Search

In this paper we address the challenges and importance of developing the students’ affectiveengagement with the cognitive content offered in systems engineering education. Systemsengineering is concerned with developing the most appropriate total system solution to address aneed. Systems engineering methods used to find this solution require applying a systemsperspective while making tradeoffs of the relative benefits of each set of possible approaches to aproblem. However, the practical application of systems engineering is to seek a comprehensivedesign solution that satisfies a range of constraints and provides an adequate solution that“satisfices” the stakeholders. Applying the systems engineering method in order to gain theadvantage of an optimal rather than adequate solution, demands that the systems engineerbelieves in the value of the methods, techniques, and perspectives of the systems engineeringmethod, even at times where the method may seem indirect or counterintuitive to performingengineering work. Therefore, systems engineering education must engage the students in boththe cognitive domain - developing ability to perform the techniques, and in the affective domain- transforming the student’s belief to recognize the positive value of the systems engineeringmethod. This paper discusses: 1) the current gap in addressing the affective domain in systemsengineering education, 2) the importance of closing that gap to enable the effectiveimplementation of systems engineering on the job, and 3) related issues and challenges.Following this discussion, the paper proposes a framework for assessing the development of thestudent’s affective engagement in systems engineering methods Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2013.01.103 With the ever-increasing complexity of systems, it is important to properly educate the upcoming systems engineering workforce. The Graduate Reference Curriculum for Systems Engineering (GRCSE) provides guidelines for graduate program degrees in systems engineering. GRCSE establishes a baseline set of entrance expectations, objectives, outcomes and content for any graduate degree in systems engineering. GRCSE recognizes that each university needs to meet the needs of their constituents, and for this purpose, GRCSE only defines 50% of the program content, and leaves the other 50% to be defined by individual universities to satisfy the needs of their stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to introduce GRCSE's outcomes, and how those outcomes can be attained through the program content. GRCSE

Organizing the Graduate Reference Curriculum for Systems Engineering (GRCSE) for International RelevanceThe Graduate Reference Curriculum for Systems Engineering (GRCSE) v. 1.0, published inDecember 2012, was developed by an international author team with an explicit aim to provide asolid foundation for improving the consistency and relevance of systems engineering educationaround the world. This paper describes the different issues that the author team faced andaddressed in order to make GRCSE internationally relevant and useful.An early activity in the development of GRCSE was to conduct a survey of systems engineering(SE) graduate programs offered in about 30 universities, internationally. This exposed the authorteam to differences between these programs in a number of issues including matters arising fromlocal market conditions, jurisdictional issues, education traditions, the place of a postgraduatedegree in the education and work career of students, industry domains which needed to besupported, the types of work into which graduates would expect to proceed, and the balance ofsystems-centric and domain-centric SE needs. This diversity was recognized and accepted in theGRCSE project as the contextual facts-on-the-ground which must be accommodated to enable areference curriculum to meaningfully inform program design to an international audience.This wide range of situations existing in worldwide systems engineering education made itinappropriate for GRCSE to be designed in a prescriptive manner, especially if it were to haveinternational relevance. Therefore, it was imperative to design GRCSE in the form ofrecommendations that would be provide enough commonality among these programsirrespective of where in the world they were being offered, but at the same time allowuniversities to tailor their programs to needs and expectations specific to their environment.All these factors led to the development of the GRCSE program architecture formulated as 1. Core material to be learned by all students 2. Concentration material to be learned by students pursuing a particular concentration (GRCSE presents two distinct concentrations as samples). 3. A capstone experience (To be designed by the university, relevant to its program objectives) 4. Other material at the discretion of the University (which can be used to tailor learning to suit the particular context).GRCSE is being considered by universities around the world to either evaluate their existinggraduate programs or to start a new graduate program in SE. The GRCSE authors desire toexpand their understanding of the contexts, needs, and expectations of the worldwide systemswithout losing the desired commonality. !engineering education community and to be responsive to them in future versions of GRCSE. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The Graduate Reference Curriculum on Systems Engineering (GRCSE™) version 0.51 provides recommendations for the development of graduate level systems engineering curricula. These guidelines address student entrance expectations, a core body of knowledge (CorBoK) and an accompanying set of outcomes that the student is expected to master by graduation, and a sample set of objectives that the student should achieve three to five years after graduation. GRCSE also includes guidelines for implementing the GRCSE recommendations and assessing developed curriculum. This paper is focused on the process that has been used to date to develop the CorBoK recommendations presented in GRCSE. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The Body of Knowledge and CUlTiculum to Advance Systems Engineering (BKCASETM) project is being established to develop a guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) and the Graduate Reference Curriculum for Systems Engineering (GRCSETM). The project, primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, is led by a university partnership between the Stevens Institute of Technology and the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) with support from various professional societies, especially the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), universities and commercial entities, all supporting the core authors from across the globe. The purpose of the BKCASE project is to provide a reference guide to the Body of Knowledge for Systems Engineering (SE) to assist all interested in understanding the nature of this professional field. The BKCASE project is also developing a reference curriculum to improve the interpretation and comparability of graduate level SE programs. This will assist prospective students and employers of graduates to better understand the differences between individual programs. The BKCASE project, which kicked off in September 2009 with a small core team held its first author workshop in December 2009 at the NPS in Monterey, CA, The effort is scheduled to take three years during which SEBoK and GRCSE products will be delivered incrementally to the public. After 2 years, and eight workshops, the author team has grown to over 60 members from across the globe. Industry and academia are equally represented with approximately 113 of the authors based outside the U.S. with representatives primarily from Europe, Asia and Australia. An intermediate draft of both the SEBoK and GRCSE (version 0.5) was issued in September 2011 and December 2011, respectively, for public review by any person interested in submitting comments. In addition, a decision was made by the BKCASE author team to produce a SEBOK (version 0.75) which is scheduled for delivery in March 2012. This paper will focus on the progress of each document (SEBoK and GRCSE) about half a year before their final scheduled delivery to the public scheduled for September and December 2012 respectively.

This paper reviews the progress and content of the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) and the Graduate Reference Curriculum for Systems Engineering (GRCSETM) products being developed as part of the Body of Knowledge and Curriculum to Advance Systems Engineering (BKCASETM) project initiated in September 2009. The version 0.25 of each product was released for limited review in fall 2010; version 0.5 of each product will be released for public review in fall 2011; and final version 1.0 of each product are due out in fall 2012. This paper reviews how these products differ from and build upon existing products, and recounts lessons learned after the first 15 months on the project. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The Body of Knowledge and Curriculum to Advance Systems Engineering (BKCASE™) team, comprised of about 50 systems engineering experts around the world, is in the process of developing two products: a Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK), followed by a Graduate Reference Curriculum for Systems Engineering (GRCSE™). Versions 1.0 of the two products are due out by fall 2012, preceded by two annual interim reviews. This paper reviews the knowledge areas and curriculum guidelines addressed in the initial draft versions of these products. A framework for categorizing the alignment of systems engineering programs to GRCSE is presented. Based on their categorization as initial, emerging, developed, or highly developed, programs can design a strategy for further systems engineering curriculum development. The paper ends with a request for reviewers to participate in the upcoming open (public) GRCSE version 0.5 review scheduled to begin year end 2011. © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The Body of Knowledge and Curriculum to Advance Systems Engineering (BKCASE™) project has been established to develop a guide to the Body of Knowledge for Systems Engineering (SEBoK) and a Graduate Reference Curriculum for Systems Engineering (GRCSE™). The project, primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, is led by a university partnership between the Stevens Institute of Technology and the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) with support from various professional societies, especially the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Universities and Industries, all supporting the core authors from across the globe.The project was initiated in September 2009 and had its inaugural workshop at NPS in Monterey,CA where a team of international authors first gathered to initiate collaborative efforts. It is anticipated that the effort will take three years during which SEBoK and GRCSE products will be delivered incrementally to the public though 2012.Industry and academia are equally represented with approximately 1/3 of the authors based outside the U.S. with representation primarily from Europe,Asia and Australia. This paper will focus on the progress of each document (SEBoK and GRCSE)about one year before their final scheduled delivery to the public in fall 2012. Refereed/Peer-reviewed