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Session 3447

Capstone Projects that are Industry Sponsored, Interdisciplinary, and Include both Design and Build Tasks

David Myszka University of Dayton

Abstract

Over the past decade, a great deal of attention has been placed on capstone design projects in engineering technology. This has come as a result of criticisms of education institutions for not meeting the needs of industry. To that end, nearly all institutions have adopted a capstone experience. Many have instituted projects that include both design and fabrication. Some have utilized industry-sponsored projects. A few have even implemented an interdisciplinary approach, by including several students from different majors on the design team. Of course, all of these enhancements are to better simulate the “real world” and thus, better prepare the students for the expectations of industry.

After years of working through all the barriers, the Department of Engineering Technology at the University of Dayton currently requires a senior design experience that encompasses all the mentioned enhancements. Teams of electronic, mechanical, manufacturing and industrial engineering technology students work with a company on a real project. The teams are given full responsibility from project definition and concept generation to the fabrication and testing of a device. The purpose of this paper is to share the experience and discuss some of the details on the implementation.

Introduction

The primary goal of an engineering technology program is the preparation of technically competent entry-level engineers for private industry. For the recent graduate, the transition from student to entry-level engineer can be a difficult bridge to cross. Industry managers have recognized this difficulty, and many companies have developed elaborate programs to aid the recent graduate in this transition

In the early 1990’s, the public began to grumble about the poor student preparation for technical careers in industry. A great deal of criticism was thrust upon the technical schools and universities [4, 7]. In response, many initiatives were introduced to address the transition from textbook problems and real world situations [2, 3, 9, 14]. A great deal of dialog at technical society meetings, and accreditation boards, centered on application- oriented courses and incorporating business scenarios and communication into technical courses [1].

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

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Myszka, D. (2003, June), Capstone Projects That Are Industry Sponsored, Interdisciplinary, And Include Both Design And Build Tasks Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--11515