Upload
others
View
8
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
53
Journal of Engineering Education ResearchVol. 15, No. 4, pp. 53~57, July, 2012
A Multi-level Engineering Talents Cultivating SystemYong Xie* ․ Jin-Cheol Ha** ․ Ruheng Li* ․ Yun-hae Kim**,† ․ Se-Ho Park***
***College of Engineering, Dali University, China***Korean Maritime University***Yamagata University Graduate School of Sclence and Engineering Management of Technology for Manufacturing (MOT) Major
ABSTRACTModern manufacturing needs a great number of advanced engineers. China has the world's second largest equipment manufacturing
and electronic information industry, and in 2020, the shortage of talented personnel in key industries will be more than 5 million in China. Universities and colleges are the main places to cultivate engineering talents. In this paper, we will introduce a multi-level engineering talents cultivating system we have applied in Dali University, China for more than 4 years. Under this training system, we have achieved some gratifying results.
Keywords: engineering education; training system; CDIO
I. Introduction1)
China has the world's second largest equipment manu-
facturing and electronic information industry. In order to
win the competition in the world, a great number of highly
educated and well trained engineers are required. In June
2010, the Ministry of Education of Chinese government
launched the excellent engineers training plan, and 61
universities nationwide were chosen as the experiment
units. This plan has three major properties: the enterprises
fully involved in the process of cultivation; the universities
and colleges training the engineering talents based on
general standards and the industrial standards; strengthening
the cultivation of the students' engineering ability and the
innovation ability.
At present, to some extent, the higher engineering
education in China still pays more attention to class teaching
instead of hands on experiment. Another issue is that the
experimental environment on campus lags behind the pro-
duction of the companies. In order to satisfy the requirement
of modern development, our engineering students must be
able to lead in aspects of conceiving, designing, implementing,
and operating systems, products, processes, and projects.
In this paper, we will introduce an engineering talents
Received 4 October, 2011; Revised 12 June, 2012Accepted 17 July, 2012† Corresponding Author: [email protected]
cultivating system we have applied to the engineering
education in Dali University, China.
II. Multi Level Cultivating System
1. CDIO is the Core of the System
The CDIO (conceive, design, implement, operate) theory
has become the most important engineering education mode
in north America, Europe and Asia. This mode not only
improves the students’ engineering ability, but the basic
engineering knowledge, the ability of life-long learning,
team work, and the ability to control the macro systems
as well. According to the education standards of CDIO,
we should take the students as the products of university
or college, take the social needs as the goal of the engi-
neering students cultivation. In the design of our engineering
education curriculums, we follow the procedure as the work
Fig. 1 Multi-level engineering talents cultivating system
Yong Xie․Jin-Cheol Ha․Ruheng Li․Yun-hae Kim․Se-Ho Park
공학교육연구 제15권 제4호, 201254
flow in production; train the students from classes, labs,
scientific research works, to innovation activities, and de-
veloped a multi-level engineering talents cultivating system.
In this system, we regard knowledge as basic, ability as
key point, quality as aim, and innovation as core. It is
demonstrated in Fig. 1.
2. Master a Deeper Working Knowledge of Technical
Fundamentals
The modern industrialization needs the advanced engineers
with strong applicable ability and strong innovation ability.
But to master a deeper working knowledge of technical
fundamentals is always important to the engineering students
because this is the essential foundation for students to
go any further. University is the place where the foundations
of subsequent learning are laid. In order to help students
understand the technical fundamentals deeply, we need to
diminish the traditional teaching method which only focuses
on knowledge inculcating. To reform teaching method, we
build a PDS (Pre-read, Discuss in class, Summary) teaching
mode as shown in Fig. 2.
In this mode, we assigned students to pre-read the
text book and reference materials independently. Then
we arrange some teaching hour for discussing in class.
In order to help students study and think effectively, the
instructors put questions main focus on the emphasized
and difficult concepts and principles first, and then we let
students put questions and answers questions for each
other. In the later stage, the instructors help to analyze
the question or the answer only when needed. The last
step is to let students summary the chapter according on
their understanding and the information other students
provided in class discussion. In the whole process, the
Fig. 2 PDS teaching mode
students are the center of learning; the instructors play
the role of facilitator.
3. Improve Experiment and Creative Ability
Experimental teaching is the major way to train students
to improve practical ability and creative ability. It is the
most important component in our training system.
In the first two college years, our goal is to help students
adapt to higher engineering education system as soon as
we can, strengthen students’ engineering awareness, and
develop their engineering practical ability. At this stage,
we teach students basic experiment skills and the students
will learn to use the equipments and understand common
rules of scientific experiment. Then we will train the stu-
dents to do the experiments related to their majors. The
teacher will provide a brief guidance and students will learn
to design the experiment by themselves. Therefore, the
students’ ability of observation, operation, data and error
analyzing are the most concerned factors.
In the third and fourth year, we ask students to come
up with an idea related to their major and discuss with
faculty advisor. With the guidance of advisor, the student
will design and complete the experiment independently.
At the same time, we encourage students think creatively
and put what they have learned into practice. The students
will design a project using all the equipments we have.
The projects are not limited to their major. They will
consult with the advisors if they need. The diagram in
Fig. 3 illustrates our experiment training stages.
Fig. 3 experiment training stages
A Multi-level Engineering Talents Cultivating System
Journal of Engineering Education Research, 15(4), 2012 55
4. Quality ultivation
By quality we mean teaching students critical thinking,
professional ethics, integrity, responsibility, civic values,
and self-discipline. Personal and interpersonal skills are
the basic quality of engineering students preparing for
their professional future. Good engineers work in teams
and communicate effectively.
Campus is just an ideal society for students. To train
students’ personal and interpersonal skills, we make ar-
rangements for the students go to internship sites, factories,
and country side to practice and gain experiences. Team
work is the key of the activities. Engineering students
work in teams when they conceive, design and implement
the product, process, or system. Teams are often including
experienced engineers from internship sites or factories,
so they can exchange thoughts, ideas, data and drawings
with others around the work site.
5. Develop Engineering Innovative Ability
In enterprise situation, according to de Jong and Brouwer
(1999), the innovative ability can be defined as: the ability
of an enterprise’s employees to generate ideas and to work
with these ideas to develop new or improved products,
services, technologies, work processes or markets.
In CDIO syllabus, engineer’s abilities are classified into
4 aspects: technical knowledge and reasoning; engineering
reasoning skills and attributes; interpersonal skills: team-
work and communication; conceiving, designing, implementing
and operating systems in the enterprise and societal context.
All the abilities are the foundation of engineering innovation
ability.
Followed by the syllabus of CDIO, we designed a training
plan for developing our engineering students’ innovation
ability. In this plan, we encourage students think creatively,
put what they have learned into practice. The students
will design a project using all the equipments we have.
The projects are not limited to their major. They will consult
with the advisors if they need. We train engineering students
to develop a strong vision for innovation, be prepared for
professional challenges or graduate study through the
creativity training and career planning.
III. Results and Discussion
We started to apply the multi level cultivating system
in 2008. The results show that this system is practical
and effective.
1. Students’ Study Habits Improved
In Nov. 2010, we had a survey on 458 students majored
in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Information Technology,
and Architecture about their study habits. The results in
question 1 and question 2 demonstrate that the juniors
and seniors pre-read more effectively than lower grade
students (Table 1).
As we can see from Table 1, most of the students get
used to do pre-reading after first two years training.
The pre-reading habits are varying from different grates.
Sophomores like to discuss questions with each other.
Most the juniors and seniors tried to find the answers of
problems they had in pre-reading.
In class discussion, the siniors participate more actively.
They can raise profound questions and suggest proper
solutions.
Table 1 Survey results on students’ study habitsQuestion 1: Do you pre-read:
A. Very often B. Some times C. Never
Year A(%) B(%) C(%)
1 12.0 30.0 58.0
2 30.1 42.7 27.2
3 49.6 35.6 14.8
4 55.6 33.3 11.1
Question 2: When you encounter problems in pre-reading, you will:
A. Stop pre-reading B. Ask others
C. Try to solve them and keep going on
D. Write down the problems and finish pre-reading
Year A(%) B(%) C(%) D(%)
1 65.7 11.4 5.7 17.1
2 10.7 56.0 22.7 10.7
3 7.8 37.4 48.7 6.1
4 5.8 39.4 50.0 4.8
2. Students’ Experiment Skills Enhanced
In Dali University, lab teaching takes a percentage of
Yong Xie․Jin-Cheol Ha․Ruheng Li․Yun-hae Kim․Se-Ho Park
공학교육연구 제15권 제4호, 201256
more than 30% in the curriculums for engineering students.
We have 19 labs for Electronic Information Technology
major, 10 labs for Electrical Engineering, 3 labs for Ar-
chitecture major.
Through our stage by stage experiment training, the
students developed strong interest in hands-on experiments,
especially in the comprehensive experiment because they
can design experiments to verify what they have learnt.
Some excellent students found new methods and new
systems to improve our lab teaching.
Following photos show that our students are in the
experiment.
Fig. 4 Students in physics experiment
Fig. 5 Students in electronics experiment
Fig. 6 Students in electrical power control experiment
Fig. 7 The earthquake rescue robot which won the second prize award in “the 4th National College Mechanical Innovative Design Competition, China” In 2010
3. Innovation Activities Attract More and More
Participants
In order to construct an environment for improving
students’ innovative ability in university level, we open
all the labs available for junior and senior students, and
provide a Fischertechnik robotic system donated by a
German company. Every year, we hold a competition of
innovative design in College of Engineering. In 2010, two
of our students designed an earthquake rescue robot based
on Fischertechnik robotic system, and won the second
prize award in “the 4th National College Mechanical
Innovative Design Competition, China” and the first and
second prizes award in “First National College Students
High School Physics Teaching Skills Competition”.
IV. Conclusion
Higher Engineering education based on CDIO has de-
veloped rapidly in recent years. How to find and build
concepts and training system suitable for local situation
and requirements is the key of our engineering education
research.
The multi-level engineering talents cultivating system
we have applied in practice has worked effectively. It
helped train students to study independently. It provided
a series experiments according to students different learning
stages, and enhanced students’ innovative abilities.
References
1. Edward Crawley, et al. (2007). “Rethinking Engineering
A Multi-level Engineering Talents Cultivating System
Journal of Engineering Education Research, 15(4), 2012 57
Education-The CDIO Approach”, Springer, pp. 9-13
2. Yongfu Chen, et al. (2009). Student Ability Training in
Teaching of Experiment in University―Based on Reform
& Practice of Experiment Course of Basic Biology.
Theory and Practice of Education, 29(9): 54-56.
3. J. Lucena and J. Schneider (2008). Engineers,
development, and engineering education: From national
to sustainable community development. European Journal
of Engineering Education, 33(3): 247–257.
Yong Xie
He received the Bachelor degree of Physics at Yunnan
Normal University, China in 1982 and the Mater degree
of Physics from California State University, Fullerton, USA
in 2006. Currently he is a doctoral student at Korea
Maritime University.
Phone: +86-13987253832
Fax: +86-872-2219965
E-mail :[email protected]
Ruheng Li
He received the Bachelor degree of Physics at Southwest
China Normal University, China in 1986. Currently he is a
doctoral student at Korea Maritime University.
Phone: +86-13608829118
Fax: +86-872-2219965
E-mail: [email protected]
Yun-Hae Kim
Prof. He received his B. S. degree in Marine Engineering
from Korea Maritime University in 1983. He received his
Ph. D. degree from Kyushu University in Japan in 1993.
He was a guest Professor from 1997 to 1998 at National
Institute of Standards and Technology in the U.S.A. He is
currently full Professor at the Division of Marine Equipment Engineering at
Korea Maritime University in Busan, Korea. He is also a Director of Innovation
Center for Engineering Education at Korea Maritime University. He was a
Chair of Asian Conference on Engineering Education 2009. He is co-chair of
ISMST 2010 internation conference. Prof. Kim`s research interests are in the
area of innovative engineering education and composites fabrication, the
evaluation of strength and physical metallurgy.
Phone: +82-51-410-5212
Fax: +82-51-403-1344
E-mail: [email protected]
Jin-Cheol Ha
He received his B. S. degree in Marine Engineering from
Korea Maritime University in 1987 and the Mater degree
from Dalian Maritime University, China in 2001. Currently
he is a doctoral student at Korea Maritime University.
Phone: +82-51-410-4966
Fax: +82-51-403-1344
E-mail: [email protected]
Se-Ho Park
He received his B. S. degree in Industrial Engineering
from Kyungnam University in Korea in 2006.He then went
on to receive his the M. A. degree form Kyungnam
University in 2008. He received his Ph. D. degree from
Korea Maritime University in Korea in 2012.
Currently he is a Visiting Scholar in Yamagata University
Phone: +82-51-410-5211
Fax: +82-51-403-1344
Email: [email protected]