Conference Session

Abroad Educational Opportunities in Engineering

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Susannah Spodek; D. Joseph Mook; Lester Gerhardt

face shortages in the labor supply, there havebeen calls from industry for those newly entering the workforce to come better prepared.Graduating engineering students, in addition to their technical educations, are expected tobe prepared with “soft skills,” work experience, and a wide-ranging background nottypically provided for in a traditional engineering program. According to Brenda Cox,Manager for International and Advanced Procurement, BMW Manufacturing Corporation,“you must not only be skilled in your area of expertise, but be flexible and have what isoften called the ‘soft skills’. These soft skills are needed to maximize your effectivenesswithin an organization.”1 ABET (the Accreditation Board for Engineering andTechnology), recognizing

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Brian West

more.The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc (ABET) criteria [1] point todistributed emphasis on the “soft skills”, such as technical writing, public speaking, and workingon teams, while maintaining student performance in the technical areas.Two of the author’s classes, which were originally developed to enhance student performanceduring the Capstone course, were scheduled for deletion. However, the experience level neededto be maintained, so this material needed to be absorbed into other courses while maintainingcourse and program dynamics.This paper explores the issue of relocating critical material from deleted classes into classes thatare transitioning into the new program.BackgroundThe University of Southern Indiana is

Conference Session

TYCD 2003 Lower Division Initiatives

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

william mullett; Gary Mullett

then NYNEX Corporation, this progressive program that emphasizesemployee soft skills was expanded to the New England states in 1996. Through extensiveinteraction between all New England stakeholders involved with this project, a baselinecurriculum was developed that was similar but not exactly the same as the New York curriculum.The first graduates of the NextStep program are now in the workplace, the NYNEX Corporationhas since merged with Bell Atlantic and then become Verizon, the two different curricula havebeen morphed into a single curriculum and the sometimes contentious summer Faculty Instituteshave been replaced by smaller curriculum specific gatherings. This paper will first look back at thesometimes fascinating events that helped to

Conference Session

Motivating students to achieve

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Elizabeth Davis; David Socha; Valentin Razmov

, morepositive light.We believe the practices worked particularly well because we set up the course with ampleopportunities for students to make mistakes – a fodder for reflection – and learn from them in anon-threatening (academic) environment. While we recommend the approach to engineeringeducators interested in teaching “soft skills,” we caution that to successfully apply it, one needsto be comfortable identifying and handling conflict that may emerge.1. IntroductionThis paper describes a set of reflective practices that formed the backbone of a 9-week softwareengineering course at the junior undergraduate level. We report on our, and our students’,assessments of the effectiveness of these practices. The data were collected during the course, atthe

Conference Session

Outreach and Freshman Programs

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Margaret Pinnell; Gabrielle Williamson; Corinne Daprano

members from other majors and other engineeringdisciplines. One reason for this trend is that engineering educators as well as professionals fromindustry have recognized the fact that practicing engineers are required to work with coworkersand clients that have a variety of educational backgrounds. Experiential learning is beingencouraged in engineering education because it has been recognized that students engaged in thistype of learning have better retention of technical knowledge and are better able to apply whatthey have learned in college courses to real life situations after graduation 1-3. Furthermore,industry and academia have identified the need for the development of soft skills in engineeringstudents. Among these soft skills includes

Conference Session

Strategic Issues in EM Education

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Paul Kauffmann

not fullyappreciate the potential engineering management programs present for significant organizationalchange. Even within the discipline, the focus varies between an emphasis on soft skills andquantitative skills. This paper proposes a research agenda for the engineering managementdivision that targets examination of these issues and long-term definition of the discipline by usingeducational assessment and effectiveness measures and also by study of skills necessary forstudent success in the work place.The IssueThis paper proposes that the primary issue facing engineering management educators and thebroader field of engineering management practice is identification of the case for engineeringmanagement as a defined, identifiable field of

Conference Session

Assessment in BME Education

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Rich Fries; Paul King; John Gassert; Joan Walker; Paul Yock; Sean Brophy; Jay Goldberg

years. It was strongly recommended that design be a consideration in teachingthroughout a four year education, but it was noted that few universities actually give credit forconsecutive design courses through a four year education. Whatever the placement of the course(most are senior two semester courses) the consensus was that one needs to cover hard skills(project management, resource mining, and constraints), soft skills (technical communication,and team dynamics) and concept coverage (ethics, safety, intellectual property.) Design shouldprovide the integration of theory and practice, provide skills for employment, and be done insuch a manner as to over satisfy ABET minimum requirements. The design experience must

Conference Session

Student Issues - Present & Post Graduate

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Michael Holcombe

oral and written),the ability to lead and work with multidisciplinary teams, and understanding of the non-technical forces that affect engineering decision-making, as well as, a desire for lifelonglearning. Schools that recognize these needs have instituted so-called “Teaching in theFactory” programs that bring more of the “soft skills” to their programs. [2]Through a series of workshops, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers [3] compileddata and identified competency gaps among newly hired engineers/engineeringtechnologists. The report identified a number of areas that the participants felt the newgraduates needed more preparation. The foremost gap was the basic communicationskills and this was followed by teamwork, personal attitudes

Conference Session

Innovation in Design Education

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Thomas Corradeschi; Raymond Carr; Lewis Natiello; Donald Carlucci; Albert Messano; Keith Sheppard

expanded design course sequence, having a design course each semesterto form a Design Spine1. The Design Spine allows development of many of the “soft skills”demanded of engineering graduates, as embodied in ABET Criteria 2000, by evolving them overthe four years of the design sequence. It is also a means to enhance learning, as each of the designcourses is linked to engineering courses taught concurrently. The first five design courses of theDesign Spine are core requirements for all engineering disciplines. This takes the students intothe second half of Junior Year when they take Design 6 in their chosen discipline. Design 7 & 8are the disciplinary capstone senior design courses in Senior Year.The core sequence starts in 1st semester with an

Conference Session

Teaching Entrepreneurship to Engineers

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Tushar Patil; Ofodike Ezekoye; Justin Cone; Kathy Schmidt, The University of Texas at Austin

notionthat business is about relationships and communication. Through exercises, students areencouraged to develop their questioning and listening skills to guide them in a range of businessinteractions. This short course endeavor complements a larger project within the mechanicalengineering department focused on implementing project-based learning into the curriculum.IntroductionToday’s corporate leaders stress that while they are not necessarily looking for engineers topossess MBA’s in marketing or finance, they are looking for new graduates to possess better“soft skills” (e.g., written and oral communications aptitude; marketing-related knowledge; andfamiliarity with business and financial matters). They note that these soft skills be emphasized

Conference Session

Promoting ET Through K-12 Projects

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Thomas Juliano; Ronald Rockland; George Gonzalez; Joel Bloom

and written communication and interpersonal relationships. There was one category of theskills set list oriented to included these “soft skills” such as the ability to organize projects, workin groups, problem solve, communicate and meet deadlines within a team format. Table 2 liststhe skill sets categories and subcategories developed for the first year. A total of 106competencies, comprising seven subcategories, were developed.As an example of the detail within each category and subcategory, the category Dynamicsincluded the following skill sets: Effect of gravity, particle dynamics, motion around a curve,projectiles, mention of Newton’s first, second and third laws, history of Sir Isaac Newton and histheories, and introduction to force

Conference Session

ASEE Multimedia Session

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Gordon Silverman

, operations management, and law. Additionally,engineering leaders need competency in many “soft” skills such as non-linear “out-of-the-box”thinking, collaboration and team building, and effective communications that are normally notencountered in a particular field of study (at least at the undergraduate level). Based on thisconsensus, the Consultors offered recommendations to strengthen the existing ECE program:1 • add subject matter to stimulate development of leadership skills in addition to engineering proficiency; • introduce integrated Engineering and Business programs; • reinforce collaboration with industry.Within the educational community, some institutions have responded with comprehensiveacademic programs in

Conference Session

Raising the Bar and Body of Knowledge

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Ernest Smerdon

in technical skills based on mathematics and science. Those professional skills(sometimes referred to as soft skills) are integrated with the technical skills in ABET/EACCriterion 3 – Program Outcomes and Assessment. At least half of the items listed in Criterion 3refer to these professional skills – skills that any practicing professional must have whether ornot he/she be an engineer. It is anticipated that the foundation for these professional skills areplaced as part of the educational process. Words that were seldom mentioned in engineeringeducation a decade or two ago – multidisciplinary team skills, professional and ethicalresponsibility, effective communication, global and social context, lifelong learning, andknowledge of

Conference Session

ET Distance Learning

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Susan Sauer; Mark Moore; Amin ul Karim; Ahmed Khan

the design of the GWEC curriculummodules. Additionally, woven into the material and practical application exercises areseveral other core components: critical thinking, problem solving, communication, andteamwork. In terms of importance, these “soft skills” are on par with theoreticalknowledge and application.GWEC represents an innovative win-win model that works. Educators are kept abreastof the latest in wireless technology through interaction with industry leaders and throughan annual Faculty Workshop. They are provided with – and indeed, helped create – abasic wireless curriculum that may be utilized by instructors to augment and/or enhance

Conference Session

Perceived Quality Engineering Education

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Shelia Barnett; Joan Burtner

with valuable practical experience,there is a lack of specific literature documenting the benefits of co-op/intern programs, especiallywith respect to fundamental engineering principles4. Researchers at other engineering schoolshave offered anecdotal evidence that university-sponsored work experiences provide a richenvironment in which students can develop skills related to learning outcomes such as teamworkand communication, but few have provided quantitative data. Wankat, Oreovicz and Delgass19report that a 1994 alumni survey indicated that practical work experience, along with lab anddesign courses taken at the school, were very important sources for learning certain "soft skills".The survey instrument listed written and oral communication

Conference Session

Tools of Teaching and Learning

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Elizabeth Davis; David Socha; Valentin Razmov

extremely important for doing team projects successfully. Most undergraduate computer science and computer engineering students have little appreciation or understanding of these soft skills, Page 8.1307.4* We started with 24 students, but two dropped out near the beginning of the course; both for family reasons. Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2003, American Society of Engineering Education perhaps because they have not needed them in order to succeed in their college classes. Hence, teaching students to value

Conference Session

New Electrical ET Course Development

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Biswajit Ray

processes using multiple sensors, interface electronics, data acquisition card, and GPIB and serial instrumentsCourse Teaching Objectives: • Foster discovery, self-teaching, and encourage desire and ability for life-long learning • Provide students with access to industry standard hardware and software required for data acquisition, instrumentation, and control • Provide an experience in designing an instrumentation system based on specifications • Develop soft skills including teamwork, open-ended problem solving, formal report writing and presentation • Provide an enthusiastic environment for learning • Assign homework to reinforce the understanding of material covered in class

Conference Session

Teamwork, K-12: Projects to Promote Engineering

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Arvid Andersen

internationalbusiness and competition. We have to teach our students what that all means. Students mustbe involved and learn to identify and develop skills needed to communicate, cooperate andcollaborate in groups and environments with people from diverse cultures and differentdisciplines.This paper will describe what our students are exposed to, in order to develop theentrepreneurial and soft skills needed, and how we assess the activities involved. It is also areport of nine years of experience with international teamwork in cooperation with andparticipation of more than 40 universities mainly across Europe. Students from US, Chile,China and Australia are also now joining. All projects, on this international teamworksemester, are real projects done in

Conference Session

Student Teams and Active Learning

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Janet Schmidt; David Bigio; Linda Schmidt; Paige Smith

engineering students’ performance as team members has become a priority for allschools of engineering. Thus, the degree to which an engineering program is focused on ABETaccreditation and measurement of student outcomes may influence its investment in team trainingfor both faculty and students.Colbeck articulated a number other issues that influence how likely an institution is to implement aBESTEAMS type training program on its campus. Among these factors are the organization ofthe curriculum and the number of “core courses” where team training can be implemented tomaximize student exposure; the variety of student needs and discipline specific differences thatimpact uniformity of team training; faculty members own comfort level with so called “soft

Conference Session

ASEE Multimedia Session

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Michael Deisenroth

• Teaming and Team Building • Engineering Ethics • Computer Application Skills • Economic Evaluation of Alternatives • Applied OptimizationThe first four threads are associated with the “soft skills” that are necessary to practiceengineering in today’s marketplace. Each of these might be addressed by adding a course to thecurriculum, by integrating it within a set of ISE courses, or by a combination of the twoalternatives. Since each of these threads represents ideas and concepts that are already coveredin various places within ISE courses and in courses taken from other departments, we have thebasis for beginning our thread development. Creating an Academic Thread associated with anyof these areas will serve to

Conference Session

Abroad Educational Opportunities in Engineering

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Bethany Oberst; Russel Jones

for common global grounds for quality standards, fair employmentpractices, and useful application of human resources goes on. That this section of thepaper is not longer is less a reflection on the importance of this theme than it is of the lackof real progress that has been made over the past three years.The social imperativeWhile students from around the world strive to acquire the strongest possible technicaleducation in engineering, some older hands persist in proclaiming that the ill-named “softskills” are the ones which will ultimately be key to the successful practice of engineeringby up-and-coming engineers. But the list of “soft skills” too often is limited to things suchas public speaking techniques, management skills and the

Conference Session

Tenure and Promotion Tricks of the Trade

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Diane Muratore; Jeannette Russ

Page 8.573.11 Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society for Engineering Educationaccomplishments.Keep documentation of all meetings with your student advisees. If you have counseled them toadd or drop a course for a particular reason, you may need to refer to this change in the future.Similarly, keep documentation of any major decisions that are made regarding curriculum, coursecontent, and so forth. A written history is an important part of departmental (and individual)success.Finally, look for ways to collaborate with other departments on campus. Employers areincreasingly requesting that students be trained in the “soft” skills of communication andteamwork, and