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Session 1332

AN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROGRAM SUPPORTED BY INDUSTRY

Manuel Toledo-Quiñones, José G. Colom-Ustáriz University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

Abstract Practical problem solving, together with a firm theoretical background and a broad education, play a very important role in engineering education. The Industrial Affiliates Program (IAP) is an interesting model of active learning that addresses today’s pressing needs of blending theory with practice, education with work, academic scientific rigor with industry’s fast pace.

The program, administered by the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (ECE) at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM), complements a five year curriculum by providing undergraduate students with the opportunity to participate in a research project. Each year, over 20 projects, dealing with a diverse set of electrical and computer engineering topics, receive sponsorship from internationally-recognized companies.

This article provides an overview of IAP and describes student projects. Also presented are statistics about student and faculty participation. The benefits to students, industry, university, and faculty provided by the program are discussed. Possible extensions to the program are summarized.

The Department The University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, the third largest campus of the state-owned university system of Puerto Rico, homes the daily activities of about 765 faculty and almost 15,000 students. According to the American Society for Engineering Education's (ASEE) 2000 edition of Profiles of Engineering and Engineering Technology Colleges UPRM ranks 14th in the U.S. in terms of undergraduate engineering enrollment, 18th in awarded engineering degrees and 3rd in engineering degrees awarded to women. It is also the largest Hispanic engineering schools in the country, and has been fully accredited by the Middle State Association of Schools and Colleges since 1946.

The student population of the ECE department consists of about 1500 fulltime undergraduates (11% of the campus´ total), 60% of which major in Electrical Engineering. Around 30% of the undergraduate students are females. The B.S. electrical and computer engineering programs were established in 1928 and 1981 and gained ABET accreditation in 1960 and 1994, respectively. The department also administers master programs to about 80 graduate students. A summary of the department’s student population and graduation statistics is shown in figures 1, 2 and 3.

Proceedings of the 2003American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society for Engineering Education

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Toledo-Quinones, M., & Colom, J. (2003, June), An Undergraduate Research Program Supported By Industry Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--12524