The Impact of Implementation and Evaluation of Engineering Exploration Activities in a First-Year Engineering Course

Abstract

The engineering exploration (EE) plays a vital role in technical education as engineers are envisioned for solving real time societal problems. This paper explores the outcome of introducing a course on EE for the students of first year engineering of KLE Dr. M.S.S.C.E.T., Belagavi campus under KLE Technological University, Hubballi, Karnataka, India. An impact analysis of offering the course to the students of multidisciplinary branches of engineering has been carried out based on student performance data. The course offers the hands-on training in various modules such as, Project Management (PM), Engineering Design (ED), Platform Based Development (PBD), Motor Sizing and Battery Sizing (MSBS), team building, sustainability, and ethics. The significance of activity-based learning is emphasized for understanding and applying decision making process to arrive at multiple solutions for a given technical problem. The data from participation and performance of students in activities of each module is analyzed to assess the idea for including this course in the curriculum. On comparison to the in-class training the team and individual activity-based approach in the course enhances the participation of the students in the learning and exploring the multidisciplinary skills of engineering.