One of the problems that many engineering graduates face when looking for their first job is： Do you have experience？ Employers prefer graduates with relevant experience to those without. Why is experience so import...One of the problems that many engineering graduates face when looking for their first job is： Do you have experience？ Employers prefer graduates with relevant experience to those without. Why is experience so important to employers？ Can students accumulate ＂working＂ experience while studying in college？ This paper discusses the use of design projects inside and outside of classrooms to help students gain ＂working＂ experience and skills through hands-on design activities that simulate the actual design activities that occur in the industry. Faculty members from the Mechanical Engineering Technology and Computer Engineering Technology departments were involved in creating multidisciplinary design projects. The design projects give students new insights into what they learn in their coursework and pro.vide students the valuable experiences in analytical skills, concurrent engineering approach, people skills, and management skills needed for the students when looking for employment.展开更多
基金Acknowledgments The work is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technology Education Division. The award number is NSF ATE No 1003712. The authors greatly appreciate the support from the NSF. In addition, the authors also would like to thank all students who are involved in this project.
文摘One of the problems that many engineering graduates face when looking for their first job is： Do you have experience？ Employers prefer graduates with relevant experience to those without. Why is experience so important to employers？ Can students accumulate ＂working＂ experience while studying in college？ This paper discusses the use of design projects inside and outside of classrooms to help students gain ＂working＂ experience and skills through hands-on design activities that simulate the actual design activities that occur in the industry. Faculty members from the Mechanical Engineering Technology and Computer Engineering Technology departments were involved in creating multidisciplinary design projects. The design projects give students new insights into what they learn in their coursework and pro.vide students the valuable experiences in analytical skills, concurrent engineering approach, people skills, and management skills needed for the students when looking for employment.
