Changing the Mindset of Engineering Educators to Teach Design Studios

Abstract

The Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Technology Sydney recruited and established a ‘Learning and Teaching Design’ team. One of the primary aims of this team was to change the mindset of engineering academics to deliver a curriculum that produced More Innovative Design-Abled Students and Staff (MIDAS). To model what an inspiring pedagogy might look like, a set of short, intensive, summer school offerings were designed and delivered. These ‘MIDAS Summer Studios’ aimed to strategically shift the culture of education and to revolutionise how students learn engineering and information technology. In order to confirm that each of the MIDAS Summer Studios and their studio leaders delivered a calibrated student learning experience, a series of training workshops were delivered to ensure the language used by studio facilitators remained consistent. During these workshops, the participants were encouraged to adopt some values and principles. This study reports how these values have been effective in transforming engineering education in one Australian university.