Beyond the Classroom
Engineering experts give Time-Compression Technolgies magazine their opinion on what should be done to improve engineering education.
Earl Dunlap, Catalyst PDG, Inc. (Indianapolis, IN). I conduct seminars at major universities on rapid product development and one of the challenges that the major universities face today is 'real world experience.' In the past 10 years, technical schools have gained on enrollment versus the major universities, according to the Wall Street Journal, because they offer hands-on training. In countries like Japan and Germany, engineering students do twice the amount of co-ops than the U.S. universities do. This gives engineering students more 'real world training.' All too often engineers get taught software and all of the other engineering texts and are left wondering how to use it in a real application. Engineering schools should not only teach with scholars, doctors and professors, but they also should teach with hands-on labs, co-ops and practical training. Engineers should visit various types of manufacturers that pertain to their field of study. Colleges should offer more seminars with well-trained individuals so the engineering students can ask questions and learn.
Ken Crow, DRM Associates (Palos Verdes, CA). I have seen a number of creative and positive steps taken to improve engineering courses in schools. I also see the need for practical product development education as opposed to just engineering education. The former covers a broader business context of developing new products which includes understanding customer needs, developing a business case for a new product, creativity, teamwork, concept development, CAD/CAE/CAM tools, target costing, value engineering, rapid prototyping, quality and reliability and product launch. I recommend that schools emphasize internships that offer practical experience; have professionals teach part time or serve as guest lecturers; use more case studies, exercises and projects and add courses that address business issues. Engineering is ultimately about solving commercial needs rather than just technical optimization. Students need to learn to balance a technical solution with time and money. Enhance industry academic partnerships to better understand engineering needs, employment needs, curriculum requirements, internship opportunities and equipment contributions. Get access to easy-to-use, low cost CAD/CAE/CAM and rapid prototyping hardware and software. Create projects that provide an opportunity to use this equipment and that contain real world issues about commercial feasibility, cost and time-to-market. Finally, monitor other academic websites that describe their engineering courses and curriculum to get ideas for improvement.
Nelson Bednersh, University of California Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA). As an instructor of a basic machine shop course for mechanical engineering students at UCSB, I have found some weaknesses in our program. Basic drawing skills need to be taught to all types of engineering students. CAD/CAM systems are great, but the basics of drawing and reading blueprints are missing. Our program is very simple and only includes the use of lathes, mills, saws and hand tools. We have two CNC machines, but few students get involved enough to use them. We had a CNC class, but now the department is more focused on CAD and there isn't faculty interest in manufacturing. This university is primarily theoretical and practical engineering is not stressed. More focus, time, space and monetary input into manufacturing would improve engineering education. Also, with the addition of new and greater amounts of information in engineering, it might be necessary to make engineering a five-year program.
Preston Smith, New Product Dynamics (Portland, OR). University engineering programs should shift more to team learning. Individual excellence and grading on the curve pits one person against another. Product development is becoming geographically dispersed - marketing is in New Jersey, R&D is in Los Angeles, purchasing is in Houston and product manufacturing is in Singapore. The Internet doesn't automatically knit all of these people together. They have to learn trust and communication protocols so that they can work effectively at a distance. Team projects in college are a perfect way of learning such skills, because in the industry, engineers are often thrust into such situations with no preparation. For students to learn distance communication skills, the student team might be split purposely. For example, Arizona State University and the University of Leeds set up a split team - the Global Engineering Design Team - to design parts for Rolls Royce in the UK and Boeing in the U.S. This program has now completed three successful years.
