Examining the Effectiveness of Industrial Partnerships in Capstone Courses: A Qualitative Study through the Lens of Engineering Undergraduates

Eileen Fong; Ibrahim H. Yeter; Shamita Venkatesh

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: College Industry Partnerships Division (CIP) Technical Session 2
Tagged Division: College Industry Partnerships Division (CIP)
Page Count: 12
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/47376

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Paper Authors

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Eileen Fong Nanyang Technological University

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Eileen Fong, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer at School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. She is also currently the Associate Chair (Students) at MSE, responsible for student matters and admissions. She teaches third-year MSE undergraduates, and have received several teaching awards including the prestigious Nanyang Education Award for School (2019) and College (2021).

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Ibrahim H. Yeter Nanyang Technological University orcid.org/0000-0002-0175-2306

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Ibrahim H. Yeter, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Education (NIE) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. He is an affiliated faculty member of the NTU Centre for Research and Development in Learning (CRADLE) and the NTU Institute for Science and Technology for Humanity (NISTH). He serves as the Director of the World MOON Project and holds editorial roles as Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Education and Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning. He is also the upcoming Program Chair-Elect of the PCEE Division at ASEE. His current research interests include STEM+C education, specifically artificial intelligence literacy, computational thinking, and engineering.

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Shamita Venkatesh Nanyang Technological University

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Shamita Venkatesh is a senior undergraduate student, majoring in the Philosophy department and minoring in the
Economics department at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. She is working on various projects in Dr. Yeter's Research Team at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, including STEM education, engineering education, artificial intelligence literacy, and computational thinking. Shamita is passionate about contributing to society and finding ways to make things better.

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Abstract

Rapid changes in the global economy have necessitated the development of a workforce equipped with the skills to adapt and evolve to meet the demands of the modern workplace. In this context, universities are tasked with preparing and training students to be job-ready upon graduation. Yet, adequately preparing students for engineering careers beyond graduation remains challenging for all engineering institutions. Problem-solving skills are often regarded as one of the key characteristics of successful engineering graduates. Most engineering undergraduates are formally exposed to problem-solving during their senior capstone courses, where students learn how to tackle complex problems while applying their technical knowledge, alongside mastering other essential soft skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, and communication. However, there has been a shift to adopt a more authentic and experiential approach to implementing capstone courses in engineering education of late. Industrial partnerships effectively provide context-specific challenges that are not easily duplicated within an academic environment. Through collaborating with industry and encountering real-world challenges, students can put their theoretical knowledge into practice outside of classroom settings. Moreover, besides translating their technical skill sets, students are exposed to other non-technical aspects of engineering, such as how engineering decisions might be influenced by other factors such as business, ethics, and socioeconomics. A third-year engineering capstone course was recently transformed to incorporate real-world problem statements and industrial mentorship. For the 13-week semester, students worked in teams of six or seven people to solve a problem statement that a company had provided. This study explored how students viewed industrial partnerships in this capstone course. It specifically examined how it influenced their perception of problem-solving, consideration for ethics, and overall confidence as engineers. We used the stratified random sampling technique to select 16 participants, eight females and eight males, for this study. We employed an inductive qualitative analysis to identify important themes related to industrial partnerships that students perceived were critical in the capstone course. These findings may be insightful and imperative for educators when designing capstone courses for engineering undergraduates. Educational and theoretical implications were also further discussed in this study.

Citation
Format

Fong, E., & Yeter, I. H., & Venkatesh, S. (2024, June), Examining the Effectiveness of Industrial Partnerships in Capstone Courses: A Qualitative Study through the Lens of Engineering Undergraduates Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://strategy.asee.org/47376

TY - CPAPER
AB - Rapid changes in the global economy have necessitated the development of a workforce equipped with the skills to adapt and evolve to meet the demands of the modern workplace. In this context, universities are tasked with preparing and training students to be job-ready upon graduation. Yet, adequately preparing students for engineering careers beyond graduation remains challenging for all engineering institutions. Problem-solving skills are often regarded as one of the key characteristics of successful engineering graduates. Most engineering undergraduates are formally exposed to problem-solving during their senior capstone courses, where students learn how to tackle complex problems while applying their technical knowledge, alongside mastering other essential soft skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, and communication. However, there has been a shift to adopt a more authentic and experiential approach to implementing capstone courses in engineering education of late. Industrial partnerships effectively provide context-specific challenges that are not easily duplicated within an academic environment. Through collaborating with industry and encountering real-world challenges, students can put their theoretical knowledge into practice outside of classroom settings. Moreover, besides translating their technical skill sets, students are exposed to other non-technical aspects of engineering, such as how engineering decisions might be influenced by other factors such as business, ethics, and socioeconomics. A third-year engineering capstone course was recently transformed to incorporate real-world problem statements and industrial mentorship. For the 13-week semester, students worked in teams of six or seven people to solve a problem statement that a company had provided. This study explored how students viewed industrial partnerships in this capstone course. It specifically examined how it influenced their perception of problem-solving, consideration for ethics, and overall confidence as engineers. We used the stratified random sampling technique to select 16 participants, eight females and eight males, for this study. We employed an inductive qualitative analysis to identify important themes related to industrial partnerships that students perceived were critical in the capstone course. These findings may be insightful and imperative for educators when designing capstone courses for engineering undergraduates. Educational and theoretical implications were also further discussed in this study.
AU - Eileen Fong
AU - Ibrahim H. Yeter
AU - Shamita Venkatesh
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Examining the Effectiveness of Industrial Partnerships in Capstone Courses: A Qualitative Study through the Lens of Engineering Undergraduates
UR - https://strategy.asee.org/47376
ER -