An overview of our experience integrating multidisciplinary and international design projects within the senior capstone design course

Abstract

The objective of the Mechanical Engineering capstone senior design course at Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering is to introduce the students to the real-world engineering design process through the participation of realistic design projects, preferably with external sponsors and industrial mentorship. This course introduces the students to the industrial design process, gives them the opportunity to work as an integrated and cohesive team on their project, and to become skilled at effective communication with each other and with the industrial partners, so the students gain an understanding of how to successfully manage their project. Since real-world engineering projects are mostly multidisciplinary and some have an international aspect, it is imperative to introduce the students to those settings and associated challenges. Over the years, we have steadily increased the percentage of our projects which are multidisciplinary and require international collaboration. For example, about fifty percent of this year's projects are multidisciplinary, partnering with either Industrial Engineering or Electrical and Computer Engineering. We expect the multidisciplinary team approach can leverage on the skills and disciplinary expertise of individuals with each participants approaching the project from their own perspective while gaining experience through cross-disciplinary collaboration. Additionally, one international project has included students from both U.S. and Brazil following our previous experience working with institutions from Brazil and Romania. The international project will be integrated formally into the design curriculum through a recently funded international exchange program administered by the U.S. Department of Education and Brazil's Ministry of Education. Similar to multidisciplinary approach, functioning within an international team demands a structured coordination and effective communication to overcome cultural differences, language barriers and other unforeseen obstacles. This paper will discuss the challenges of executing those multidisciplinary and international projects where students are from three different engineering departments and countries, and how these challenges are addressed in the design of the senior capstone design courses. © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education.

Publication Title

ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings

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