In our vision engineering students become sustainable practitioners by focusing on their learning... more In our vision engineering students become sustainable practitioners by focusing on their learning process instead of focusing on their engineering results. By focussing on the learning process we create a learning environment in which there will be innovation because it's permitted (or even requested) to make mistakes and learn from these mistakes. The learning of the students is driven by assessments for learning [Dochy] and emphasis on competence, relatedness and autonomy, the key factors of the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) [Deci & Ryan]. We believe that profound learning and sustainable education are inseparable. In the minor program Innovation, Engineering and Design in our Industrial Design Engineering course we combine assessments for learning, SDT with sustainable design methods and LCA. In this minor program student are working on real live projects. All projects are demand driven, the demand owners are private companies. Beside the companies, the research department of our university provides open research questions. We translate these research questions to objectives for the companies and professional products for our students. In this way, we apply the triple helix of industry, research and education. Even more, we try to make it a sustainable triple helix by inviting the entrepreneurs to join our learning processes and, by doing so, constructing a basis for innovation. We try not to solve problems for the companies, but to learn and innovate with the companies. In the paper we will explain the process by sharing a recent project: The project for the company Visser Group, 's-Gravendeel, the Netherlands, is aimed at developing a new production technique of injection moulding cores. The main question that was brought in by the company and the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, research department of Sustainable Development, was to develop injection moulds using additive manufacturing techniques. The students and teachers started without deep knowledge of additive manufacturing processes and they never used a injection moulding machine. The project focused on learning new skills and knowledge and not on the end result. The learning is driven by the collaborative action research method [Lewin] and an uncertain but sustainable goal; a perfect example of engineering by doing.
In product design engineering education, classes in engineering mechanics are often difficult, un... more In product design engineering education, classes in engineering mechanics are often difficult, unrewarding and unsatisfying for both students and lecturers. Within the Product Design Engineering program at Rotterdam University of Applied Science, a new approach has been developed and tested, leading to significantly higher pass rates and more active student participation, leading to deeper and more lasting understanding of the subject. Based upon field research and present day learning theory, an interactive course line was designed in which students build, test and calculate real-life design problems. By gradually increasing the complexity of the cases given, students gain deeper insight in theoretical basics, skills in calculations by hand as well as computer-assisted, analysing constructions and applying forces. Students learn in an informal class-setting in which they are stimulated to experiment, to measure, to calculate, to check outcomes and to ask questions. A mixture of online resources, frontal teaching, peer teaching, individual coaching and team coaching is being used to create a rich learning environment. In this environment it is safe, even encouraged to make mistakes, learn of them, evaluate and improve. Both slow and fast students benefit from this approach. In this paper, we will assess the bottlenecks in the " classical approach " towards teaching engineering mechanics, describe and discuss the " new approach " and draw conclusions on several factors. Thus, making classes more or less effective in creating deeper, durable understanding of construction engineering in a motivating, challenging yet safe learning environment. 1 MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE IDE COURSE Since 2013 the Industrial Design Engineering course at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences hereafter referred to as " IDE course " , offers a four-year fulltime bachelor program based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Bachelors in IDE are expected to solve complex design problems in a multidisciplinary environment in an independent and substantiated manner, leading to innovative, producible, marketable and useable product solutions. The IDE curriculum is designed around the main professional design engineering competencies: Analyse, Design, Verify, Manage and Learn. As of the academic year 2016-17, the IDE course is attended by approximately 300 students. Each year 100 freshmen enrol after a selection procedure carried out by the course team itself. 2 THE ENGINEERING MECHANICS COURSE LINE WITHIN THE IDE CURRICULUM The engineering mechanics course line is one of 5 course lines within the IDE curriculum and consists of 5 classes throughout the 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd year, each accounting for 5 EC or 140 nominal study hours: 1 st Semester: Engineering basics: how products work 2 nd Semester: Statics: How external forces are conducted within a product 3 rd Semester: Mechanics: How products deform or fail under applied forces 4 th Semester: Optimisation: How to optimise a product using FEM analysis 6 th Semester: Dynamics: How to construct moving structures The main goal of the engineering mechanics course line is to provide students with the appropriate knowledge and skills to enable them to design products as material/cost efficient, light, safe, useable and durable as possible.
In our vision engineering students become sustainable practitioners by focusing on their learning... more In our vision engineering students become sustainable practitioners by focusing on their learning process instead of focusing on their engineering results. By focussing on the learning process we create a learning environment in which there will be innovation because it's permitted (or even requested) to make mistakes and learn from these mistakes. The learning of the students is driven by assessments for learning [Dochy] and emphasis on competence, relatedness and autonomy, the key factors of the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) [Deci & Ryan]. We believe that profound learning and sustainable education are inseparable. In the minor program Innovation, Engineering and Design in our Industrial Design Engineering course we combine assessments for learning, SDT with sustainable design methods and LCA. In this minor program student are working on real live projects. All projects are demand driven, the demand owners are private companies. Beside the companies, the research department of our university provides open research questions. We translate these research questions to objectives for the companies and professional products for our students. In this way, we apply the triple helix of industry, research and education. Even more, we try to make it a sustainable triple helix by inviting the entrepreneurs to join our learning processes and, by doing so, constructing a basis for innovation. We try not to solve problems for the companies, but to learn and innovate with the companies. In the paper we will explain the process by sharing a recent project: The project for the company Visser Group, 's-Gravendeel, the Netherlands, is aimed at developing a new production technique of injection moulding cores. The main question that was brought in by the company and the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, research department of Sustainable Development, was to develop injection moulds using additive manufacturing techniques. The students and teachers started without deep knowledge of additive manufacturing processes and they never used a injection moulding machine. The project focused on learning new skills and knowledge and not on the end result. The learning is driven by the collaborative action research method [Lewin] and an uncertain but sustainable goal; a perfect example of engineering by doing.
In product design engineering education, classes in engineering mechanics are often difficult, un... more In product design engineering education, classes in engineering mechanics are often difficult, unrewarding and unsatisfying for both students and lecturers. Within the Product Design Engineering program at Rotterdam University of Applied Science, a new approach has been developed and tested, leading to significantly higher pass rates and more active student participation, leading to deeper and more lasting understanding of the subject. Based upon field research and present day learning theory, an interactive course line was designed in which students build, test and calculate real-life design problems. By gradually increasing the complexity of the cases given, students gain deeper insight in theoretical basics, skills in calculations by hand as well as computer-assisted, analysing constructions and applying forces. Students learn in an informal class-setting in which they are stimulated to experiment, to measure, to calculate, to check outcomes and to ask questions. A mixture of online resources, frontal teaching, peer teaching, individual coaching and team coaching is being used to create a rich learning environment. In this environment it is safe, even encouraged to make mistakes, learn of them, evaluate and improve. Both slow and fast students benefit from this approach. In this paper, we will assess the bottlenecks in the " classical approach " towards teaching engineering mechanics, describe and discuss the " new approach " and draw conclusions on several factors. Thus, making classes more or less effective in creating deeper, durable understanding of construction engineering in a motivating, challenging yet safe learning environment. 1 MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE IDE COURSE Since 2013 the Industrial Design Engineering course at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences hereafter referred to as " IDE course " , offers a four-year fulltime bachelor program based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Bachelors in IDE are expected to solve complex design problems in a multidisciplinary environment in an independent and substantiated manner, leading to innovative, producible, marketable and useable product solutions. The IDE curriculum is designed around the main professional design engineering competencies: Analyse, Design, Verify, Manage and Learn. As of the academic year 2016-17, the IDE course is attended by approximately 300 students. Each year 100 freshmen enrol after a selection procedure carried out by the course team itself. 2 THE ENGINEERING MECHANICS COURSE LINE WITHIN THE IDE CURRICULUM The engineering mechanics course line is one of 5 course lines within the IDE curriculum and consists of 5 classes throughout the 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd year, each accounting for 5 EC or 140 nominal study hours: 1 st Semester: Engineering basics: how products work 2 nd Semester: Statics: How external forces are conducted within a product 3 rd Semester: Mechanics: How products deform or fail under applied forces 4 th Semester: Optimisation: How to optimise a product using FEM analysis 6 th Semester: Dynamics: How to construct moving structures The main goal of the engineering mechanics course line is to provide students with the appropriate knowledge and skills to enable them to design products as material/cost efficient, light, safe, useable and durable as possible.
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