Paper Authors

Abstract

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

Session 2160

The Middle Tennessee State University Experimental Vehicles Program: Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Engineering Projects

Saeed D. Foroudastan, Ian D. Campbell Engineering Technology and Industrial Studies Department Middle Tennessee State University

Abstract

Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) decided to combine several competition vehicle projects into one Experimental Vehicles Program (EVP). The goal was to facilitate fundraising and resource sharing, and to improve chain of command within the various vehicle teams.

EVP is organized like a corporation with various branches representing the vehicle teams and a management team which oversees the financial and organizational end of the projects. The charter members of EVP (all engineering and engineering technology students from various concentrations) wanted to make the program available to students from different departments at MTSU. They created positions that could be filled by students from other majors within and outside of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences. Business majors, for instance, run the fundraising ventures of EVP, while a journalism major serves as public relations officer for the local and college papers and physics majors lead research efforts. The sharing of duties within EVP offers students from other departments the experience of running a company, while allowing Engineering Technology (ET) students to focus on their projects without having to worry as much about raising capital and attracting attention to the program.

The EVP founders established five appointed offices that focus on specific areas of the program, and are open to students from outside the Engineering Technology Department.

• Inter-project Manager • Human Resources Manager • Public Relations Manager • Documentation Manager • Industry Liaison

This paper follows students from different departments as they work together for a common goal. It describes their fundraising efforts and public awareness campaigns, and the impact of these ventures on the success of the projects themselves. The paper also highlights the benefits of a program like EVP to engineering education, and offers an organizational model that can be used for the foundation of similar programs at other schools.

Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Foroudastan, S. (2005, June), The Middle Tennessee State University Experimental Vehicles Program: Interdisciplinary Collaboration In Engineering Projects Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--15066