Conference Session

Cooperative Education Addresses ABET

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jess Godbey, Jacksonville State University; Terry Marbut, Jacksonville State University; Dale Broyles, Jacksonville State University & Honda MFG of AL

Tagged Divisions

Cooperative & Experiential Education

operation andsuccess of a manufacturing facility and decided to add occupational safety and health as a secondmajor.IV. Enhancing Student “Soft Skills”Common deficiencies mentioned by employers of recent college graduates are not the lack oftechnical skills but of the so-called “soft skills”. For example critical skills such as effectivecommunication and personal responsibility top the list. Many cooperative educationopportunities allow the student to build some of these “soft skills”. Examples include the abilityto be on time, keep a deadline, prioritize tasks and maintain a professional appearance. Thiscooperative program, like many others, compels the student to develop and demonstrate theseessential “soft skills”.With this industry partner co

Conference Session

Communication and Professional Skills in BME

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donna Ebenstein, Bucknell University; Joe Tranquillo; Daniel Cavanagh

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

valuable in seniordesign. The first course, taken in the spring of junior year, is aimed at introducing students to awide range of ‘soft’ skills including regulatory issues, teamwork, environmental impacts, andformal decision making. Students then take a course in the fall of the senior year that focuses ondeveloping relevant ‘hard’ skills including CAD, machining tools, rapid-prototyping,mammalian cell culture, and statistics-based experimental design. The other two courses of thissequence make up the two-semester senior design capstone experience that follows a traditionalproject based model. However, in addition to in-depth exposure to the formal engineering designprocess, students are also required to interact professionally with an external

Conference Session

Creating a Technology Incubator and Creating a Seed Fund

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jim Subach, Arizona State University; Lakshmi Munukutla, Arizona State University; John Magrane, Microchip Technology Inc.; Carol Popovich, Microchip Technology Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

typically have minimal skills and, in many cases, little interest.Additionally, the broad area of soft skills can be difficult for engineering students tograsp and they openly question its value. Yet, when presented in a graduate course inbusiness agility for engineers, one of us (JS) has seen students recognize the value ofthese skills and begin to develop and utilize them within 4 weeks of the start of thecourse. One student’s comment typified the reaction: “When I started this course I sawno value in soft skills. Now I can see that they can be more valuable than technicalskills.” Companies such as Microchip Technology are well positioned to mentoruniversity students. Companies can provide guidance with regard to creating businessplans

Conference Session

The Critical First Year in Engineering Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jamie Medoff, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Anne Spence, University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

areas, particularly communication and teaching skills. Ina report entitled Education and Careers 2000: Enhanced Skills for engineers, these “softskills” were reported as fundamental to industry as the engineering skills taught incollege. “The message from industry leaders is that young graduate engineers arriving attheir companies do not possess skills in either the quality or quantity required. Theseextra skills include written and oral communication…”1In a study at the Michigan Technological University, professors were placed in industrysettings for a short time to determine what successful engineers need in the industry. As aresult, they found that “engineers need a variety of soft and hard skills.” Included inthese soft skills were teaming

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ismail Jouny, Lafayette College

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

qualifications that distinguish him/her from the rest of the world, and make themworthy of high wages that are currently 5 to 10 times higher than those attained in the FarEast. The goal is not to go back to the days of heavy ECE enrollment, but to chart thecourse for a sustainable ECE curriculum that meets the needs of industry and continues tomove the US forward as a leader in a high-tech world. The change needed is twofold:macroscopic and microscopic. At a macroscopic level the change is largely related toenhancing the soft skills of the graduating engineer, while at a microscopic level, thechange is specific and is related to classical ECE study subjects. Underlying both aspectsof change are three key factors that are a must for all engineers

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amir Jokar, Washington State University-Vancouver; Hakan Gurocak, Washington State University-Vancouver; Dave Kim, Washington State University-Vancouver; Xiaolin Chen, Washington State University-Vancouver; Hamid Rad, Washington State University-Vancouver

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

input energy to run the vehicle as far, fast, and straight as possible. Student teams first designed their prototypes using the Working Model software and later built and test them for the competition. • Engineering problem solving; about one-third of the course schedule was spent on solving real-world engineering problems in different sub-disciplines of mechanical engineering through case-studies; including: systems of units, unit conversions, forces in structures, stress and strain, fluidic systems, thermal systems, motion, power transmission, design of machines. • Soft-skills in engineering; each faculty member introduced ethical and contemporary issues related to their sub-discipline as part of their

Conference Session

Pedagogical Issues in Manufacturing Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Rumpf, Ferris State University

Tagged Divisions

Manufacturing

desirability of so-called “soft skills” in their prospective employees. Consequently, teamwork is more afundamental part of modern manufacturing-related curricula than ever before as well. However,the best way to impart soft-skill lessons, especially in hard-skill fields, is open to debate,especially in the academic environment where outcomes assessment is stressed. Factors such asthe size of classes, complexity of projects, strengths versus weaknesses of class members,diversity initiatives in place, and many other dynamics may play a role in the formation ofproject teams. Simultaneously addressing the needs of each individual student, the needs of theclass as a whole, and needs of industrial partners is a delicate balancing act that calls first

Conference Session

Capstone Projects and Experiential Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tianrui Bai, Southwest Jiaotong University; Jinwen Zhu, Missouri Western State University; Virendra Varma, Missouri Western State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

soft skills, such as communications and working in teams, etc. A capstonedesign project or other integrating experience is a major design component in engineeringand technology curricula. The Technology and Engineering criteria (TAC and EAC) ofthe Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) emphasize theimportance of a capstone experience in the curriculum. The capstone design projectsrequire students to use fundamental scientific concepts and basic technical skills learnedin the classroom to solve ‘real-world’ problems instead of answering end-of-the chapterquestions from the textbook. The capstone projects provide an opportunity for students todemonstrate critical thinking skills. It prepares them better to assume the

Conference Session

IE Program Design I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Leslie Potter, Iowa State University; K. Jo Min, Iowa State University; Frank Peters, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Industrial Engineering

engineering programs have been required to document assessment ofoutcome items a-k as defined by ABET.1 Some of these outcome items can be classified as‘hard’ skills, such as (c) [an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desiredneeds within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical,health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability]. The evaluation and assessment of‘hard’ skills is generally considered to be significantly easier than that of ‘soft’ skills andabilities, such as (h) [The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineeringsolutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context]. Without good assessmentmethods, determining if improvements have

Conference Session

ECET Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gary Mullett, Springfield Technical Community College; Adrienne Smith, Springfield Technical Community College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

evolution of electronics had on ET education? Today’s technician typicallydoes not repair to the part level. Instead, today’s technician evaluates system operation andperformance, performs maintenance by replacing field replaceable units (FRUs) or sub-systems,and alters equipment operation and functionality through software patches and/or upgrades via aconnected laptop computer. The traditional “hands-on” aspect of repair has taken on a new look.Industry today is looking for individuals that can troubleshoot from a systems perspective andthat also have the soft skills necessary to deal with the customer and other members of thecompany “team”. Has the typical ET program’s curricula kept up with these changes? In mostcases, this author would guess

Conference Session

Two Year Colleges

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathleen Alfano, College of the Canyons; Sharlene Katz, California State University-Northridge; Robert Alldredge, Allan Hancock College

Tagged Divisions

Two Year College Division

taught at each of the CREATE community colleges. Surveys weredeveloped or adapted from other sources and these surveys and results are posted on theCREATE website at www.create-california.org/skills surveys. One of the surprising Page 12.399.2differences between the results ten years ago and this set of surveys and focus groups arethe much higher priority that industry places on soft skills. Another important result wasthat employers felt that foundational skills such as electronics were being lost whilecolleges specialized curricula too much and focus groups from a wide range of industrysegments advocated a more generalist curricula for their skilled

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sharlene Katz, California State University-Northridge; Kathleen Alfano, College of the Canyons

and/or competencies. Additionally, in Spring of 2007 two new degree programs have won approval and will give new transfer options in Information Technology (Cuesta College) and Mechatronics (Allan Hancock). • CREATE conducted a comprehensive review of the region’s skills needs and cross- mapped these needs to the embedded technical and soft skills currently being taught at each of the CREATE colleges. • A new Mechatronics degree program was developed and implemented at Allan Hancock College. • A feasibility study to determine the need for a new 4-year B.S. in Engineering Technology degree to be offered in the region.Objective 4: Develop and implement a model assessment plan to measure longitudinally the

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cameron Coates, Armstrong Atlantic State University; Wayne Johnson, Armstrong Atlantic State University; Chris McCarthy, Armstrong Atlantic State University

itself among other summer programsin that it is an accelerated one and it introduces participating students to relatively advancedconcepts in applied research, engineering design and communication. Additionally, the programseeks to develop the participants “soft skills” that will be necessary for future team orientedprojects and/or leadership practices. The students selected are above average (regionally) andalready have a strong interest in science and/or engineering. Assessment measures for theprograms primary objectives are implemented in which the student’s future academic activitiesare monitored. Assessment of the secondary objectives is performed based on immediatefeedback from students and parents. Additionally, we describe and assess the

Conference Session

Engineering Economy: Beyond the Classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeannette Russ, Union University; Doanh Van, Union University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

years of industrial experience. Page 12.1564.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Using Student-led Current Events Discussions to Meet Specific ABET Outcomes through Engineering EconomyIntroductionWhile engineering departments tend to have many avenues for meeting ABET outcomes that aredirectly related to technical skills, it can be more challenging to find ways to address theoutcomes related to “soft skills.” At Union University, we have found that the standardengineering economy course provides an ideal atmosphere for delivering some of these broad-based goals. Specifically, we have been

Conference Session

Introducing Active and Inductive Learning and Improving the Learning Curve in ME

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

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

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

thesame time supposing a higher quality of specialized and soft skills from young academics.Companies expect young engineers not only to be able to apply theoretical knowledge inpractice, use the appropriate tools, work autonomously, but also to be able to work in teams, andto present engineering results clearly and impressively.For the past nine years, we have been applying Project Based Learning (PBL) in three distinctphases as a didactical method within the degree course’s curriculum in the department ofAutomotive Engineering. The main task is to motivate the students to apply theoreticalknowledge in practice as soon as possible. The young engineers not only deepen their specializedknowledge but they also develop real systems and design

Conference Session

Innovations for the Senior Year of the ME Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Trimble, Arizona State University; Ronald Bengelink, Arizona State University; Valana Wells, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

current focus on meeting customer needs through the use ofvalues-driven, multifunctional project teams has recruiters looking for graduates that possess“soft skills” such as communications, teamwork, project management, and professional ethics.Moreover, the rapid pace of technological innovation and changing markets requires graduatingengineers to be skilled in the art of life long learning. As society becomes evermore driven bytechnology, there will be a growing need for articulate, team-oriented, socially-aware, andvalues-driven engineers to move into positions of global leadership. ABET 2000 challengesengineering schools to produce graduates with these skills. The Department of Mechanical andAerospace Engineering (MAE) at Arizona State

Conference Session

Industry-Academia Collaborations

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lakshmi Munukutla, Arizona State University; Jim Subach, Arizona State University; John Magrane, Microchip Technology Inc.; Carol Popovich, Microchip Technology Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Continuing Professional Development

first course in this set,“Business Agility for Technology Enterprises,” is an upper-division/graduate-level coursewith several objectives. First, it aims to introduce students to “soft skills” (businessdevelopment, marketing, etc.) and show the value of these skills in an engineeringenvironment. - more - Page 12.889.5Secondly, the course aims to establish not only the value of teamwork, but also the carefulselection of team members and the assignment of roles based upon individual strengths.Next, the course helps the students to build a basic vocabulary of business

Collection

2007 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Chang-Hee Won

simply cannot be introduced in conventional lecture and laboratory courses. From proper documentation techniques and the systems engineering philosophy to teamwork and systems-level integration, students learned valuable lessons in both the technical aspects of engineering and the group dynamics of a large-scale project. • Large-scale system integration also rarely takes place in either undergraduate or graduate education. The satellite project allowed the students to gain valuable experience that is generally not found in either the on-campus curriculum or through cooperative (co-op) education. • Dealing with group dynamics helps students to polish their “soft skills,” which

Conference Session

Embedded Computing

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

J.W. Bruce, Mississippi State University; Lee Hathcock, Mississippi State Univ.

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

arepublished on the web. Students were required to read and rate all dissections in severalcategories to ensure that each student was familiar with other designs. Qualitative andquantitative data was collected from the students about the perceived effectiveness of thedissection activity. The students felt strongly that the dissection activity improved their skills asengineers, but did not rate the impact on their soft skills (ethics and technical writing) verystrongly. The true impact on the students will not be known until they complete their capstone Page 12.596.13design course projects. Hopefully, they are now aware of manufacturing and economic

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

E. Bernard White, George Mason University

skills mayinclude such things as interpersonal skills, leadership skills, communication skills, problemsolving, self-motivation and initiative, accountability, and enthusiasm.This model is in agreement with Cukier7, whose research suggests that mathematics is anindicator but not the only predictor of success in computing careers, and others who suggest thatfacility with languages is a better predictor of programming skills than mathematics intensiveprograms. It must be noted that traditionally, and even today, many who are responsible fordesigning computing curricula assume that soft skills (communication, project management,user needs assessment, etc.) are easily learned on the job. Non-traditional approaches tocurriculum design such as, for

Conference Session

IE and EM Program Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kam Jugdev, Athabasca University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

largest Information Systems programs in the United States. Toassess graduate project management courses as compared to the PMBOK® Guide knowledgeareas, they conducted a web-based survey of 206 institutions (53% response rate) 32. Theseauthors found that most programs emphasized hard skills, such as scope and cost, quite evenly.The courses covered work breakdown structures, estimation, and network diagrams. However,there was less emphasis on soft skills, such as human resources, communication skills, andprocurement. Soft skills topics that were not well covered included project charters and dealingwith vendors. Numerous project management textbooks focused on normative advice onplanning and managing projects 33, 34. This helped create a normative

Conference Session

Mathematics in Transition

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nirmala Gnanapragasam, Seattle University

Tagged Divisions

Mathematics

schedule for the math club, and some ofthe soft skills learned by students. It also provides information on variouscompetitions that are available to students in Washington State and ranks themaccording to the level of difficulty. Finally it discusses the lessons learned in thepast seven years which may be helpful to those who are considering starting onein their own neighborhoods.MathClub - Inception through Current StatusThe math club was started in mid 1990’s with one parent volunteer and a fewstudents. It was a before school 50-minute, unstructured, enrichment program,where students from 2nd through 4th graders came in to play math related gamesand puzzles. Each session typically had about 20 students. However, after a fewmonths the organizer

Conference Session

Graduate Student Experiences

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nihad Dukhan, University of Detroit Mercy; Michael Jenkins, University of Detroit Mercy

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

AC 2007-617: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AS A MOTIVATION FORATTENDING GRADUATE SCHOOLNihad Dukhan, University of Detroit Mercy Nihad Dukhan is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Detroit Mercy, where he teaches courses in heat transfer, thermodynamics and energy systems. His ongoing pedagogical interests include developing undergraduate research programs, service-learning programs, and assessing their impact on students’ soft skills. His technical research areas are advanced cooling technologies for high-power devices. Dr. Dukhan earned his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toledo.Michael Jenkins, University of Detroit Mercy

Conference Session

Teams and Teamwork in Design I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Janice Miller-Young, Mount Royal College; Sean Maw, Mount Royal College

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

; • Increase student retention in engineering programs10-11.However there are many “soft skills” required in learning design and no consensus on which aremost important for first year students, nor which is the best way way to teach them. Someinstitutions focus on design methods and team dynamics [eg. Harvey Mudd], others on designand writing [eg. Northwestern], and others combine design with graphics [eg. Penn State].Mount Royal College offers a University transfer engineering program. Thus, our courses mustconform with the local University to which most of our students transfer. In design terms, theconstraints imposed by the University are that there are two sequential first-year courses, eachwith 1 hour of lecture time per week, and 4.5 hours of

Conference Session

Trends in Construction Engineering Education I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eric Asa, North Dakota State University; Zhili (Jerry) Gao

Tagged Divisions

Construction

Page 12.470.2environment. Construction graduates must possess technical strength coupled withcommunication (written and speech), and soft skills. In most of the capstone courses, studentsare given a real-world problem to solve over a period of a semester or a year. Many programshave capstone / project-based courses, which are aimed at training students in solving real worldproblems. Some programs have courses which run for a year. Walker and Slotterbeck1, instudying the incorporation of teamwork into software engineering curriculum, concluded that: (i)there is not enough time to teach software engineering skills and also carry out a significantteam-based project in a single term, (ii) the software development process is best learnt

Conference Session

Student Learning and Teamwork

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charlie Edmonson, University of Dayton; Donna Summers, University of Dayton

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

University of Cincinnati and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University. She obtained her Doctorate in Industrial Engineering from the University of Cincinnati. Page 12.927.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Session Integrating Teamwork Across the CurriculumAbstractThe ability to work on teams is a very important business skill. Some educators chooseto call it a “soft skill.” However, our Industrial Advisory Committee members and thebusinesses hiring our graduates choose to call it a “critical skill

Conference Session

BME Assessment and the VaNTH ERC

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Verstraete, University of Akron

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

metric, or metrics, in mind for measuring the level of success orfailure, such as examination or homework questions, or project requirements. Course Objectivesand Outcomes should then be included in the course syllabus distributed to each student on thefirst day of class (Figure 1).At the completion of the course, each instructor completes an assessment report for each BMEcourse they taught. The report includes the following sections; Heading, Catalog Description,Grade Distribution, Modifications Made to Course, Course Outcomes Assessment, StudentFeedback, Reflection, Proposed Actions for Course Improvement. Other sections may beincluded as each instructor or the Department wishes. These extra sections may be used toassess the “soft” skills

Conference Session

Engineering, Engineers and Setting Public Policy

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Haws, Boise State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

AC 2007-130: MARGINALIZING DISSENT: ENGINEERING AND THE PUBLICHEARING PROCESSDavid Haws, Boise State University I like to think of myself as a boundary spanner—bridging between “hard” science and “soft” skills. The bridge metaphor is attractive, but it probably implies more precision than I deserve (urban sprawl comes more to my mind). My “professional” degrees are in Civil Engineering (an undergraduate degree from the University of Utah; and a master’s and Ph.D. from Brigham Young University). I also have an undergraduate degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley, and master’s degrees in Instructional and Performance Technology, and Technical Communication from Boise

Collection

2007 St.Lawrence Section Meeting

Authors

Doug Reeve P.Eng.; Annie Simpson; Veena Kumar; Emma Master; Dave Colcleugh; Greg Evans P.Eng.

: “Provide opportunities for soft skills development and professional training inareas such as team building, leadership, citizenship, ethics and social awareness in orderto produce graduates fully prepared to embark into leadership roles in corporate,entrepreneurial, or future research careers in a global environment.” The Faculty’srecord in leadership development is strong. We have integrated collaboration, communityoutreach and communication skills into the curriculum through such initiatives as thefirst-year Engineering Strategies and Practice course (McCahan, et al 2004).The University of Toronto's Academic Initiatives Fund, in early 2006, granted $1 millionover five years to implement a Leadership Development Program across the

Conference Session

FPD11 -- Multidisciplinary Experiences

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mehrube Mehrubeoglu, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi; Lifford McLauchlan, Texas A&M University-Kingsville

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

the technicalskills, the students are also expected to develop soft skills that are necessary in the engineeringand technology fields, such as teamwork, ethical and professional responsibilities,communications, and time management, all deemed an integral part of the learning experience,and necessary by the ABET accreditation guidelines.Since introductory courses play an important role in student retention and success, there is a needto generate new ideas and develop creative teaching strategies to ensure student interest,attention and learning. Many groups studied innovative methods to achieve the desiredclassroom goals. The following section reviews some of the relevant findings in the literature.The proposed method and its pilot