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Education and Industry, a Union to Facilitate Engineering Learning

Abstract

Education and Industry are critical pillars of society, dependent on each other for growth and progress. The Architectural Engineering program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln integrates a dynamic alliance between these two pillars with a mission of fuelling collaboration and firing the imagination of faculty, students and business alike. This integration has taken place since the inception of the program and its main building, The Peter Kiewit Institute, back in 1996. Initial industry involvement focused on setting up the building as a living lab with informational markers for students to monitor and investigate. Active lecture and laboratory environments are used by faculty and industry involvement as a means for an effective teaching atmosphere. This paper will present this unique setting, how courses are shaped to maximize the setting, and the various teaching methods used to enhance teaching and learning. A detailed description of a representative course, Electrical Systems for Buildings II, will be presented in this paper. Course requirements and expectations, and the multi-integration methods between theory, application and industry will also be presented. Program outcome and feedback from Industry professionals, alumni, and current students, will document how these innovative teaching methods have empowered them to be successful in their field.

I - Introduction

The involvement of industry in education is not a new concept. At Stanford University, a number of courses give students a chance to work on and learn from real problems assigned from real companies and be mentored by industry participants. The Alliance for Innovative Manufacturing (AIM) program is a joint venture between multinational corporations with significant design and manufacturing presence in the United States and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and School of Engineering. The program objective is to provide members with the latest developments in manufacturing and design. The success of the current industry- sponsored courses has caused interest in the program to spread to other areas of the campus1. Similarly, the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado utilizes the principles of Hands-on Engineering. In the Integrated Teaching and Learning program (ITL), creative, team-oriented problem-solving skills are emphasized. The curriculum is designed to reflect the real world of engineering by being relevant to the needs of society and students alike. The ITL also functions as a living laboratory, with exposed building systems and accessible sensory equipment2.

The Architectural Engineering program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, aided by its industry partners and unique living lab (The Peter Kiewit Institute), is an environment empowered to provide students with fundamental and practical building system design. This includes the hands-on learning environment necessary to fully understand the complex issues involved in engineering. Students are given the advantage of learning directly from exposed systems throughout the building, and direct interactions with industry professionals. Engineering curricula must provide relevant examples for students, be based on the needs of society, and

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Alahmad, M., & Pfannenstiel, M., & Alvine, D., & Waters, C. (2007, June), Education And Industry, A Union To Facilitate Engineering Learning Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2728