Aruna Shekar

Active learning and reflection in product development engineering education

Traditional engineering courses at tertiary level have been traditionally theory-based, supported by laboratory work, but there is now a world-wide trend towards project-based learning. In product development education, project-based learning is essential in order to integrate the disciplines of design, marketing and manufacturing towards the common goal of creating a new product. The process of development consists of a set of activities, tools and methods that are themselves evolving and improving with practice. A successful active learning course in product development education is presented in this paper as part of undergraduate engineering education, within the context of a fourth year course in New Zealand. The industry sponsored individual projects support active real-life learning and reflection. The paper presents ways in which active learning can be enhanced within the learning outcomes of a project-based paper. These methods can be adopted in educating engineering students of any discipline to better prepare them for their future careers.

AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO DEVELOP STUDENTS' INDUSTRIAL PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS

This paper presents details of the multi-disciplinary capstone course ‘Advanced Innovation and New Product Development’, which was developed by the INNOVATIONZ research group at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. The course is run in collaboration with the University’s Business and Creative Arts faculties, and with a range of industry partners, design consultants and business professionals, and is aimed at providing Engineering students with practice-relevant and multi-disciplinary learning experiences in the areas of product design, new product development and innovation management. The course includes a number of features and approaches which create a rich and integrated learning environment that helps students develop interdisciplinary product development knowledge, practise their teamwork and communication skills, and experience the new product development process through real-life project work. In the paper we provide an overview of the general concept and structure of our course, including course philosophy, course design and course objectives, which are in line with the needs of industry and with the requirements of the Engineering profession. This is followed by a more detailed discussion of a number of key aspects of our approach, which are particularly relevant to the achievement of our course objectives and outcomes. The main areas we discuss are our project-based learning approach and the associated assessment procedures, which are designed to support those aspects of learning we find particularly relevant for our students. Another important aspect covered in the paper is our approach to fostering the development of multi-disciplinary teamwork skills, which are critical for the successful involvement of professional engineers in the product development process. We conclude the paper with a selection of feedback comments from our students, which illustrate the effectiveness and the educational value of our course.

Community engineering: Raising awareness, skills and knowledge to contribute towards sustainable development

Traditional approaches in engineering product development are not suited to resource-constrained rural villages, as these contexts are complex and very different. There are language barriers, social and cultural differences, lack of infrastructure and limited access to electricity and other basic amenities. This led us to explore a number of engineering projects undertaken for these under-served markets. Our results indicate that a new approach that is more collaborative and one that is community-based is required.

Key concepts of radical innovation for sustainability, with complementary roles for industrial design and engineering

This paper presents a synoptic review of sustainability literature currently available. Distillation and synthesis of this research enabled the development of Key Concepts of Radical Innovation for Sustainability. They are presented here as diverse strategies of sustainable development/sustainable product design (SD/SPD) needed for truly radical innovation. The key concepts are of major significance, as they are projected into the research outcomes of this thesis: a Conceptual Educational Framework and Guidelinesfor industrial design and engineering sustainability in undergraduate tertiary education, published separately. This paper highlights the interdisciplinary and holistic nature of sustainable design, as ‘wicked’ problems requiring radical innovationin their design development. The key recommendations are embodied within four concepts: 1 emphasis on the social element of SD/SPD through context and creativity 2 systems thinking via product-service systems (PSS) 3 complementary sustainable design strategies – eco-effectiveness first through cradle-to-cradle (C2C) design principles, eco-efficiency followsfor optimisation 4 strategic design.

‘Involve me and I’ll understand’: creative capacity building for participatory design with rural Cambodian farmers

Abstract Participatory design (PD) has proven successful in the design of technologies in Western markets and shows promise as a method for humanitarian technology development. However, there have been few studies of PD in developing markets. In general, these studies have noted several process challenges due to cultural, societal and geographical differences. These challenges are restricting the widespread use of PD approaches for, and with underserved communities, and in turn reducing the long-term impact each project could make. This article presents findings from the implementation of creative capacity building workshops in rural Cambodia. Findings include suggested refinements to the design process; the need for flexible delivery methods; and the development of guiding questions for understanding the participant and ensuring appropriate educational content. The workshops show promise as a methodology for enhancing designer–participant collaboration in PD.

Teaching Innovative Thinking and Consumer-Oriented Design to Engineering Students: Perspectives Based on Observations and Experience

This paper presents some observations made during the teaching of the design process to undergraduate engineering students. It discusses the challenges of teaching engineering students to be more consumer-oriented in their design projects. It emphasises the importance of understanding a design problem fully and of appreciating the motivation behind the development of a product. In addition good design requires a thorough knowledge of both the context and user needs.

Participatory Design with People with Disability in Rural Cambodia: The Creativity Challenge

Abstract The majority of Cambodians live rurally, with most engaged in farming practices. For people with disabilities in rural Cambodia, such as the estimated 40,000 land mine amputees, inclusion in these practices is currently impossible. It is therefore important to strive towards the design of effective assistive technologies, as well as social empowerment, to allow these individuals better access to Cambodia’s traditional livelihood. This study investigates the use of participatory design, a collaborative design process, for the identification of challenges and design of solutions with a rural community of people with disability. It discusses the implementation of creative capacity building workshops, developed in Uganda, as a tool for improving the effectiveness of designer-community collaboration. Themes such as creativity, contextual insights and inclusion were identified as challenging areas for future development while themes such as convergent thinking, prototyping and motivation were identified as strengths of the collaboration.

Global perspectives: First-year engineering students’ views on social engineering projects

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of a new first-year course on students’ views on engineering practice and problem solving for a global context. Specifically, we wanted to know how first-year engineering students viewed humanitarian engineering projects, what these projects meant to them, what the specific design requirements are and whether their views on the role of engineers were influenced as a result of the course. A short feedback survey was administered to the class following the completion of the course in 2014. Thirty-six responses were received, collated and analysed (from a total of 50 students), giving a response rate of 72%. This paper presents the findings and discusses the important concepts that engineering students learn and their views about social engineering projects.