INTEGRATION OF DESIGN INTO FRESHMAN AND SOPHOMORE ENGINEERING CURRICULA

摘要

The main reasons many students enroll in engineering degree programs include, amongothers, that they love to build things, take things apart and solve problems. Yet traditional engineeringprogram curricula do not offer students opportunities that align with these interests. While design is one ofthe primary functions of an engineer, engineering design is virtually absent in the early stages of mostengineering program curricula. Engineering design courses are relegated to and taught at the junior andsenior levels while the early stages of the program concentrate on the teaching of engineering analysis.In this paper, the authors discuss the need to incorporate elements of engineering design, particularlyconceptual design, into the early stages of engineering program curricula. The paper also addresses theissue of evaluation of such design projects and presents an approach for conducting such evaluation. It ishoped that the ideas and issues examined in this paper will generate discussion and that the sharing ofideas will result in an improved educational experience for engineering students.