Challenges and Benefits of Industrial Sponsored Engineering Senior Projects in the Time of COVID
- Conference
- Location
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Minneapolis, MN
- Publication Date
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August 23, 2022
- Start Date
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June 26, 2022
- End Date
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June 29, 2022
- Conference Session
- Page Count
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21
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--41841
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/41841
- Download Count
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334
Paper Authors
Derek Yip-Hoi Western Washington University
Dr. Yip-Hoi received his Ph.D. from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan in 1997. His dissertation research focused on developing Computer-Aided Process Planning methods and software tools to support the automation of machining on Mill/Turn machining centers. Following his Ph.D., he worked for several years with the NSF Engineering Research Center for Reconfigurable Machining Systems at the University of Michigan. His work focused on developing new methodologies and techniques to assist manufacturers design and plan operations on advanced machining lines that could be rapidly reconfigured to meet changes to a product’s design or production volume. In 2003 he joined the faculty of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of British Columbia as junior chair of the NSERC-sponsored research program in Virtual Machining. His work at this time focused on the modeling of cutter/workpiece engagement geometry to support process modeling for aerospace machining applications. In 2007 he joined the faculty of the Engineering and Design Department at Western Washington University where he is currently a professor in the Manufacturing Engineering program. His teaching and scholarship interests lie in the areas of geometric modeling, design, CAD, DFM, CAM and CNC machining.
Sura Alqudah Western Washington University
Sura Al-Qudah Holds a Ph.D. in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Binghamton University. She is a co-program director of the Manufacturing Engineering Program at Western Washington University. Dr. Al-Qudah is a Co-PI on a $1M S-STEM award number 1834139. In her role with the S-STEM grant, Dr. Al-Qudah assists in various tasks and activities such as recruitment and selection, program webpage development, and application material development. Co-PI Al-Qudah has a primary role assisting with the delivery of the Viking Launch bridge program through the Spatial Visualization workshop, the peer-mentoring organization and delivery, and the social gathering of the BEES scholars and their faculty mentors (both in-person and virtual).
Abstract
This paper presents the experiences of conducting capstone senior project during this time of COVID for the case where projects are mostly industry-sponsored. This has been largely the trend for the Manufacturing Engineering program in question where the faculty consensus has been that the exposure and mentorship that students receive working with an industry sponsor is invaluable in their preparation for future careers. The pandemic has even heightened the value of this experience as many juniors during the first summer of the pandemic missed out on the opportunity to work as an intern at a manufacturing company prior to entering their senior year. The capstone project experience offered a way for graduating seniors to include a valuable industry-related experience on their resumes. These typically align with one of the four pillars of Manufacturing Engineering as defined by SME. An overview of the types of projects that teams work on will be presented. The approach and challenges to recruiting and administering appropriate senior projects will be discussed. The pandemic impact on potential sponsors differed greatly depending on the difficulties each company faced. The experiences within industry of moving significant portions of their engineering staff to a work-from-home status, dove-tailed well with the exposure of seniors to remote learning and online collaboration technologies. What in the past had been a challenge engaging teams with sponsors due to the over-reliance on face-to-face meetings and e-mail exchanges for activities such as requirements gathering, brainstorming, design reviews, and presentations, was more efficiently and timely executed online. Feedback on the experiences will be discussed from the perspective of the sponsors, students, and faculty advisors. The impact on student learning and outcomes assessment will also be presented. The positive impacts will be highlighted along with recommendations on how these can be incorporated into the new “normal” for this type of capstone project instruction.
Yip-Hoi, D., & Alqudah, S. (2022, August), Challenges and Benefits of Industrial Sponsored Engineering Senior Projects in the Time of COVID Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41841
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