Export Engineering: an Honours Degree Course Taking Engineering Education into Europe

This paper explains the rationale behind the development of a new course aimed at providing companies involved in exporting engineering products, equipment and services with graduates having a combination of the engineering, linguistic and business skills required to exploit opportunities in the European market and beyond after 1992. The course design and structure is described, and a detailed comparative analysis is made of the first year student intake onto the course.     

Teaching of Computing in a Project-oriented Environment in the Civil Engineering Degree Course at Unitech

Numerical analysis and programming, use of application programs and a proper understanding of program suites written for professional applications are three essential phases in the use of computing in a civil engineering degree course. In the course offered by the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, a conventional approach is adopted to teaching numerical analysis and programming during the first and second years. During the third and final years, a project oriented-approach is adopted for students to learn applications programming, computer-aided analysis, design and drawing. The approach is welcomed by employers and graduates alike as providing optimum value during the early years of employment as an engineer.     

“风景园林工程与技术”课程教学改革探索

社会经济发展极大推动了城市现代化建设,城市绿化以及生态化建设成了重要关注内容和未来发展方向。生态城市及园林化城市的建设离不开合理科学的城市规划设计,这对园林规划设计及施工人员提出了更高的要求,不仅需要具备丰富扎实的园林工程基础知识,还需要具备良好的综合素质。大多数园林工程专业人才都来自于园林工程技术专业的毕业生,因此学校的教学质量直接影响园林建设行业的发展。就园林工程技术专业课程教学现状和存在问题进行分析,并对课程改革的有效措施进行探讨。     

课程设计改进及实施的方法——以《建筑电气技术》为例

以《建筑电气技术》为例,,从课程定位、内容设计、教学实施等3个方面探讨了如何改进课程设计及实施,主要体现在从学科体系改变为工作任务体系,在教学中重视工程规范,讲解科技发展史,在教学细节上切实培养学生专业能力以外的其它能力和素质,对基础课及专业课的教学改革均具有普遍意义.     

科研成果转化为“钢结构设计原理”教学资源的研究

“钢结构设计原理”是土木工程专业的一门必修专业核心课程,随着我国钢结构设计技术的发展,掌握钢结构设计原理的相关知识是学生达到毕业要求的前提,是完善土木工程知识体系的必然要求。而目前土木工程高校毕业生普遍存在实践能力不足的问题,为了适应时代发展趋势,培养适应钢结构产业需要,具有实践能力的高素质技术人才,在分析“钢结构设计原理”课程传统教学存在的问题的基础上,将科研活动融入课程教学实践,将科研成果转化为教学资源,使学生能够将理论和实践更好地融合,提高学生对课程的学习兴趣,使学生更好地适应当前时代发展趋势,达到培养学生实践能力和科研能力的教学目标。     

New Study Forms in the Field of Automation and their Influence upon the Adaptation Process

A contemporaneous system of teaching university graduates is not able to prove, in practice, that the adaptation process has a positive influence on graduates. Analysis of such problems serves as a way to arrange a new education course oriented to robotics at the Department of Industrial Robotics, Mechanical Engineering Faculty, Technical university in Kosice. The new course, proved by 3 years of practice, results from closer binding with professional practice providing pedagogical teaching in the preparation process of graduates. The model is derived from manufacturing, engineering, and technologists modification (introduced in the USA around 1985) in our present teaching process conditions.     

科研成果转化为“钢结构设计原理”教学资源的研究

“钢结构设计原理”是土木工程专业的一门必修专业核心课程,随着我国钢结构设计技术的发展,掌握钢结构设计原理的相关知识是学生达到毕业要求的前提,是完善土木工程知识体系的必然要求。而目前土木工程高校毕业生普遍存在实践能力不足的问题,为了适应时代发展趋势,培养适应钢结构产业需要,具有实践能力的高素质技术人才,在分析“钢结构设计原理”课程传统教学存在的问题的基础上,将科研活动融入课程教学实践,将科研成果转化为教学资源,使学生能够将理论和实践更好地融合,提高学生对课程的学习兴趣,使学生更好地适应当前时代发展趋势,达到培养学生实践能力和科研能力的教学目标。     

工程化素质培养:应用化学专业实践教学改革

工程化素质是本科生进入社会进行科研、工程设计、工程施工等工作必须具备的素质。文章结合许昌学院应用化学专业的办学实际,从实验课程、实习实训和毕业论文(设计)三个实践教学环节论述了工程化素质培养的创新做法及其实践效果,并提出了改进措施。     

The (Non)Importance of a Programming Language in a Software Engineering Course

Our catchy title is intended to be controversial, provoking thought upon the impact (or lack of any) that a programming language has on the curriculum for a software engineering course. Our view on the subject is from both directions, as indicated by the title. As educators, we argue that the language issues are secondary to the fundamental concern of understanding software engineering concepts, specifically object‐oriented concepts. However, we appreciate that expertise in a widely accepted object‐oriented language may be essential towards the more practical aspect of building a critical mass of software engineers versed in object‐oriented techniques. This reflects upon the maturing nature of computer science and engineering as a science, which is evolving its fundamental principles, while at the same time recognizing its impact as an engineering discipline sensitive to practical applications. The evolution of our primary software engineering course, CS250 Introduction to Software Engineering, has been influenced by our own reflections on the state of software engineering in the 1990s, industrial requirements for expertise by our graduates, and the needs of accreditation. We present the internal and external factors that have guided our course design. This process reflects our own experiences in academia and industry. We present this process as a representative model of a sound approach, but make no claims that it is the optimal approach.     

Teaching problem-solving skills to nuclear engineering students

Problem solving is an essential skill for nuclear engineering graduates entering the workforce. Training in qualitative and quantitative aspects of problem solving allows students to conceptualise and execute solutions to complex problems. Solutions to problems in high consequence fields of study such as nuclear engineering require rapid and accurate analysis of the problems, design of solutions (focusing on public safety, environmental stewardship and ethics), solution execution and monitoring results. A three-month course in problem solving, modelling and simulation was designed and a collaborative approach was undertaken with instructors from both industry and academia. Training was optimised for the laptop-based pedagogy, which provided unique advantages for a course that includes modelling and simulation components. The concepts and tools learned as part of the training were observed to be utilised throughout the duration of student university studies and interviews with students who have entered the workforce indicate that the approaches learned and practised are retained long term.     

构建新型实践教学体系培养环境工程专业的应用型人才

为了适应中山大学建立综合性研究型大学的发展目标,满足社会对环境工程专业人才的需求,本文对中山大学环境工程专业实践教学体系进行优化,从教师授课、实验课程、实习、毕业设计和教师开放性课题等多方面对新型体系的构建进行了有益的探索。     

Educational Robotics: An Insight into Systems Engineering

The need for engineering educators to influence reform of science-technology education in schools and, especially, contribute in stating technology as a new school subject is argued. The approaches to applying systems theory in education are outlined. An introductory ‘Robotics and Real Time Control Systems’ course has been developed as a possible approach to systems education and insight into engineering. The course concept and the master plan, based on the ‘threaded’ metacurricular approach, are proposed. The stages of design process for the course curriculum are considered. The course has been implemented in a number of high schools in Israel. An example of one project performed by a student team is presented.     

Elements of a successful capstone course considering the needs of stakeholders

One of the principal objectives of engineering education is to prepare graduates for the practice of engineering in industry. Industry involvement in the educational process can be very helpful in devising programs to meet this objective. Yet, engineering education has a number of other stakeholders including students, faculty, academic administrators, and others. Identifying and meeting the needs and wants of these various stakeholders is essential in developing educational programs and learning activities that are effective and sustainable. Stakeholders in engineering education are identified, including their wants and needs. Alternative approaches to developing a Capstone course, with input from these stakeholders, are proposed and evaluated in light of stakeholder needs and wants. A case study for developing a two-semester senior design capstone course at Brigham Young University is presented. In this example more than 300 industry sponsored, design and build, projects have been completed by cross-functional student teams over more than ten years. Feedback from alumni on the success of this course in meeting desired educational objectives is also presented.     

基于CDIO的工程管理实习基地建设模式探索

随着新疆跨越式发展的快速推进,基础设施建设滞后和人才严重匮乏成为区域经济发展不平衡的主要制约因素,也为工程管理专业人才的市场需求日益增加创造了历史性机遇。新型城镇化建设急需本土高校培养具备工程系统知识和创新实践能力的毕业生以适应日益复杂和繁重的基础设施建设任务。基于CDIO的工程管理实习基地的建设模式,首先以CDIO理念为基础,探讨了工程管理专业的实习基地的合作伙伴及项目实践分级,然后参照CDIO准则建立了工程管理实习基地开发模式,并应用IDEF0系统分析方法逐层分析了工程管理实习基地的建设功能模型、项目开发模型和课程实践模型。本文是以学生为主体之一参与创新实践过程的尝试,是对CDIO过程的初步运用,也为本土工程管理实践基地建设提供参考。     

Teaching Software Engineering by Reverse Engineering

Teaching software engineering (SE) is a difficult but critical task, whether students are undergraduates, graduates, or professionals. Most designs of undergraduate courses are based on a large project. During this project, students apply methods that have been introduced during lectures. Project schedules usually follow life cycles corresponding to the steps that lead to the creation of new pieces of software. My intention is to analyze the difficulties that occur in SE undergraduate courses and to propose a method to improve course quality and to meet with industrial needs that are more reusability‐ and maintenance‐oriented.

This article outlines a typical course and some of its weaknesses. Then, it proposes changes and discusses a different way of teaching SE based on the following ideas:

• Apply a reverse engineering life cycle that starts by making students deal with code, and, step by step, parts of design, specification, and requirement documents. This phase aims to motivate students, to make them critical of existing software, and to teach them norms, methods, and standards.

• Make students follow the usual feedback‐directed life cycle to complete the software they have analyzed during the first phase.

This article presents an evaluation of the method based on my application of this approach in an introductory course of SE at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Also proposed are some partial methods based on reverse engineering considerations. Partial methods will allow an instructor, who would like to run a project based on the reverse engineering life cycle, to introduce reverse engineering concepts progressively within a SE course.     

Teaching design in the first years of a traditional mechanical engineering degree: methods,issues and future perspectives

Engineering design is known as an answer to an ill-defined problem. As any answer to an ill-defined problem, it can never be completely right or absolutely wrong. The methods that universities use to teach engineering design, as a consequence of this, suffer from the same fate. However, the accumulated experience with the ‘chalk and talk’ teaching tradition has led to a reality in which the employers of fresh graduates are not happy with the engineers they are getting. Part of their complaints are related with the inability of recently graduate engineers to work in problems where the boundaries are not well defined, are interdisciplinary, require the use of effective communication and integrate non-technical issues. These skills are mostly absent from traditional engineering curricula. This paper demonstrates the implementation of engineering design perspectives enhancing some of the aforementioned skills in a traditional mechanical engineering curriculum. It emphasises in particular a design project that is tackled in a sequence of conventional courses with a focus that depends on the course objectives and disciplinary domain. This transdisciplinary design project conveys the idea (and effectively implements it concurrently) that design is multidisciplinary.     

Creativity and Technology; industrial design education for manufacturing industry—the Napier experience

Product innovation in an era of dynamic technology emphasises the need to recognise that success in the marketplace can only be achieved when the interdependence of engineering and industrial design together with other relevant disciplines is recognised. The highly interdisciplinary and integrated approach at Napier College, now providing honours graduates in Industrial Design (Technology), develops the required form of graduate expertise for 'innovative teams' in manufacturing-based industry. Graduates are able to work with both engineers and commercial experts on equal terms and in that relationship to contribute their essential impact to successful product development.     

Organizing and Managing Software Engineering Team Projects

Industrial software development today requires a fundamental education in computer science as well as the ability to work productively and collaboratively in a team environment. Employers will therefore favor graduates who have mastered computer science and software engineering concepts and can apply them while developing a software system. To produce computer science graduates possessing the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace, team‐oriented software engineering courses with real projects (and with real clients) are increasingly emphasized. It is, however, difficult to successfully present a software engineering course that covers software engineering concepts and offers opportunities to apply them during a project in a team environment. The difficulties lie in project selection, team formation, team and project organization, process management, and, finally, grading. The objective of this article is to discuss these difficulties and provide suggestions for alleviating or avoiding them.     

新工科下测绘工程专业学生能力提升改革探讨

新工科形势下随着测绘新技术的出现和发展,社会对测绘工程专业毕业生能力有了新的要求,特别是以北斗+为核心的多源传感器,融合位置服务、人工智能、无人驾驶等新兴测绘应用领域,使得传统的以经典测绘理论和技能为主的培养模式逐渐满足不了新型测绘用人单位对毕业生能力的需求。以新工科发展和中国地质大学测绘专业工程专业认证为背景,结合中国地质大学测绘工程专业课程体系、教学方法、教学平台等现状,以提高学生掌握新测绘知识与能力为出发点,探讨新工科形势下提升测绘工程专业学生能力的教学改革方案。     

The Teaching of Mechanical Engineering Design at UCD,Dublin

The teaching of design to engineering students is a much discussed topic. Professor Timoney is of the opinion that a really good designer cannot be produced by teaching—good designers have natural talent, like good artists or good musicians. The best that can be done in educational institutions is to identify those students with talent for design and help them to acquire useful technique in synthesis as well as science-based technology. A part-time postgraduate design course for industrial-based graduates is described and its role and function is discussed.