Introducing manufacturing engineering with kentucky governors scholar program

Abstract

Industry and community engagement in engineering programs are becoming more common compared to the past. There is much more than the technical skills that are needed for engineering students to succeed in the 21st century. The Kentucky Governor's Scholars Program (GSP) strives to enhance Kentucky's next generation of civic and economic leaders and to create models of educational excellence for teachers and students. Established in 1983, the program provides academic and personal growth through a balance of a strong liberal arts program with a full co-curricular and residential life experience. In this paper authors will discuss on the engineering focus group at Kentucky's Governors Scholars Program and discuss about the manufacturing curriculum and industry engagement of the program. More than half of the program activities are through manufacturing industry engagement. The program showcases the potential to engage students in a real life application of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) coalition models that they learn in the classroom, to introduce engineering to students who may not have initially been drawn to engineering. The industry engagement also serves as the medium to reinforce models of learning which will be useful for students when they decide on the career choice and professional workforce. Also in this paper authors would show how they are able to incorporate social and community issues where the students use class room knowledge and hands on experience to get to solutions, which may be difficult to show in a classroom setting for a technical subject. The paper will also address how the engineering focus group at the Kentucky Governors Scholars programs with the manufacturing industry engagement empowers students to: • Apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering • Ability to analyze and interpret data • Ability to design system, and process to meet the desired needs with realistic constraints such economic, environmental, social, health and safety, and sustainability • Ability to work in multidisciplinary teams • Knowledge of the current issues • Understanding professional and ethical responsibility The Governors program is a five week residential program and the engineering focus area directly hits on various ABET outcomes, that most of the engineering curriculum is designed upon. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2013.