s.6Add to this mix the desire of Baylor University to grow in its various research areas, and it isclear that unless emphasis continues to be on quality undergraduate teaching, the demands of theresearch paradigm – graduate resources, labs, facilities, students – will

Conference Session

Innovative Learning, Comparative Learning Analysis, and Lessons Learned

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edmundo Tovar, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; Mercedes de la Cámara, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; Javier Saenz, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; Manuel Castro, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia

Tagged Divisions

International

Conference Session

FPD VI: Presenting "All the Best" of the First-year Programs Division

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

S. Scott Moor, Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

materials and learning spaces that stimulate serious play. Page 25.845.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 Introducing Memo Writing and a Design Process with a Four-Week Simulator ProjectIntroductionFirst-year engineering courses often include design projects to help spark students’ interest andto introduce them to the broad range of issues engineers face. These projects introduce studentsto the many “soft skills” required of an engineer including judgment, idea generation,communication, planning and organization.This range of skills is difficult

Conference Session

Study Abroad, International Exchange Programs, and Student Engagements

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Clifton B. Farnsworth, Brigham Young University; Mark Owen Lords, Brigham Young University; Brian Charles Capt, Brigham Youmg University

Tagged Divisions

International

both knowledge and value, may be likely to hold differentperspectives than they do, and may be likely to bring these different perspectives to bear inprocesses of problem definition and problem solution.”6 These examples represent a growingsentiment about the importance of student awareness of globalization and seem to imply the needfor actual student international experience.Engineering and technology programs that have already established regular internationalopportunities for their students report that there are great benefits to be obtained from theseexperiences. Spodek et al. report that study abroad experiences were important for helpingstudent develop the “soft” skills such as flexibility, appreciation for diversity, open-mindedness