Hands-On Summer Camp to Attract K–12 Students to Engineering Fields

This paper explains the organization and execution of a summer engineering outreach camp designed to attract and motivate high school students as well as increase their awareness of various engineering fields. The camp curriculum included hands-on, competitive design-oriented engineering projects from several disciplines: the electrical, environmental, mechanical, civil, and chemical engineering fields. The camp also provided additional information on financial aid, the academic programs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) offered at Texas A&M University–Kingsville (TAMUK), as well as various career options for prospective engineers. The implementation of the camp activities and the well-designed hands-on projects not only increased the students' satisfaction, but also improved their self-confidence and their interest toward engineering disciplines. The engineering outreach camp survey results clearly indicated the success of the camp and the effectiveness of the hands-on, competitive engineering design experiences to attract students to engineering professions. Thus, it demonstrated an effective, feasible, and sustainable engineering recruitment approach.      

The Implementation and Evaluation of a University-Based Outreach Laboratory Program in Electrical Engineering

In the current climate of shortages of high-quality engineering graduates, exacerbated by reduced high school enrollments in physics and mathematics, engineering faculties are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of K-12 outreach programs. Such programs can result in students being better prepared for and better informed about engineering careers, with a consequent increase in the number of engineering undergraduates. Almost all outreach programs described in the literature are school-based; by contrast, this paper describes a university-based program. The program was born out of a desire for a university department and a neighboring high school to forge closer links and a need for the high school to provide its students with certain laboratory experiences that would best be realized with the use of specialist equipment. The outreach program provides both formal laboratory experiences and informal presentations by graduate students of their research interests. Follow-up surveys showed that the high school students found the experiences both instructive and motivating, and their knowledge of and interest in electrical engineering increased significantly as a result. All final-year physics students from the high school took part in the 2007 outreach program, and 42% of these students subsequently enrolled in the Bachelor of Engineering degree at the university in 2008.      

Engineering Outreach: A Successful Initiative With Gifted Students in Science and Technology in Hong Kong

The primary goal of engineering outreach is to attract prospective students to engineering education and the engineering profession. Gifted students, especially those identified as possessing unusually high abilities in science and technology, are especially promising students to attract to careers in engineering. It is critical to cultivate these students' interests and develop their potential for engineering while encouraging them to pursue engineering studies beyond K-12 education. This article presents examples of the successful learning outcomes of an ongoing University-based Electronics Technology Project Study (UETPS) program, a joint endeavor between the IEEE Hong Kong Section, the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government, and the Hong Kong Academy of Gifted Education (HKAGE). The UETPS program promotes electrical, electronic, and computer engineering education in Hong Kong and is aimed particularly at gifted students as well as their parents, teachers, and schools. Project applicants underwent formal identification procedures by the Gifted Education Section of the HKSAR Education Bureau and were identified as being gifted in the area of science and technology. Selected participants then participated in one-year research projects in electronics and computer engineering under the guidance of university professors in their respective engineering departments. This program addresses an urgent need of the engineering education sector by reaching out to highly talented K-12 students and their surrounding communities. According to the evaluation results, the UETPS program has significantly enhanced the participating students' interest in engineering as a career choice and encouraged them to pursue undergraduate studies in engineering. This article also discusses lessons learned and proposes strategies for future potential implementers.      

The Role of Engineering Educators in Science Education

This paper explores the ways in which the engineering educators may contribute in upgrading the high school science education of this country. The engineering educators should cooperate with their colleagues in the school of education in revising the present pre-and in-service teacher training programs as well as participate in the revision of the existing science texts. Most of the science texts are geared toward abstract mathematical concepts but lack examples on the practical applications of these principles. The science teachers often find their background and training deficient in explaining to the students as to how one can use the fundamental principles in a real world situation.     

Innovations in Nanoscience Education at Kenyon College

A program to enhance the teaching of nanoscience concepts in multiple pedagogical contexts at Kenyon College, Gambier, OH, is described. In an introductory physics laboratory course, students use a Veeco model CP-II scanning probe microscope to image an optical diffraction grating. The results of a survey of student reaction to their experience are reported as is faculty assessment of the exercise. Use of the CP-II by senior-level physics students in an advanced laboratory course is also detailed. A novel first-year seminar course in nanoscience concepts is described, including an experiment on self-assembled monolayers. Since quantum mechanics governs physics on the nanoscale, education about quantum mechanics needs to be included as a topic in nanoscience education. Hence, progress on efforts to produce an inexpensive source of entangled photons, so that students can directly confront quantum logic in the laboratory, is reported. Finally, the results of a summer outreach program for high school science teachers on nanoscience topics are presented.     

Attracting Prospective Engineering Students in the Emerging European Space for Higher Education

A set of outreach activities implemented by the College of Engineering of the Public University of Navarra, Spain, is described. They represent different initiatives aimed to improve recruitment of young engineers in the difficult context of declining interest in engineering and the educational changes Europe is facing nowadays. The initiatives include didactic materials and activities specifically targeted to high schools and other events aimed to increase awareness about the relevance of science and engineering in the society. During the three years the outreach program has been applied, an increase in the number of engineering students of 12.5% has been experienced, which is in contrast to the decrease of 1.6% in the number of new university students during the same period.      

Turning students into science stars (science and engineering education)

To meet the demands for greater numbers of biomedical engineers, it is necessary to expand the biomedical engineering and related educational programs in the United States to provide students with a focused exposure to basic science, engineering, and technology development principles central to advances in this industry. Over the past 30 years, however, the United States has seen a precipitous decline in the number of American students studying science and engineering. It is this downward spiral the Biomimetic Microelectronic Systems Engineering Research Center (BMES ERC) Education Outreach Program seeks to address. This program affects the science literacy of more than 2,000 minority and economically disadvantaged Los Angeles Unified School District students and their teachers each year. In addition, the BMES ERC has augmented the course curricula of undergraduate and graduate students. All facets of the program are facilitated by experience-dependent mentoring throughout the entire curriculum, using BMES ERC testbeds and thrusts research as focal points of learning and motivation. Through its outreach program, BMES ERC scientists and engineers transfer the excitement, knowledge, and skills generated by their research to students from grade school to graduate school.     

Engaging Robots: Innovative Outreach for Attracting Cybernetics Students

Cybernetics is a broad subject, encompassing many aspects of electrical, electronic, and computer engineering, which suffers from a lack of understanding on the part of potential applicants and teachers when recruiting students. However, once the engineering values, fascinating science, and pathways to rewarding, diverse careers are communicated, appropriate students can be very interested in enrolling. At the University of Reading, Reading, U.K., a key route for outreach to prospective students has been achieved through the use of robots in interactive talks at schools, competitions (often funded by Public Understanding of Science projects), a collectable fortnightly magazine, exhibitions in museums, open days at the University, and appearances in the media. This paper identifies the interactive engagement, anthropomorphic acceptability, and inspirational nature of robots as being key to their successful use in outreach activities. The statistical results presented show that the continued popularity of degrees at Reading in cybernetics, electronic engineering, and robotics over the last 20 years is in part due to the outreach activities to schools and the general public.      

Generation NXT: Building Young Engineers With LEGOs

This paper describes key success factors for the implementation and development of a LEGO robotics engineering outreach program for elementary school students in West Texas. The outreach program not only aims at getting young students excited about engineering but at the same time aims at improving retention rates among electrical and computer engineering freshman-level college students by involving them as paid mentors. It particularly takes into consideration the rural character of West Texas, which provides hardly any electrical and computer engineering job opportunities, and the fact that a university with a college of engineering serves as academic hub for the area.      

Adventures in Engineering: a unique program to attractunder-represented groups to engineering

As part of the National Science Foundation's Young Scholars program, a unique program to attract outstanding high-school students from groups traditionally under-represented in engineering was held at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. During a two week summer residence at the university, students participated in an intensive program involving labs and lectures in three major disciplines of engineering; discussed scientific method, engineering ethics, and aspects of many engineering disciplines; and designed and tested entries for an “egg-drop” competition. Follow-up activities continued throughout the school year. As a result of the program, 100% of the participants stated that they will at least consider careers in science or engineering, and 71% cite participation in the Adventures in Engineering program as a factor in this interest     

Recipe for a Science Happening: 1 Volunteer Engineer, 1 Teacher, 30 Youngsters-Blend in Lots of Love and a Pinch of Humor

Engineers can play a special role in society. Working in industry, the corporation's sphere of influence can act as a lever for a contributing professional individual. Hence, the engineer is able to exert a greater force on the world than most other people. With technology carrying us away at a rapid (and some think devastating) rate, the need for socially responsible professional people is becoming more crucial. Many believe that members of minority groups can make an effective contribution to the modern social engineering concerns that confront us. There are several programs currently underway by colleges, government, and industries to increase the flow of minorities into the engineering profession. This article discusses two programs whose purpose is to promote an interest for engineering and science in youngsters. First, the Science Consultant Program-sponsored by Xerox Corporation. The SCP is a volunteer program that gives elementary school students a first-hand look at science by bringing scientists, technicians, and engineers to the inner-city classrooms. Second, the Junior Engineering Technical Society which works through school sponsored clubs and projects to provide engineering oriented career guidance to high school students.     

IEEE student branch profile - Hands-on approach keeps UC-Berkeley student branch active and growing

The "hands-on practical electronics" classes (HOPE), which are offered weekly to both UC-Berkeley and high school students by student branch members, are what Torous called "our most successful achievement". The success of that activity involves the effect that the program has had in terms of outreach to the overall UC-Berkeley electronics engineering community as well as students majoring in other subjects, membership growth, and cross pollination with other IEEE student branches     

Perception and Intention in Relation to Engineering: A Gendered Study Based on a One-Day Outreach Activity

This paper explores both how male and female high school pupils (15–16 years old) perceive the engineering profession and their willingness to pursue a career in this area. A study was performed around a one-day outreach activity, Girls' Day, organized for the first time in Spain. During Girls' Day, students were exposed to specific activities developed for them in engineering research labs and companies, carried out by young female researchers and professionals. The study, based on two questionnaires answered before and after the activity, focuses on the differences between groups of female and male students having differing degrees of interest in studying engineering. The educational level of mothers, the presence of engineers in families, and perceived family support emerged as important factors influencing the probability of a young person's considering pursuing engineering studies. Nevertheless, the need to expose children to outreach activities at a younger age and to involve the students' families and teachers has become clear. If planned properly and thoughtfully, even a single day's experience can contribute to changing the perception of what an engineer is.      

Robotics-Centered Outreach Activities: An Integrated Approach

Nowadays, universities are making extensive efforts to attract prospective students to the fields of electrical, electronic, and computer engineering. Thus, outreach is becoming increasingly important, and activities with schoolchildren are being extensively carried out as part of this effort. In this context, robotics is a very attractive and effective tool for fostering interest in science and technology among children and young people and for attracting them toward engineering. In this article, experience with different robotics-centered outreach activities in the Universidad de Chile (UCH), Santiago, Chile, will be shared. These activities include robotics courses for children, social robots as keynote speakers, mechatronics design courses, and participation in international robotics competitions, which contribute synergistically to the goal of attracting students to UCH's Electrical Engineering (EE) Department. Owing to its novelty, the use of social robots as keynote speakers for schoolchildren will be described in detail. Experimental results that demonstrate how sophisticated social robots can be used to foster the interest of young people in technology will be shown. Altogether, more than 3000 schoolchildren have participated directly in these outreach activities here in Chile, creating a sizeable impact in this country.      

Embedding Academic Literacy Support Within the Electrical Engineering Curriculum: A Case Study

This paper reports the integration of supplementary training in academic literacy, for those without the assumed entry standard, into a standard electrical engineering program without compromising any other educational objectives. All students who commenced an engineering degree were tested as part of their first session's assessment activities. Those identified as having inadequate academic literacy were directed to study a specifically designed credit-bearing course, which is controlled by the Engineering Faculty but was designed and is taught in collaboration with academic literacy teachers. Students who completed this course responded positively and also demonstrated measurable improvement in their communication skills. The approach has alleviated the skepticism about teaching academic literacy usually found amongst engineering faculty staff and has been adopted by the wider Engineering Faculty.      

Real-time systems course in undergraduate CS/CE programs

Interactions with industry hiring new software engineers from undergraduate computer science and engineering programs show, case after case, that universities do not pay enough attention to the practical aspects of software development. Another well-known deficiency of the undergraduate programs is in the area of time-critical, reactive programming. The present paper describes a senior course in a computer science undergraduate program designed to address some of the above problems. The real-time course provides the students not only with the basic concepts of real-time programming, but also provides a vehicle for development of small class projects which address methods, tools and the critical aspects of a modern software development life cycle. The experience with teaching the course may serve as a model for similar offerings in other computer science, computer engineering and software engineering college programs. The paper describes lessons learned and future plans     

Flexibility and adaptability in engineering education: an academicinstitution perspective

To survive in the highly competitive environment, an engineering education institution must offer its students an attractive system of study. Essential features of such a system are flexibility and adaptability. Flexibility means that the system provides a large number of diverse opportunities and allows the students to take advantage of the existing diversity. A flexible system of study should provide for multiple entry and exit points, and for several areas of concentration within one or more fields of study. Student's freedom in design of his/her individual program of study should not be restricted by an excessive number of compulsory courses. The student should also be allowed to adjust the course load in each term to his/her background and speed of learning. Adaptability of a system of study means that adjustments in curricula, reflecting advances in science and technology, trends on the labor market, and evolution of international standards of engineering education, can easily be performed. In this paper, the authors discuss how to restructure a system of study to make it more flexible and adaptable. The general ideas are illustrated with an example of a recently restructured system of engineering education at their institution-the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland. They demonstrate that flexibility and adaptability of the system of study contribute to the overall quality of education     

Engineering the Future: Embedding Engineering Permanently Across the School–University Interface

This paper describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of an educational program. Engineering the Future (EtF) sought to promote a permanent, informed awareness within the school community of high-level engineering by embedding key aspects of engineering within the education curriculum. The Scottish education system is used for a case study in which a range of pilot high schools worked in close partnership with two university engineering departments. The study focuses on electronic/electrical engineering (EEE), a technically challenging area, which reflects many of the problems that are intrinsic to modern society. In so doing, the work also sought to support and refine the transition from the school environment to higher education engineering courses. EtF is founded on research into transformational change and describes the findings of a three-year program that sought to develop sustainable and transferable means of encouraging school students to study engineering at university. The authors describe the conditions needed to support sustainable developments. They also provide an analysis of inevitable constraints and suggest strategies to address these issues. The paper concludes that sustainable long-term promotion of engineering within schools to support the transition to university is possible if certain conditions are fulfilled. These conditions include the use of a model that facilitates partnerships among researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners in all sectors. Building such essential linkages is often challenging, but this effort is necessary if changes in engineering education are to be realized and sustained.      

University-industry partnerships in biomedical engineering

We describe the activities that are vital to establishing and maintaining a thriving cooperative education and industrial internship program. In addition, we describe the benefits of such a program for not only the students but for the industrial partners and for the university. Student participants work as engineering professionals, gain valuable engineering and business experience, apply engineering concepts to real-world problems, and tend to be more focused on their career choices after participating in a co-op or internship opportunity. There are also multiple benefits to the industrial partner. Employers have the opportunity to train potential long-term employees; capture the attention of motivated, talented biomedical engineers; obtain visibility at the university; and ultimately lower their turnover and training costs. Students can also provide a fresh perspective and can be motivators contributing to the growth of the employers' organization. Finally, the academic department benefits from industrial partnerships through increased student satisfaction, improved student training, novel education programs, job placement for graduates, and research collaborations.