Students' perspective on the effectiveness of design-based curriculum during an international design project

Abstract

Design projects are part of many engineering degree programs. During a design project, student engagement and learning are affected by many factors. Writing from the student perspective, the authors formed a model of the structure of what they believe contributes to an effective engineering education. This aided the success of their recent project designing a charcoal press for the Mikinduri Children of Hope Foundation. The design process allows students to apply the mathematic and scientific theory that they learn in other courses. The open ended nature of design projects teach students to think like engineers. The authors summarized their experiences and key insights from the project. It was concluded that students are motived by their engineering mentor's engagement in their learning and drive to seek improvement. The authors were also enthused by the desire to make a difference, making their learning experience more meaningful. Design projects that address problems posed by real clients, especially those that involve third-world problems, provide that opportunity. Through an evaluation of the design curriculum the authors made recommendations to strengthen student engagement in engineering education.