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The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and machine learning (ML) has pioneered a transformation across several fields. Equipping electrical engineering students to remain abreast of the dynamic technological landscape is vital. This underscores the necessity for an educational tool that can be integrated into electrical engineering curricula to offer a practical way of learning the concepts and the integration of IoT, big data, and ML. Thus, this paper offers the IoT-Edu-ML-Stream open-source platform, a graphical user interface (GUI)-based emulation software tool to help electrical engineering students design and emulate IoT-based use cases with big data analytics. The tool supports the emulation or the actual connectivity of a large number of IoT devices. The emulated devices can generate realistic correlated IoT data and stream it via the message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) protocol to a big data platform. The tool allows students to design ML models with different algorithms for their chosen use cases and train them for decision-making based on the streamed data. Moreover, the paper proposes learning outcomes to be targeted when integrating the tool into an electrical engineering curriculum. The tool is evaluated using a comprehensive survey. The survey results show that the students gained significant knowledge about IoT concepts after using the tool, even though many of them already had prior knowledge of IoT. The results also indicate that the tool noticeably improved the students' practical skills in designing real-world use cases and helped them understand fundamental machine learning analytics with an intuitive user interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Programming is one of the most fundamental initial skills for engineering students. Institutions that offer engineering courses have the challenge of deciding how to deliver this subject since it requires unique thinking from students. This paper addresses the impact of adopting C and Python programming languages in introductory programming courses for engineering students. A case study was conducted in the university's introductory programming course, analyzing student data. This approach divides the students into two groups according to the programming language: C and Python. Data were gathered and analyzed about their learning experiences through questionnaires, assignment scores, and students' questions posted in the class online forums. The experiment was repeated in two consecutive semesters. The main results favor Python regarding learning confidence, motivation, and general programming design decisions while favoring C for the easiness of learning data structures. This study may be helpful for institutions considering designing a new introductory programming course or redesigning existing ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interpretation and reuse of previous design solutions, or precedents, is central to design. This paper describes qualitative research conducted over three years at two institutions, aimed at investigating the role of design knowledge re-use in project-based mechanical design courses. Research data were collected through participant observation, student interviews, anonymous questionnaires, and website analytics. The paper identifies challenges that must be addressed in order to support novice engineers in rehearsing the types of knowledge required to successfully reason about and engage with design precedents. Two categories of design precedents are identified: concept precedents and detail precedents. Providing students with access to the latter is identified as a particular challenge, as is providing students with access to engineering communities of practice. Approaches to addressing these challenges are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the impact of gender on the interest in engineering and technical subjects of the students in the first courses of secondary education. A statistical analysis was carried out, analyzing the use of a free virtual-reality application, developed by the 3M Foundation, which aims to bring these subjects to the students. Non-parametric statistical methods were used to analyze several variables, such as repetition of the experience, new learning and knowledge reinforcement as well as learning in different ways, which were collected through two questionnaires. These were Pre and Post the playing of the game and later, subsequently validated. This analysis demonstrated that gender has an impact on the interest of the students in engineering and technology but it does not have any influence on the rest of the studied variables. The results show that the interest of girls could be increased through group activities. Age has only influence on the desire to repeat the experience, with a varied level of influence, in the case of the technological contents. The motivational factors that have a greater influence on each variable, "innovation" and "usefulness", were also analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Talks about the significance of assessment methods as an integral aspect of the engineering curriculum. Functions that can be addressed by assessment methods in an educational program; Test aimed at determining the competence level of students; Didactic function of an assessment method.

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This paper analyses the outcomes of research with students, academics and representatives of engineering companies into the value of learning about global and sustainability issues within higher degree courses. The paper is based on research commissioned by Imperial College London and Engineers Against Poverty in 2007 with support from Engineers Without Borders. The existing literature and perceptions from representatives of key engineering bodies were compared with the findings from students, academics and representatives from engineering businesses. One of the key findings of this research is that there is a mismatch between perception and reality of students, academics and business views of the value of learning about global and sustainability in terms of furthering graduates' careers. Students were particularly keen to learn more about sustainability issues. Companies were looking for graduates who were more than technically competent and had all-round skills such as interpersonal, language and communication skills. This research brings together and compares views of three stakeholders in the sector and demonstrates the need for greater dialogue between them. Further, the research provides useful evidence that demonstrates the increased interest in global and sustainability issues that universities need to consider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a study is presented in which engineering students at a Danish university developed Continuous Improvement (CI) and innovation capabilities through action research and experiential learning methods. The paper begins with a brief overview of the literature on CI and innovation, followed by an account of how the students designed and implemented solutions to self-identified problems within their educational program using the principles of CI, and how these learning activities facilitated the development of basic innovation capabilities. The paper concludes with insights regarding how such an innovative design of teaching methods based on learning-by-doing may not only support the development of CI and innovation in engineering students, which is increasingly demanded by industry, but also represent a way in which to enhance sustainability and innovation of the education itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the end of a lecturing period examinations are used to take a snapshot of the level of knowledge of a student. It is essential that this snapshot be taken at the right moment. Particularly when a student fails, it is important to make sure that it is because his level of knowledge is not adequate, not because, for example, he had a severe headache, was blocked by examination stress or misread the questions. Even when a student does pass, it may be that the grade is too low because of unjust causes. The system presented in this paper is designed to prevent this situation. An automated Internet-based system makes multiple-choice tests available for students of which the contents depend on the date. It tracks the actual course content. When a student does a test, the system will grade the student and predict the official grade that can be expected at the final examination. The results of the final examination are compared with the prediction. When the prediction is higher than the actual grade, the cause is investigated and possibly an extra assessment is done. The system is completely automated and is available for students 24 h per day. This makes sure that the snapshot is taken at the right time, since the student himself can decide when to take a test. The system does not officially grade the students and is therefore not very sensitive to fraud, but it efficiently removes the ‘snapshot risk’ of the official exam, resulting in a much better quality of the grading process [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidisciplinary teams often undertake engineering projects beyond their original discipline involving different kinds of risks. Risk perception is an inherent and embedded part of the decision-making process, which depends on the personal background and instinctive attitudes or behaviors. Process safety and risk analysis training for engineers, and education for engineering students, provide valuable tools seeking safer workplaces; however, personnel's risk perception is commonly neglected. This paper analyzes the risk perception and appetite of undergraduate engineering students in Colombia based on a survey strategy and a weighted-approach following a Factor Analysis. The survey considered financial, social, physical, and professional risks, and four main reasons for risk-taking or risk-avoiding actions. The Factor Analysis allows us to classify the students tendency as risk-averse o risk-prone, and propose didactic teaching planning using a modular toolbox for process safety education, based on skills identified for junior engineers in Colombian Oil & Gas Industry. A total of 465 engineering students from 12 Colombian universities completed the survey in 2016. The results suggest that risk perception depends on the location, possible risk training, and accessible information. The obtained factors allow describing the students' overall risk profiles, which can serve as an input for refining the content and curriculum content of current engineering programs regarding process safety. Improving the training of risk management in the engineering curriculum will benefit upcoming multidisciplinary teams in high-risk industries. • Risk perception and appetite of engineering undergraduate students was evaluated. • A survey strategy and a weighted-approach using a Factor Analysis were considered. • The survey contemplated professional, financial, physical and social risks. • It considers preventive, adventurous, inspirational, or rewarding risk reasons. • Factor Analysis allow classifying each student as risk-averse or risk-prone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been acknowledged that the mobile learning concept has extended numerous opportunities for teachers as well as students, as it makes way for an active learning atmosphere anywhere and anytime. Mobile learning technology can be resourcefully improvised by extending the cloud technology into it. This study is an attempt to analyze the impact of mobile cloud computing on learning competencies of engineering students. The main intention is to experiment whether mobile learning using cloud technology has an impact on student's performance by investigating the influence of this innovative teaching technique on course outcomes. The results illustrated that use of cloud based mobile learning in studying an engineering subject is rewarding and does has an encouraging impact on learning competencies of students. The results distinctively indicate that cloud based mobile learning can be effectively used for learning engineering subjects that results in superior attainment of course outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes how fourth graders collaborate when working on an engineering project. Specifically, what are habits that fourth graders exhibit when working together successfully? Acting as a participant-researcher, I compared the habits of eight fourth-grade students (two groups) in a rural classroom by video-recording the students collaborating on an engineering project. The results showed that the biggest indicator of success was using inclusive language such as 'we' and 'ours.' This article emphasizes the difference between groups' use of the word "I" and the word "we." I then replicated these findings with a subsequent fourth-grade class. I suggest that we, as educators, can explicitly teach our students to use more inclusive language when collaborating. The inclusive language may help students be more successful when working on all kinds of projects, including science and engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), mainly computer, for teaching and learning purposes at the university level. The paper gives a brief overview of the use of ICT in learning and teaching at university level. It also discusses the students' perceptions on the use of ICT in their daily life and in school environment. For this purpose, a questionnaire consisting of 25 items were given to 300 students studying at the engineering departments from 2 different universities in Turkey. The result supports the necessity of using ICT for making classes more vivid, pleasant and appealing to the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering education encompasses students, faculty, the workforce, and the profession of engineering. This paper provides five snapshots that seek to explore the current state of engineering education from different perspectives of scale: the student, the program, policy, society, and technology. The multifaceted view provided by these snapshots indicates that engineering education is a complex, adaptive system that operates on different spatial and temporal scales. These snapshots are intended both to inform and to raise questions for engineering education researchers, practitioners, administrators, and policy makers. Four interlinking themes are found to thread through each of the five perspectives—the philosophical basis for engineering, the role of experience, resources, and change. The paper concludes with exploration of these themes in the context of engineering education today. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Remote laboratories are a mature technology that are becoming increasingly prevalent in the delivery of undergraduate engineering degree programs. While the literature has moved to the point where the educational value of these laboratories is being evaluated, there is presently no framework provided to help academics determine the suitability of a particular laboratory experiment for conversion to remote-access mode. This paper analyses a second-year fluid-mechanics laboratory to determine its suitability for such a conversion, and then draws from this analysis three key factors that can be used as a preliminary framework for making generalised decisions regarding the suitability of any laboratory class for use in remote mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking up the notion of engineering as social experimentation, this paper argues that engineering research laboratory directors have a responsibility to inform graduate engineering students who participate in their research projects of the potential broader social dimensions of those projects. Informing engineers-in-the-making of the broader social dimensions of the research they are learning to conduct would help ensure their future capacity to act as ethically responsible social experimenters. The paper also argues that graduate engineers have a right to be informed participants in activities that may have broader social dimensions than are recognized by formal research evaluation or educational processes. The process of obtaining the informed consent of graduate engineering students, if implemented effectively, would thus help ensure both their capacity to act as moral agents and their own moral integrity. Since the eventual outcomes of research can be uncertain, complex, and contested, most traditional institutional frameworks—such as principle-based codes of conduct and risk-benefit frameworks—provide an insufficient basis to inform engineers and citizens. Rather, we recommend an ongoing discursive process that explores a number of different actors, contexts, and scenarios, and that evolves with the social context of the engineering research in question. While this may seem burdensome to the engineering research process, it can be integrated directly into the group research meetings and mentorship activities that typically already go on. Moreover, it can actually be seen to benefit engineering practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enrolments in postgraduate engineering in Australia include a significant proportion of Asian ESL (English as a Second Language) students, and there is some debate in the literature about whether they are capable of critical appraisal. Content-based discipline-specific EAP (English for Academic Purposes) courses provide an environment for addressing the language, writing, and critical appraisal needs of such students. In particular, there is evidence that a 'sustained' approach to critical appraisal through engaging with engineering content is the best environment for this significant cohort. Despite this, such programmes are relatively rare in higher education partly as a result of the peripheral status of language and academic skills in relation to engineering knowledge and practice. This case study outlines the curriculum framework and rationale for a content-based EAP response to teaching critical appraisal skills and examines evaluative feedback from an open-ended survey of three semester cohorts of students (n=64, 85% response rate) regarding their encounter with critical thinking and practice. The paper argues both that discipline-specific EAP courses are an appropriate place to teach critical appraisal skills and contributes to the debate on the capacity of ESL students to develop this skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple-choice testing (MCT) has several advantages which are becoming more relevant in the current financial climate. In particular, they can be machine marked. As an objective testing method it is particularly relevant to engineering and other factual courses, but MCTs are not widely used in engineering because students can benefit from guessing. In the formation of a professional engineer, guessing must be actively discouraged and this has led to this testing method being used only rarely in engineering courses. This paper describes trials of a modification to the basic MCT which is designed to assess the students' ability to use their knowledge correctly and confidently. Students are asked to select the correct answer, as usual, then to indicate their confidence in that choice. The marking scheme does not reward guessing, and misplaced confidence is penalized. Statistical results based on over 2500 answers are presented, together with survey responses. The students' attitude to the tests has been that they are fair but challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment in engineering disciplines is typically oriented to demonstrating competence in specific tasks. Even where assessments are intended to have a formative component, little priority may be given to feedback. Engineering departments are often criticized, by their students and by external quality reviewers, for paying insufficient attention to formative assessment. The e3an project set out to build a question bank of peer-reviewed questions for use within electrical and electronic engineering. As a part of this process, a number of engineers from disparate institutions were required to work together in teams, designing a range of assessments for their subject specialisms. The project team observed that lecturers were especially keen to develop formative assessment but that their understanding of what might be required varied considerably. This paper describes the various ways in which the processes of the project have engaged lecturers in actively identifying and developing their conceptions of teaching, learning and assessment in their subject. It reports on an interview study that was conducted with a selection of participants. It is concluded that lecturers' reflections on and understanding of assessment are closely related to the nature of the subject domain and that it is essential when attempting to improve assessment practice to start from the perspective of lecturers in the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2000 the UK Engineering Professors' Council (EPC) drafted an output standard to describe first-cycle engineering programmes that would prepare students for practice and further professional learning. The standard described what is authentic and worthwhile in engineering education—it identified complex outcomes of learning. This poses practical and theoretical challenges: how can we know if a student has met this standard? This paper argues that complex outcomes like these often resist measurement and that it is appropriate to use other forms of judgement when trying to assess student achievement. This differentiated approach to assessment, which values formative assessment (or feedback) as well as summative assessment (or feedout), is summarized. It becomes necessary, then, to think about the assessment arrangements for whole programmes, not just for individual modules. Some implications of this programmic and differentiated approach are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have examined the online research behaviors of graduate students in terms of how they seek and retrieve research-related information on the Web across diverse disciplines. However, few have focused on graduate students' searching activities, and particularly for their research tasks. Drawing on Kuiper, Volman, and Terwel's (2008) three aspects of web literacy skills (searching, reading, and evaluating), this qualitative study aims to better understand a group of graduate engineering students' searching, reading, and evaluating processes for research purposes. Through in-depth interviews and the think-aloud protocol, we compared the strategies employed by 22 Taiwanese graduate engineering students. The results showed that the students' online research behaviors included seeking and obtaining, reading and interpreting, and assessing and evaluating sources. The findings suggest that specialized training for preparing novice researchers to critically evaluate relevant information or scholarly work to fulfill their research purposes is needed. Implications for enhancing the information literacy of engineering students are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this globalization-focused era, the demand for globalized engineers in the creation of borderless societies is increasing. Despite the initiatives by the Japanese government to promote internalization through increasing the intake of foreign students, the exposures gained by the Japanese students from these programs are minimal. For years, internship has been used globally as a platform for training and educating future engineers, but only a few studies have examined the proactive transformation from domestic to international internship. International internships overseas offer a completely new dimension of experiences when carried out in multicultural environments. This article reports and offers evidence of a Japanese engineering university's rapid global internship reform strategy toward the expansion of international internships in Malaysia. This paper provides insights into the process, from initial setup to implementation of the internship program covering all the necessary preparation and support. From the establishment of an overseas collaboration base and rapport building with hosting industries, the systematic steps taken are reported. Regarding the internship program, feedback from Japanese engineering students who completed their internships show improved satisfaction due to continuous improvement of the internship program with progressing years. It was also discovered that the low participation rate in overseas internship by Japanese students is not due to their inward-looking temperament, but due to the lack of internship program availability that is administered with sufficient preparation enabling them to challenge themselves in a new environment. The challenges encountered in the program, and the sustainable improvements made in alignment with sustainable development goals toward equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning are also stated. In this paper, the future perspectives and outlook of internships are also described considering today's rapid technological advancements and the fast-changing needs of industries, which require future internship programs to have flexible approaches and ideologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the important elements of compiling a student portfolio. In the field of engineering, there is often a wide gap between students’ technical knowledge and their ability to communicate concepts to a broad audience. As a result, many new engineers enter careers without the necessary skills to clearly discuss their work with colleagues from different departments, peers from different organizations, and the wider public. Some engineering education programs are attempting to incorporate more emphasis on writing and communication into their course curricula, but there are still few opportunities for building and testing students’ skills in this area. This paper presents the purpose of a powerful portfolio in terms of what it can offer students, their educators, and their future employers. It also makes an argument for strong communication as a necessary skill in the engineering classroom, in R&D settings within a company, and across different departments and industries. It also offers some suggested guidelines for the process of compiling a portfolio, based on data and documents compiled from both educational institutes and engineering organizations. The intent of this work is to offer students and educators a brief overview of the portfolio process, with emphasis on organizing the components of such a collection so that a potential employer or peer would find them intuitive and easy to understand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's rapidly evolving world, the role of engineers has transcended conventional boundaries, requiring not just technical proficiency, but also the ability to think creatively, adapt swiftly, and translate concepts into practical solutions. This article underscores the significance of instilling a culture of innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, and startup mindset within engineering education. It emphasizes the need for these qualities in light of the dynamic nature of engineering challenges. The evolving educational landscape must instill students with the capacity to tackle future complexities. This article accentuates the essence of entrepreneurial thinking and startup-oriented approaches without resorting to quantitative or qualitative analysis. It explores how integrating entrepreneurial concepts into engineering education can foster inventiveness, interdisciplinary cooperation, and industry preparedness. Furthermore, it addresses the potential hurdles in implementing such an approach. In essence, this article asserts that by cultivating entrepreneurship, educators equip engineering students to emerge as inventive problem solvers and catalysts for societal advancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a theoretical basis for cultivating engineering education as a complex system that will prepare students to think critically and make decisions with regard to poorly understood, ill-structured issues. Integral to this theoretical basis is a solution space construct developed and presented as a benchmark for evaluating problem-solving orientations that emerge within students’ thinking as they progress through an engineering curriculum. It is proposed that the traditional engineering education model, while analytically rigorous, is characterised by properties that, although necessary, are insufficient for preparing students to address complex issues of the twenty-first century. A Synthesis and Design Studio model for engineering education is proposed, which maintains the necessary rigor of analysis within a uniquely complex yet sufficiently structured learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the obligatory but often contentious relationship that exists between contemporary second level education and the choice of undergraduate course by students within an Irish context. A survey of 1723 students from across four second level schools and all year groups was conducted asking students to elect a career that they would most like to pursue in the future. The results of this survey served to highlight the declining allure of engineering as a future career for students as they progress through second level. Focus groups were held in all four schools in order to identify the current motivations behind students' course choice, as well as students' perceptions regarding the decline in undergraduate engineering numbers. Students frequently highlighted future career prospects, as well as current matriculation requirements as factors to be taken account of in the uptake of undergraduate engineering degree programmes. Finally this paper also compares and contrasts the perceptions and motivations of current second level students with those of existing undergraduate engineers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A literature review identifies a partial list of leadership skills to include developing higher-order cognitive skills, team working skills, positive attitude, and ability to transfer these skills to future environment. This paper discusses the results of research conducted on the use of multiple instructional methodologies in two different Introduction to Engineering classes in order to develop some of the leadership skills. The instructional methodologies used in these courses were lectures, PowerPoint slides and visuals, case studies, quizzes, small group discussions, and projects. The research question addressed in this paper is: Which instructional methodologies enhance students' mastery of the skills and possession of the attributes that are increasingly required of engineering graduates? A questionnaire was developed to obtain responses from students. The use of projects and multi-media case studies was perceived as valuable in enhancing the learning experiences and attitude toward engineering. The students valued these experiences because they brought theories and real-world practices together and provided an opportunity for them to work together. In both sections, students believed that they had better problem-solving skills and a better foundation of basic skills as a result of having taken the course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the preliminary design of a multifaceted computer-based mathematics resource for undergraduate and pre-entry engineering students. Online maths resources, while attractive in their flexibility of delivery, have seen variable interest from students and teachers alike. Through student surveys and wide consultations, guidelines have been developed for effectively collating and integrating learning, support, application and diagnostic tools to produce an Engineer's Mathematics Gateway. Specific recommendations include: the development of a shared database of engineering discipline-specific problems and examples; the identification of, and resource development for, troublesome mathematics topics which encompass ideas of threshold concepts and mastery components; the use of motivational and promotional material to raise student interest in learning mathematics in an engineering context; the use of general and lecture-specific concept maps and matrices to identify the needs and relevance of mathematics to engineering topics; and further exploration of the facilitation of peer-based learning through online resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will outline answers to the two central questions regarding improving engineering education: (1) What is the full set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that engineering students should possess as they leave the university, and at what level of proficiency? (2) How can we do better at ensuring that students learn these skills? The suggested answers lie within an innovative educational framework, the CDIO (conceive–design–implement–operate) Initiative. This initiative will be described along with the needs it meets, its goals, context, vision and pedagogical foundation. The first question is answered by the CDIO Syllabus and the process for reaching stakeholder consensus on the level of proficiency that students should attain in a given program. The second question is addressed through a best practice framework, which discusses curriculum design, design-implement experiences, teaching and learning, student assessment, program evaluation and faculty competence. Examples are provided of the implementation of best practices within the CDIO program in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A wide variety of engineering students and professionals are interested in sustainability issues, but do not come from environmental backgrounds. As a result, courses designed for such students must strike a balance between providing useful environmental and sustainability knowledge and yet remain appropriate for those coming from a non-environmental background This paper outlines such a course that has been taught and refined for the last three years in the Faculty of Engineering, University of Windsor, to a mixed class of civil, mechanical, environmental and industrial engineering graduate students. The paper provides examples and descriptions of what was done in the class and their effectiveness for teaching sustainability, as well as what difficulties were encountered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the summer Research Experience for Undergraduates offered by the NSF-sponsored VaNTH Engineering Research Center in Bioengineering, core competency instruction in ethics and communication was integrated into students' research experiences outside of formal courses. This paper describes our instructional approach and presents an initial evaluation of its effectiveness. A simple concept mapping assessment used at the beginning and end of the summer suggests that students made gains in both areas. In ethics, students developed greater awareness of key concepts, such as respect for persons (informed consent), beneficence, justice, and integrity. Gains in communication were more modest, but the maps revealed growth in understanding the importance of audience and the multifaceted nature of technical communication. Overall, the study suggests that students can make measurable strides in core competencies without taking formal courses. Future research should consider integrating components of our intervention into other non-credit experiences for engineering undergraduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will briefly discuss the results of a citation analysis of freshman engineering bibliographies conducted at Wichita State University. The results of that study were then used by the engineering librarian to assess the effectiveness of the bibliographic instruction given to the students. Changes were made in the content and method of instruction based on the results. Implications for future assessment are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of addressing innovation and change in engineering students' assessment is the target of this paper. The contents are an overview of the issues related to the evolution of the engineering learning requirements, a review of the traditional student evaluation methods in practice, a description of a current experiment in engineering student assessment and an analysis of the possible consequences of the generalized adoption of the innovative method. The pilot project consisted of the experimentation of an evaluation system without a final exam for a chosen discipline per semester and per each year of the several undergraduate degrees. The comparison is made in statistical terms and relevance when comparing the results of each chosen discipline between the actual and the previous year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Odense University College of Engineering has begun a revision of all curricula founded on the principle that student learning is the main objective of teaching. At the same time there is a large demand for increasing efficiency and increasing the possibility of professional development of staff. Development of staff should be possible by decreasing the workload for the teachers; however it has to be done without jeopardizing the quality of the education of the students. Those demands seem in many ways to contradict each other. However, the ambition is to use this change of focus to create new learning environments. We are very much aware that assessment and feedback are essential for making the students learn. Assessment also makes the students focus on the right objectives for their education. Therefore, assessment plays a key role in the principles of how we create curricula. The new curricula will be effective from 1 September 2003. The experiences from pilot projects performed since September 2002 are described in the paper. Those experiences help us transform theoretical background to practical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building a technology-driven world appears to be the main motivational force behind students choosing to undertake engineering studies. The first year of engineering education plays a significant role in demonstrating sufficient mathematical and scientific rigor to satisfy these motivational factors. The common applied mechanics courses play a central role in achieving this. At the same time, a vast majority of students suffer from a lack of the necessary mathematical skills and analytical orientation for various reasons. Due to different educational philosophies and teaching pedagogies, a lack of proper integration between mathematics and applied mechanics is common. Several efforts were made to build better curriculum, teaching, and learning systems, resulting in widely varied solutions, but most of them require drastically different implementation approaches. With sufficient rigor in teaching and assessment, the first-year applied mechanics (common) courses designed for engineering students can solve students' mathematical and motivational lapses and help bridge the gaps between pre-university and university education endeavours. This paper presents evidence supporting this argument. In particular, datasets collected from the direct experiences delivering the first-year static and dynamics courses to many students over the past decade and a half are analysed to establish the proposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Staff and students have similar perceptions of which skills are key. • Skills can be grouped as personal effectiveness, communication or research skills. • Confidence in all skills areas is increased by the design process. • Skills development is supplemented by extra-curricular activities. • Design meets accreditation and industrial needs. Abstract Integrated learning makes use of group work to develop students’ professional competencies in tandem with their transferable skills. This paper looks at the skills required to undertake a fourth year chemical engineering “capstone design project” ( Design ) and the skills developed therein. Staff and students were surveyed about their perceived skills abilities, both before and after the project; the results of which showed agreement as to the skills necessary to undertake Design: these were grouped under personal effectiveness skills, communication skills or research skills. Students described a number of extra-curricular activities that contributed to skills development but sometimes failed to appreciate their transference to academic arenas. The surveyed students indicated that their confidence in all skills areas was increased by Design: but there were instances where some individual sub-set devaluing occurred. There is a link between experiential practice, predominantly as a result of producing assessed components, and high skills confidence; hence, it is recommended that students are encouraged to reflect on their project experience and that integrated learning be promoted to develop all skills effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technological world has witnessed many revolutions since the beginning of the 21st century, such as mobile development, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence and also the Internet of Things. The internet of things revolution is driven by a broader access to internet and versatility of programmable hardware devices that can communicate between each other. In order to make internet of things devices, a technical background is required in many fields, especially electronics and Computer Science. Therefore, many efforts are put in place to develop educational kits that simplify the basics of these two fields so that everyone can make his internet of things prototype without technical knowledge. The authors present their own initiative: IOIOAI that simplifies the programming process for the input output input output electrical board. The service has been tested successfully on children and young students. In this paper, the authors present a wider adoption for their initiative. The IOIOAI service is imple- mented in introductory course to embedded systems for electrical and computer science students during the 2016-2017 academic year in the National Engineering School of Sfax, Tunisia. The efficiency of the solution is analyzed based on the students' marks and feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexity and dynamics of the automotive industry require highly trained graduates with competencies and skills in various scientific and industrial fields, as well as practical skills. Theory with can be applied to practice in several ways: increasing practical application of labs and workshops, practice activities, race car contests, participation in scientific groups, work on research and development projects, internships, etc. The present paper explores the attitudes and perceptions of students who participated in an international competition for prototype vehicles powered with compressed air. Based on an exploratory questionnaire, uni- and multivariate statistical methods were applied, and the results were used to create a model related to the students’ perception of the usefulness of participating compared to the additional engineering skills learned. The results show that students involved in race car competitions enjoy positive feedback and more (regardless of country of origin) and learn professional skills with high-quality and relevant technical, social, and behavioral competences, which are required in the automotive industry today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning new concepts outside one's domain can be challenging due to the complexity of the content, the method of delivery, and the assessment process. However, learning new concepts is a necessary part of education and individual growth. This paper outlines this challenge in the context of undergraduate and engineering students taking a sociology course entitled, "Who Gets Ahead: Sociology of Social Networks and Social Capital", We review some of the existing literature focused around teaching new concepts to unfamiliar students, as well as discuss some of the literature around teaching the topic of sociology to engineering students. Finally we will describe our approach taken to teach a sociology course to engineers, as well as some of the observations taken during the course. The outcome of the course showed that many of the student's concerns of the course's requirements stay the same from the beginning to the end, however their perceptions of sociology change to a highly positive one when they are able to apply theories and concepts to real-life examples such as their internships or interpersonal relationships and concrete empirical studies. The challenge is to get them to consider multiple interpretations of social phenomena, as there is a tendency to look for one right answer. Eventually, the success of any sociological course is on how these concerns can be met through innovative teaching methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-dimensional (1-D) demonstrations, e.g., the black-box systems, have become popular in teaching materials for engineering modules due to the high complexity of the system’s multidimensional (e.g., 2-D and 3-D) identities. The need for multidimensional explanations on how multiphysics equations and systems work is vital for engineering students, whose learning experience must gain a cognitive process understanding for utilizing such multiphysics-focused equations into a pragmatic dimension. The lack of knowledge and expertise in creating animations for visualizing sequent processes and operations in academia can result in an ineffective learning experience for engineering students. This study explores the benefits of animation, which can eventually improve the teaching and student learning experiences. In this article, the use of computer-aided animation tools is evaluated based on their capabilities. Based on their strengths and weaknesses, the study offered some insights for selecting the investigated tools. To verify the effectiveness of animations in teaching and learning, a survey was conducted for undergraduate and postgraduate cohorts and automotive engineering academics. Based on the survey’s data, some analytics and discussion have offered more quantitative results. The historic data (2012–2020) analysis has validated the animations efficacy as achievements of the study, where the average mark of both modules has significantly improved, with the reduced rate of failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The perceptions of students about their teachers have interested the academic and scientific community, regarding the improvement of the quality of higher education. This paper presents data obtained from interviews conducted with ten high achiever engineering students and focuses on the characteristics of teachers that are highly valued by the participants. Furthermore, the influence of teachers on the development of the students was explored. The data collected describes a set of aspects from the scientific, pedagogic and emotional domains, which students identified about their teachers. Some reflections and practical implications are also presented with regard to the characteristics and pedagogical needs of high achievers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EBI is a further education establishment which provides education in applied industrial biology at level of MSc engineering degree. Fluid mechanics at EBI was considered by students as difficult who seemed somewhat unmotivated. In order to motivate them, we applied a new play-based pedagogy. Students were asked to draw inspiration from everyday life situations to find applications of fluid mechanics and to do experiments to verily and validate some theoretical results obtained in course. In this paper, we present an innovative teaching/learning pedagogy which includes the concept of learning through play and its implications in fluid mechanics for engineering. Examples of atypical experiments in fluid mechanics made by students are presented. Based on teaching evaluation by students, it is possible to know how students feel the course. The effectiveness of this approach to motivate students is presented through an analysis of students' teaching assessment. Learning through play proved a great success in fluid mechanics where course evaluations increased substantially. Fluid mechanics has been progressively perceived as interesting, useful, pleasant and easy to assimilate. It is shown that this pedagogy which includes educational gaming presents benefits for students. These experiments seem therefore to be a very effective tool for improving teaching/learning activities in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and implementation of introductory courses in engineering have been well documented in Western education, in the context of how engineering education practices must adapt to meet the needs of the twenty-first century. As Gulf students exhibit characteristic strengths and weaknesses, engineering education in this region faces additional, specific challenges that are associated with economical, social and cultural factors. This paper discusses the adaptation in the Gulf region of Western models of engineering introduced to entry-level students, and describes the strategy adopted at The Petroleum Institute to introduce mechanical engineering (ME) to sophomores. Significant blocks of time are devoted to broadening the students' understanding of the ME discipline and profession, fields, tools and practices. The traditional aspects of ME are concisely covered, enabling emphasis to be placed on the petroleum industry and the broader energy sectors, as well as modern and emerging applications of ME. The course structure and teaching methodology focus on developing key professional attributes identified by ABET, promote student involvement and utilize student strengths while tackling characteristic weaknesses in Gulf regional students. After three-semester offering and evolution of the course, it was found that motivated students could demonstrate excellent proficiency in what constitutes mechanical engineering in the twenty first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relationship between embodied experience in the world and language competence. Primary data consists of audio and video recorded team meetings among NS and NNS engineering students in an English-speaking American university and ethnographic fieldwork. Based a micro-interactional analysis of the primary data and a consideration of how this analysis is embedded within the macro-social context, findings demonstrate how the L2 user is locally constructed as legitimate and as expert relative to the L1 user in terms of engineering competence and language competence. In the end, these two engineers co-construct a unique way of engaging in engineering teamwork that follows from an acceptance of positionalities that allows opportunities for learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on an investigation of students’ experiences of learning, using a framework that focuses on the concepts of alienation and engagement. Thirty-six third year chemical engineering students were interviewed about their learning experiences. Alienation is defined here as the absence of a relationship that students might desire or expect to experience. Using this focus, six possible ‘relationships’ were identified: to one's studies; to the broader university life; to home; to the career; to one's classmates; and to the lecturer. In each category a range of both alienated and engaged experiences were identified. With regard to the latter two categories, important de-alienating strategies were noted, and in particular the role that lecturers can play in facilitating these strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the best attempts of academic staff to teach students the mechanics of citation, the rules of referencing continue to be broken, particularly by those new to Western university systems (either first-year undergraduate students or international students from different cultural backgrounds). In late 2003, 16 postgraduate international engineering students failed an assignment as a result of plagiarism. In response, collaboration between the lecturers and the learning support staff over three years yielded significant improvements in academic scholarship. The improvement in performance was achieved by making cross-cultural assumptions about academic scholarship in the Western context explicit, while putting in place additional workshops for students. Instead of focusing on policy, remediation and punishment, staff worked to foster an understanding of critical scholarship in the Western academic context. The approach also demonstrated the benefits of partnership between engineering faculty and learning support staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]