Entrepreneurship in a Graduate Engineering Program*

The paper will describe three courses that emphasize the entrepreneurship of new, joint projects between engineering and business students. The courses were co‐taught among engineering, business and applied psychology. The graduate student teams developed a marketing plan, conceived a design, built a prototype, and wrote a business plan. The teams were formed into companies with roles and responsibilities, had a budget, and were given the ability to fire “free‐loaders.” The teams were expected to develop innovative, high risk, high reward products. The students learned to take risks, accept failure, be creative, and work in a self‐directed team. A stress‐free classroom environment fostered creativity.     

Graduate Engineering Education of Underrepresented Populations

Of all segments of science and engineering graduate education, the disparity between minority groups is the greatest, and the participation of nonresident aliens is the highest, in engineering. This paper examines the graduate degrees awarded in engineering from the perspective of representation within the US population, the US engineering schools that grant significant numbers of graduate degrees to underrepresented minorities, and the measures implemented by some of these schools that are particularly effective at granting graduate degrees to underrepresented minorities. In addition, we recommend initial steps that an engineering school might make to increase underrepresented minorities' graduate student participation. Although the specifics can vary from institution to institution, the net result should be the same: a sincere commitment to bring underrepresented minority students into the mainstream of the academic enterprise.     

The Graduate Record Examination and Success in an Engineering Management Program: A Case Study

Abstract:

The authors consider the empirical validity of the graduate record examination (GRE) as a predictor of various measures of performance in a graduate engineering management program. The performance criteria include first-quarter graduate school grades, first-year graduate school grades, cumulative graduate school grades, and faculty committees' ratings of students' theses. Tests indicated that the GRE verbal and quantitative test scores were useful in predicting first-year and cumulative grade point averages (GPAs). The implications of these findings are discussed to include the idea of a theory-based test and measures of graduate student performance.     

Exploring Engineering Graduate Student Research Proficiency with Student Surveys

Background Research is considered the essence of graduate engineering education, but knowledge about the engineering graduate student research experience is scarce in literature. Some studies that examine graduate engineering education suggest that students are experiencing educational deficiencies that can affect the research experience. Thus, exploring engineering graduate student research proficiency is warranted. Purpose (Hypothesis ) This work begins to earnestly answer the research questions “How proficient are engineering graduate students in research?” and “What factors affect the research proficiency of these students?” Design /Method In order to answer the two research questions specifically for the Georgia Institute of Technology Environmental Engineering graduate program, current students in the program participated in two surveys. Survey questions were designed to measure students' perceptions of their research proficiency and to aid in determining student academic motivations tied to proficiency. Results Many students indicated that they lacked research preparation upon beginning graduate study and during the first year of study, lacked development in important research skills like statistics and communicating in writing, and were somewhat hindered in research organization and progress. Regarding academic motivations, students generally valued personal advancement and enrichment over paper publication. Doctoral students overall indicated more preparation with respect to several aspects of research and more value placed on paper publication than did master's students. Conclusions The surveys provided important findings regarding student research proficiency for the engineering graduate program in question. These findings encourage the exploration of engineering graduate student research proficiency on a broader scale in future studies.     

Assessing Quality Issues in Interactive Video Teleconferencing-based Graduate Level Engineering Courses

The continuing education of engineering professionals has been an important objective of the University of Pittsburgh's Manufacturing Systems Engineering Program (MSEP) since its inception in 1987. Making relevant graduate-level programs accessible to the population of engineering professionals separated from traditional university communities has been the object of much effort for more than three decades. The distance education tool of interactive video teleconferencing over the public telephone network has recently become a viable method for extending the university environment to these remote students. This paper considers the context and analysis of student reactions and attitudes toward MSEP graduate-level courses delivered to the University's regional campus at Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Since the fall of 1994, MSEP has offered these courses using off-the-shelf interactive video teleconferencing systems over the public switched digital network. Issues that may affect the perceived quality of these programs (e.g., in the areas of audio communication quality, instructional strategies, course materials distribution, and course offerings) are identified and discussed.     

Integrating Ethics & Engineering: A Graduate Option in Systems Engineering,Ethics, and Technology Studies

This paper describes an engineering graduate option in Systems Engineering designed to overcome some of the effects of specialization and compartmentalization by building a link between technical and ethical training. Students in this option produce case studies that emphasize ethical issues in the design process. The goal of the program is to turn out ethical professionals who are able to reflect on the moral implications of technology. The proposed approach uses realistic or real‐hypothetical hybrid case studies as a type of vicarious mentoring, and, when supplemented with readings in ethical theory and codes, may serve as a starting point for a deeper understanding of behavioral dilemmas. The developers of this approach are a multi‐disciplinary team from the Engineering School and the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. The paper describes how the graduate option is structured and provides data on student outcomes.     

Barriers to Increased Engineering Graduate Enrollments: Counterforces and Their Implementation

This paper highlights the role of the faculty member in recruiting students currently enrolled in B.S. programs in engineering and the sciences into full-time pursuit of a graduate-level engineering degree. The faculty member is demonstrated to be in a unique position to influence such students, providing strong counterforces to a confluence of attitudes and pressures experienced during the B.S. experience which effectively create a barrier to full-time engineering graduate study. We analyze this barrier via the method of force field analysis, and demonstrate that effective recruitment into full-time graduate study must be based on a four-fold strategy of education, expectations, improved B.S. experience and better control of the B.S. environment. Approaches to implement these strategies are discussed.     

包装工程学科建设与研究生培养的学理分析

包装工程学科是应用型交叉学科,既有自身独特的发展轨迹、学理框架、研究方法和路径,也从其所属一级学科和相关支撑学科吸纳养分。本文在梳理包装教育发展历程和研究生培养现状的基础上,从学理上分析了包装学科的基本架构和主要研究方向。其基本架构和研究方向与研究生培养相结合,反映在不同的学校里,必然形成自身的培养模式和特色。     

An Interactive,Video‐Teleconferenced,Graduate Course in Biomedical Engineering

A two‐semester, video‐teleconferenced (2‐way video/audio) course entitled Principles of Biomedical Engineering I and II was offered from 1999 to 2001 for graduate students enrolled at Purdue University (PU; West Lafayette, IN) and Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI; Indianapolis, IN). Results of the study provided evidence that during the control (i.e., traditional lecture) distance learning environment, on‐campus students consistently received statistically significant higher final course grades than off‐campus students. In contrast, upon implementation of interactive distance learning methods, the on‐ and off‐campus students received similar (not statistically different) final grades. In this manner, the study demonstrated that effective use of video‐teleconferencing occurs when students at remote‐sites actively participate in the learning experience rather than passively observe the lectures on a television monitor (as occurs during traditional distance learning lectures).     

Effectiveness of an Internet‐Based Graduate Engineering Management Course

This research provides engineering educators analytical evidence as to the effectiveness of Internet‐based course instruction. The research examined the University of Missouri‐Rolla's Internet‐based Advanced Production and Operations Management course, with a focus on determining the effectiveness of the Internet‐based education tools used. Over 100 students in five Internet‐based classes and one traditional, in‐class control group were given three sets of surveys, learning style assessments, a course pre‐test, and a course final examination. Multiple conclusions were drawn from this study based on analyses of the data collected. First, the Internet‐based students performed equally as well as the control group as measured by the difference between pre‐test and post‐test scores. Second, the Internet‐based students were found to have had exaggerated time requirement expectations for taking a course in the Internet environment. Third, the students rated the effectiveness and satisfaction positively for the Internet classroom format. Initially, the Internet‐based students were skeptical of electronic lectures but their experiences were positive.     

生物医学工程研究生培养新模式探索

生物医学工程是一门整合物理、数学、工程技术、生物医学科技与临床应用的跨领域工程科学,培养能够适应生物医学工程发展需要、熟悉国际规则和惯例、对生物医学产业发展具有影响力的国际化研究型、具有实践能力和创新精神的高素质复合型人才不仅符合生物医学工程专业的特点,对于满足就业市场的需求也具有十分重要的意义。研究以东北大学生物医学工程专业为例,通过生物医学工程专业研究生培养新模式的探索,找出优化的研究生培养规律和教育教学模式,在此过程中,揭示创新型人才培养的机制、方法,从而提高研究生教育的理论水平,提高教学质量和人才培养质量。     

Encouraging Students to Adopt Software Engineering Methodologies: The Influence of Structured Group Labs on Beliefs and Attitudes

This study proposes that structured labs using groups can help foster individual student acceptance of software engineering methodologies. The technology acceptance model (TAM) is employed in an empirical test using students in freshman and sophomore‐level programming courses. Our findings suggest that a structured group lab experience does influence a student's belief system regarding the usefulness of a software engineering methodology, leading to an individual decision to accept and use the methodology on a voluntary basis. On average, the software engineering methodology was accepted by the students sampled. We recommend that structured group labs be designed to use peer groups, reinforce successful results, and use an iterative process design with phase‐by‐phase deliverables.     

Gender and Graduate School: Engineering Students Confront Life after the B. Eng.

In an exploratory questionnaire study at McGill University, we examine the reasons given by top women and men engineering students for deciding whether or not to continue their studies. Women are significantly less likely than men to plan on graduate school; they encounter hurdles such as limited personalized information, difficulties in obtaining reference letters, a low level of encouragement, and the discomfort of the engineering academic environment. We conclude with seven specific recommendations designed to encourage women, in particular, and also men to pursue graduate work.     

Constructive Alignment of Interdisciplinary Graduate Curriculum in Engineering and Science: An Analysis of Successful IGERT Proposals

Background Interdisciplinary approaches are critical to solving the most pressing technological challenges. Despite the proliferation of graduate programs to fill this need, there is little archival literature identifying learning outcomes, learning experiences, or benchmarks for evaluating interdisciplinary graduate student learning. Purpose (Hypothesis ) The purpose of this study is to understand how engineering and science academics conceptualize interdisciplinary graduate education in order to identify common practices and recommend improvements. Questions generated by an instructional design framework guided the analysis: what desired outcomes, evidence, and learning experiences are currently associated with interdisciplinary graduate education? To what extent are these components constructively aligned with each other? Design /Method Content analysis was performed on 130 funded proposals from the U.S. National Science Foundation's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program. Results Four desired student learning outcomes were identified: contributions to the technical area, broad perspective, teamwork, and interdisciplinary communication skills. Student requirements (educational plans) addressed these outcomes to some extent, but assessment/evidence sections generally targeted program level goals—as opposed to student learning. This lack of constructive alignment between components is a major weakness of graduate curriculum. Conclusions Current practices are promising. Further clarification of interdisciplinary learning outcomes, coupled with closer alignment of outcomes, evidence, and learning experiences will continue to improve interdisciplinary graduate education in engineering and science. Specific recommendations for engineering and science faculty members are: define clear learning objectives, enlist assessment/evaluation expertise, and constructively align all aspects of the curriculum.     

可拓工程研究

介绍可拓工程研究的基本思想、工具和方法及其在检测、控制、管理、信息和计算机等领域的应用研究概况。     

美国包装专业研究生教育

介绍了密歇根州立大学、威斯康星-斯陶特大学、罗切斯特理工学院和克莱姆森大学等美国4所大学包装专业的研究生教育情况.包括培养目标、课程设置、研究方向等.表明在有关部门支持下,开展我国包装工程专业的研究生教育已势在必行.