Wilkes University Plans Effort to Transform Engineering Education

Wilkes University Plans Effort to Transform Engineering Education

Many engineering students who leave the field don't often do so in their first semester. Instead, they leave midway through their studies, in their sophomore or junior years, when coursework might become more challenging, and the link between lectures and work in the field can seem distant. A team of faculty at Wilkes wants to change that.

This summer, Wilkes was awarded a National Science Foundation grant through the Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED) program, which supports academic departments that have chosen to examine how student engineers are educated and prepared to enter the field. The planning project, titled "ENGINEER: Engaging New Generations in Engineering Education Reform," is designed to address challenges seen in engineering student education and retention.

As stated in the project's abstract, engineering education plays a critical role in preparing the workforce to tackle complex challenges in advanced manufacturing, energy, healthcare and national security. However, engineering programs throughout the country lose students at a critical point in their educational journeys: when the demands of rigorous technical courses become too great and when the chances to connect to hands-on practice are scarce.

ENGINEER aims to address this challenge by helping students to see themselves as engineers throughout their education, not just when they've graduated.

"We want to help students better connect what they learn across courses with real-world-engineering challenges while strengthening creativity, teamwork, communication, and professional and problem-solving skills," says Abas Sabouni, professor and chair of the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Department as well as principal investigator on the ENGINEER project.

Led by Sabouni and mechanical and electrical engineering faculty Yong Zhu, Ed Bednarz III, Mohsen Ghamari and Jamal Ghorieshi, the project will begin with an institutional self-study, using both numbers and narratives to examine student success, curriculum and more.

"The two-year project will help us develop a new approach to undergraduate engineering education that moves beyond traditional, separate courses and disciplines," says Sabouni. "We're moving toward a more connective, collaborative and hands-on learning experience."

Visioning workshops will bring together students, alumni, industry partners and university leadership to build a shared picture of what mechanical and electrical engineering at Wilkes might look like in the future. Working in teams, faculty will also explore how ideas might be woven across courses and faculty learning communities will be formed to focus on professional development, inclusive teaching and organizational change that might generate better outcomes. "Faculty will explore ways to better connect courses and disciplines, while industry and alumni input will help ensure students develop the skills needed in today's engineering workforce," says Sabouni.

At the end of the project, the goal is to have a program in mind that works not just at Wilkes, but could be applied at other universities.

"Ultimately, the project will create a roadmap for a broader transformation of engineering education," says Sabouni.

Learn more about the ENGINEER project on the Wilkes website.