Project-oriented capstone design in civil engineering: Linkages with industry to enhance the practice

Abstract

Teaching civil engineering design through senior projects or capstone design courses, with industry involvement and support, has increased in recent years. The general trend toward increasing the design component in engineering curricula is part of an effort to better prepare graduates for engineering practice. While some design projects are still of the "made up" type carried out by individual students, the vast majority of projects today deal with "real-world problems" and are usually conducted by student teams. The paper begins first by briefly reviewing the design as a "thought" process, focusing on several dimensions of "design thinking" and how "design thinking" skills are acquired. Second, the paper reports on the development, implementation, and subsequent evaluation of a senior design course at an international university, where practitioners have played a major role in planning and teaching the capstone course. The new, restructured design course, co-taught by practitioners from the Region, has met its declared objectives and exposed students to professional practice. This industry-driven experience has also provided information with regard to curricular content and capabilities of departmental graduates. In a way, the capstone experience reported on in this paper, serves as a microcosm of the four year program. Experiences and outputs from the course can be used to provide guidance and insights into curricular changes, teaching methods, and exposure to civil engineering practice in the Region; and helps in establishing enduring connections with the industrial sector. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2010.