Computer Requirements for Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Curricula

Integrating Core Systems Engineering Design Concepts into Traditional Engineering DisciplinesIn this study we describe the integration of core systems engineering design concepts intotraditional mechanical and electrical engineering curriculum at the University of Arkansas atLittle Rock (UALR) undergraduate Systems Engineering program. The program was launched in1999 in response to the industry demands for engineering graduates capable of managingcomplex engineering projects. The program has since graduated over 150 students who areworking in industry (aerospace, defense, manufacturing, design, and consulting), federal andstate government, or attending graduate school. The program curriculum has four broadcomponents: a 35 hour university core that covers basic math and science (11 hours) and generaleducation (24 hours); a 30 hour college core that enhances the math and science preparation witha course in engineering ethics; a 32 systems engineering component that introduces core systemsengineering concepts; and, a 32 hour option component that teaches the mechanical or electricalengineering disciplines. The program is accredited by ABET under general criteria, and plans areunderway to satisfy mechanical and electrical engineering program criteria. Students entering theprogram are introduced to systems engineering core concepts through courses in EngineeringEconomy, DES Modeling and Simulation, Optimization Methods, Decision and Risk Analysis,and Systems Engineering Design and Analysis. Among them, Engineering Economy coversengineering project evaluation and economic decision making. Optimization Methods in SystemsEngineering covers linear and nonlinear methods of engineering design optimization. DESModeling and Simulation covers theory and practice of discrete event simulation modeling.Decision and Risk Analysis covers uncertainty modeling and analytical techniques for rationaldecision making. Systems Engineering Design and Analysis covers the systems engineering life-cycle process, including identification of system requirements, engineering design andarchitecture, system modeling, testing and integration, and system operation and support. The128-hr program culminates in a two-semester Systems Engineering Capstone Design thatemphasizes the multi-disciplinary nature of the program. The students perform functional designin the first semester followed by detailed physical design and testing in the second semester. TheUALR program graduates skilled systems engineers who combine holistic thinking with deepproduct knowledge, strong technical background, effective communication skills, and goodinterpersonal skills.

: Funding from 2002 DoD Infrastructure support program for HBCU/MI under BAA No, DAAD19-02-R-002 provided support for Tennessee State University to purchase five (5) ATR robots with associated laser scanners, navigation and inertial sensors, communications and speech processing tools to enhance the research capabilities of existing robotics laboratory. The impact of this equipment led to completion of 9 undergraduate senior capstone design projects and 3 masters' theses during 2002-2004. In addition undergraduate research group is formed to enrich the electrical and mechanical engineering curriculum and enhance the career opportunities of our students. The addition of new robots has enhanced our research in the area of cooperative mobile robots. The robots are able to communicate with each other and humans through wireless communication, computers and hand held devices

Mechatronic curriculum – retrospect and prospect

Control system engineering is typically part of the undergraduate curriculum in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and sometimes chemical engineering. A remote laboratory offers a cost-effective and flexible means for students to share access to physical experiments, but at a same time introduces an additional layer of user interface. The paper presents the implementation and preliminary assessment of introducing an Internet-based remote laboratory component to one such course at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

An ongoing trend in electrical engineering programs is the adoption of mobile studio pedagogy, which champions small, portable, low-cost hardware/software systems in support of student-centric educational activities.Engineering education literature on mobile studio usage has focused on the implementation of a mobile studio platform either in a single isolated course or several courses within a sequence.This work proposes infusing a hands-on mobile studio approach throughout the electrical engineering curriculum, providing cohesive experiential learning for students throughout their degree program and fostering a climate of inclusivity and accessibility.The electrical engineering curriculum at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) is being redeveloped as part of a conversion from quarters to semesters, offering a unique opportunity to fully integrate a mobile studio approach as a core element of the curriculum.This paper presents a summary of the current state of the engineering education literature on mobile pedagogy and highlights empirically derived best practices.This sets the stage for a discussion of the proposed curriculum integration of a mobile studio model and the potential to significantly increase student engagement.Important logistics are examined, including considerations of a common mobile platform across multiple courses, models for student-owned hardware, mobile studio hardware selection, and classification of courses that still require traditional bench or specialized hardware to achieve learning outcomes.While this case study presents a unique opportunity for integrating mobile studio pedagogy into curriculum redevelopment, the best practices and approaches are applicable to any faculty seeking ways to incorporate mobile studio pedagogy into their courses.

Since the entrance of the graduates of technical high schools to engineering programs is hindered, in application, the graduates of general or science high schools only are accepted to engineering education. For these students, four years are not sufficient to teach the basic and the related application courses of the profession. Looking at the existing curriculum of mechanical engineering, it can be seen that in the 1st Year, the physics and chemistry courses repeat the content of the ones given in high school education. The current approach considers the students as they come to university with inadequate and incomplete knowledge and therefore not ready to follow the engineering science courses. This approach underestimates and denies the high school education contrary to the main objective of its curriculum. The main objective of high schools (secondary schools) is expressed in the Laws and Regulations with such a statement: “General high schools do not prepare students for a specific profession but rather for higher education”. Today, the existing curriculum of Mechanical Engineering is to be renewed by some new science and application courses to satisfy the demands of labor market. However, the total course credit limit prevents such a renewal. In the face of this dilemma, the answer to this question becomes important: Should the university really repeat high school physics and chemistry? In science high schools and in science branch of general high schools the science and mathematics courses have the major importance. The students are well educated on physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics. They are provided with the necessary science and mathematics background that is required in engineering education. Although only the well-educated graduates of science and general high schools are admitted to engineering programs and the students are already ready to follow the engineering science courses thanks to their high school background, unfortunately in some universities (in Turkey in all) science courses part of engineering curricula is filled by physics and chemistry courses with the same content of the ones taught in high school.

Several engineering programs have introduced courses related to sustainability following the Brundtland Commission report in 1987. Available literature suggests that environmental engineering programs have initiated most of such activity, but only a few activities are reported in electrical and computer engineering programs. To fill this gap, a project to infuse sustainability into the electrical and computer engineering curriculum was initiated in 2009 in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at Kansas State University with support from the National Science Foundation. The goal of the project is to prepare engineers, who are equipped to meet the growing needs of society, as well as to bolster enrollment by aligning the curriculum with needs of the current generation of students, who wish to involve themselves in work that benefits society. The paper describes activities related to sustainability including hands-on experiments in renewable energy, development of a rooftop solar and wind generation system, and associated outreach activities. Finally, results of assessments conducted in freshman classes provide a view of student knowledge related to sustainability and renewable energy as they enter their college experience.

James B. Francis College of Engineering at UMass Lowell in general, and Electrical Engineering Department in particular, has realized the importance of manufacturability of its designs all along as is evidenced from its curriculum, placement of its graduates, and close ties with the regional industries. Under this proposed initiative however, a number of specific courses will be revised in order to imbibe substantial manufacturing content, along with returning all the pertinent analytical skills needed for succeeding in the real engineering world. The goal is not only to educate the students in fundamentals of EE but to also train them in the latest state-of-the-art technology, in order to make students productive on the job, right from the first day. The industry does not have time and resources to train new hires. We, therefore propose to introduce concepts of Integrated Process/Product Development (IPPD) in the undergraduate curriculum of Electrical Engineering (EE) in all its phases.

This study aims to: (1) Analyze the core competencies of the 2013 Curriculum in Mechanical Engineering taught at vocational schools (SMK), (2) Analyze the competency requirements of the workforce in the industry, (3) Compare the relevance of core competencies in Mechanical Engineering at SMK with the competency requirements of the industry workforce. This is a qualitative descriptive study. The validity of the research instrument was assessed internally by expert lecturers and externally by the industry representatives of PT. Sinar Mulia Teknalum and PT. Harimukti Teknik. The study subjects consisted of four industries in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, namely PT. Yogyakarta Presisi Tehnikatama Industri, PT. Harimukti Teknik, PT. Madani Technologi, and PT. MBG Putra Mandiri. Data collection was carried out using observation, questionnaires, and interviews. The data obtained was analyzed qualitatively and descriptively. The study results indicate that: 1. The core competencies of the 2013 mechanical engineering curriculum taught in vocational schools include (a) Technical Drawing competency, taught at SMK at 93.3%, (b) Basic Mechanical Work competency, taught at SMK at 88%, and (c) Mechanical Engineering Design competency, taught at SMK at 35%. 2. The Mechanical Engineering curriculum at SMK aligns with industry workforce requirements in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Research results show that Technical Drawing competency is categorized as 45% Highly Relevant and 55% Relevant. Basic Mechanical Work competency is 80% Highly Relevant. Mechanical Engineering Design competency is categorized as 93.7% Relevant.

This survey examines how mechanical engineers are being prepared to be responsible stewards of the environment by offering a multi-channeled look at a diverse collection of twelve US colleges and universities, with connections to the larger global context. This study enumerates the external influences of professional organizations, those responsible for program accreditation (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)), professional conduct (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), and licensure (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, National Society of Professional Engineers). At the curricular level, this study presents current mechanical engineering curricula via core courses (required at most institutions) and non-core courses (required at a minority of institutions or elective courses). The curriculum study identifies fifteen core courses and uses the Open Syllabus Project and online bookstores to identify a representative textbook and classify the environmental content therein. Immediate results show the environment receiving sparse treatment in core course textbooks, institutions having zero environment-focused degree requirements, and a tendency towards offering electives that are narrowly focused on green technologies. Elective offerings mirror ABET’s recent move away from emphasizing the “broad education necessary to understand the impact” of engineering solutions to instead “consider the impact of” engineering solutions in an environmental context. Overall, the environmental education mechanical engineers are receiving is insufficient in amount and lacking in scientific and ethical foundation. Ideally, every mechanical engineering program should include coordinated environmental content throughout the curriculum and require at least one course that teaches both environmental design principles and the importance of environmental stewardship. A novel approach eschews the typical artes mechanicae course structure to teach environmental stewardship in the artes liberales educational tradition, emphasizing multi-dimensional thinking by employing great books style discussions of seminal scientific, ethical, and technological works.

Open distance learning (ODL) education has been developing rapidly in South Africa. The main reason behind the growth is the demand for online studies created due to the corona pandemic. The ODL system involves study that is not limited by geographical boundaries and extends to many knowledge areas electronically. In practice the study tends to extend to knowledge areas beyond those offered by the standard contact or traditional universities. At the University of South Africa (UNISA), the adoption of the ODL framework to theoretical subjects has been successful by making use of the Sakai virtual learning environment (VLE). The practical subjects or practical knowledge areas on the other hand have previously been taught face-to-face. Therefore, the practical modules have not been effectively taught online particularly in the electrical engineering curriculum. This issue can contribute to graduates who are unskilled in the practical component of a knowledge area, which can lead to unemployment. Virtual learning environments (VLE's) play a vital role when it comes to teaching and learning online. In this paper, the impact of VLE's on the practical skills of students and practical knowledge is investigated. This is done by analyzing the change in pass rates of students in a practical subject such as Electrical Engineering when taught face-to-face as compared to when taught through a VLE such as Sakai online. Two groups termed as emerging centered learner (ECL) and a developed centered learner (DCL) are investigated. The method evaluates students who study electrical engineering practical module part-time. In this paper the Sakai platform was used as a VLE to teach and then evaluate students in the electrical engineering practical module. The practical guide with the full set of experiments was uploaded on Sakai under additional resources. The students were given the necessary guidelines and tasks via Sakai online, examined and then the pass rates achieved were analyzed at the end of the program and compared to the pass rates achieved using previous face-to-face teaching method used for the same practical's. It was determined that a VLE can be used to improve the pass rates of a practical module such as electrical engineering taught online in ODL.

This paper describes the ongoing efforts to teach materials science in two different courses within a mechanical engineering program at Western Kentucky University. The WKU mechanical engineering curriculum has several components that are integrated experiences over multiple semesters. The objectives for integration of experiences is to provide an alternative to the model where courses are simply information continuums yet are distinct and often not fluid in transition. Integration in the WKU mechanical engineering program also includes an experimental component and a professional component. The courses described here relate primarily to the integrated delivery of the materials engineering topics within the program. However, as a result of the integrated curriculum, the courses also contribute to the experimental and communications aspects of the curriculum.

The embedded systems have received increasing research interest in recent years due to its wide usage. This paper presents system on programmable chip (SOPC), a new technology in the embedded systems, to support the development of design projects for undergraduate students in their electrical and computer engineering curriculum. FPGA-based SOPC development board with reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processor cores, a top-down design approach with FPGA computer-aided design tools, a C compiler for the RISC soft-processor core and a large FPGA with on-chip memory are used for a wide variety of student design projects. The course, which includes both software and hardware, can meet the different needs of students from different professional backgrounds and contribute to a better understanding between electrical engineering and computer science and therefore can increase the competitiveness of students.

An important skill for any design engineer is the ability to embed a computational element into a mechanical product or process. A course in embedded computing suitable for senior undergraduates in a mechanical engineering curriculum is described. The course, which includes both lectures and laboratory exercises, has evolved through our experiences in teaching embedded computing during the past decade and a half. In preparing to modernize this course, we have reexamined the academic ideas on which the course is based and the conflicting issues involved in developing a course in embedded computing with a hands‐on laboratory. These issues and our expectations for the future of embedded computing instruction in our department are discussed.

Guest Editorial: Situational awareness of integrated energy systems