The symbiotic roles of the professor, the technician, and the student in undergraduate engineering design education

As one mechanism to attempt to teach the concept and procedures of engineering design, Widener University has a year-long Senior Design Project as a capstone to the design components within the course-oriented laboratory activities in general. These laboratories and senior design activities require the structural teamwork of the supervising faculty member, the students, and the technician. It is noted that such design-oriented activities as the proper method of keeping a laboratory notebook, effective sketching, the reading of prints and specifications, the understanding of fabrication techniques, the basic capabilities of machine tools, and the procedures of purchasing supplies and components should be presented to students before they are allowed to face the real manufacturing world as engineers. At Widener University, an attempt is made to accomplish these goals by the organized and appropriate utilization of the engineering technician in the design education loop