A model for teaching engineering design

Engineering design is a broad, yet essential topic for students to study during their academic tenure in the engineering field. Engineering design is the set of fundamental principles necessary to successfully solve a design problem. We propose a model for effective teaching of engineering design by developing a multifaceted engineering design course, whose goals are to introduce students to basic engineering design principles and professional skill methodologies, such as client interaction, teamwork, and presentation skills. We require students to make use of computer technologies taught in-class: Alias Maya for 3D design renderings and MathWorks Matlab for computational analysis of designs. Projects with community partners fulfill the need for real client interaction and robust design problems. Students gain hands-on experience from directly applying concepts taught in the course, while community partners benefit from the projects´ research and proposed solution. Over 1000 first-year engineering students have participated in this course structure since its inception in Spring 2004. We have worked with over 50 community partners yielding more than 200 semester-length projects, some of which embark on a continuation over several semesters. Our experience complemented with extended evaluations after each semester shape the course each term to yield successful results.