Asee peer logo

Hosting/Participating In Global Collaborative Pace Projects

Download Paper |

Conference

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Honolulu, Hawaii

Publication Date

June 24, 2007

Start Date

June 24, 2007

End Date

June 27, 2007

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

Design Projects

Tagged Division

Design in Engineering Education

Page Count

18

Page Numbers

12.809.1 - 12.809.18

DOI

10.18260/1-2--2512

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/2512

Download Count

385

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Nicole Giullian Brigham Young University

visit author page

Nicole Giullian is an undergraduate student in Mechanical Engineering at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She will graduate with her Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering in April 2007. While at BYU, Nicole has worked as a research assistant in the ParaCAD lab and as a teaching assistant. She also completed two internships in Hartford, Connecticut with the Structural Methods group of Pratt and Whitney.

visit author page

biography

C. Greg Jensen Brigham Young University

visit author page

Dr. C. Greg Jensen is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Brigham Young University. He has also worked for Boeing, Lockheed, and United Technologies. His current research interests are in the area of integration, optimization and customization of CAx tools, with a second focus in the direct machining of CAD topology.

visit author page

biography

Jason McCammon Brigham Young University

visit author page

Jason McCammon holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He also coauthored a paper accepted at the International Association of Drilling Contractors/Society of Petroleum Engineer’s Drilling Conference in February 2006.

visit author page

biography

Brad Brooks Brigham Young University

visit author page

Brad Brooks graduated from Brigham Young University in April 2007 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering.

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Hosting/Participating in Global Collaborative PACE Projects

Abstract

Certain obstacles must be overcome in order to realize the benefits of large-scale collaboration projects. Undergraduate engineering curricula currently do not include projects of sufficient scope and diversity to introduce students to the challenges and lessons inherent to participation in global collaborative design projects. Engineering students today largely graduate with little or no skills or experience working on an international team. Universities need to take steps to institute international collaboration projects that prepare undergraduate students for engineering work in the twenty-first century.

Participating in an international collaboration project is a daunting task for a school that has never worked globally before, and launching or hosting such a project likely seems almost impossible because of the numerous obstacles. In 2005-2006, GM/PACE (Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education) sponsored the first international vehicle collaboration project, a senior capstone project that demonstrated how global-scale projects effectively prepare students for future exposure to large-scale collaboration projects in industry. The most important results of this pioneering project were the lessons learned about global collaboration. Sharing these lessons with other schools will facilitate participation in or hosting of global projects.

Using the international vehicle collaboration design project as a case study, this paper will focus on the requirements needed to either host a global collaboration project or be a participant. Because the success of the project depends on effective communication, it will be the primary focus of the recommendations. First, the necessary software and hardware requirements will be outlined, with a focus on collaborative tools. Next, the various types of training needed for students to become completely involved will be described. Finally, other keys to success will be explained: defining overall and local objectives early in the project and tailoring the project requirements at each site to the school’s resources and goals.

Introduction

In recent years there has been a movement among large universities to offer students a global experience. However, this movement has been stagnated in the engineering arena by the lack of available resources and instruction in collaboration and working together in a global context. Typically, mechanical engineering capstone classes place students from one school with an industrial company. It has been generally thought that the design and build nature of engineering capstone is so complex that adding multiple companies or teams from a variety of universities would only add chaos to confusion. However, this challenge is faced daily by real world engineers as they work with colleagues, suppliers, subcontractors, etc. from around the world. The “future of many firms will depend upon their flexibility and quick responsiveness”1, especially in regard to global collaboration2. Engineering students who are able to hone collaboration skills during their university experience will have a great advantage in the workforce.

Giullian, N., & Jensen, C. G., & McCammon, J., & Brooks, B. (2007, June), Hosting/Participating In Global Collaborative Pace Projects Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2512

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2007 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015