A framework for design engineering education in a global context (original) (raw)

Overcoming the Challenges of Global Collaboration Through Design Education

DS 95: Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2019), University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. 12th -13th September 2019, 2019

The challenges of integrating technology in global design classes have been published in the literature, but it is unclear if this knowledge makes its way back to the classroom. This paper investigates knowledge transfer by documenting the results of four workshops across two institutions and two distributed design classes. Participants were asked to identify the challenges of distributed design, the functionality of technologies to overcome the challenges and guidance on how best to perform distributed design to best help future students. 17 challenges, 10 functionalities and 8 guidelines were developed. The identification of challenges, functionalities and subsequent guidance created can be utilised to assist future students and educators of distributed design. Analysis of gaps in the knowledge identify where theories have not been transferred from literature to the classroom and will help to identify how best to fill the gaps in knowledge. The workshops also present a novel way to engage students in analysing their own collaborative work practices.

Teaching Design Through International Collaboration

International Conference on E-Business and E-Government, 2000

There is a growing need for engineering graduates to have an appreciation for the issues that must be addressed when working on international collaborative projects. By combining this appreciation with the experience of working in virtual teams, students can develop skills that will enable them to perform effectively in such settings. This paper describes a collaborative effort involving an industry-

Global Distributed Engineering Student Design Teams: Effectiveness and Lessons Learned

2016

Twenty-first century engineering student professional skills require the ability to work effectively in multicultural, globally distributed teams. Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) and Penn State University (USA) have formed a collaboration to provide students with an experience in this environment to start requisite skill development. The activity is anchored by a corporate supplied project with realistic open-ended design requirements. The students are expected to mimic the operation of a multinational corporate engineering team to develop a design solution. The collaboration was initiated in September 2014 and launched in January 2015 with Volvo Group as the industrial partner. In addition to the traditional design experience outcomes, the learning objectives from a global perspective are to: (a) understand the impact of engineering in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context; (b) understand cultural/ethnic differences and develop the ability to work sensi...

Challenges of cross-Atlantic project collaboration in design education

2007

The paper reports a survey that was conducted among students who participated in pilot projects organised by the Centre for Design Research of the Stanford University and Decode Research Group of the Helsinki University of Technology. These CrossAtlantic projects were conducted within multidisciplinary teams consisting of students with various educational backgrounds such as mechanical engineering, industrial design, business administration, computer science, and industrial engineering. The objective of the paper is to discuss the main challenges encountered in the projects. The greatest challenges that students faced in the projects stemmed from disciplinary differences in terms of language, understanding, and working methods. The paper generates insights that are useful also for other instances that are planning global project collaboration within design research and education.

Experiences with Multi-National, Multi-Semester Design Team Projects

Proceedings. Frontiers in Education. 36th Annual Conference, 2006

This paper describes the experiences gained by the instructors of the first three multinational, multisemester design team project classes of the Global Engineering Alliance for Research and Education (GEARE). The experiences with respect to technical challenges, communication within the assigned groups, leveraging the different educational backgrounds, technology transfer to supporting entities, interactions between students and support staff, transfer of credits and grades, and lessons learned are outlined in this paper.

Global Design Teams and Professional Development and Issues in Engineering Education

Despite the broad scope of the areas covered in this summary, the papers are remarkably cohesive. Three papers in the set give overviews of these topics, each from a different perspective. [Devon et al.] identify the elements of global design and discuss their implications for design education. [Sheldon] reviews the design research literature, studies its relevance to industrial practice, and identifies areas of critical importance to industry. [Torlind et al.] present a series of case studies and develop a list of findings and research challenges for collaborative design. Each paper presents a list of research areas and challenges. I have combined the lists and organized the discussion of the papers around the integrated list. Many of the papers overlap several categories. For example, almost all the papers on global design teams address educational issues and professional practice. GLOBAL DESIGN TEAMS The critical elements for global design teams identified by [Devon et al.] include the need for global benchmarking, the 24 hour clock, as well as accounting for cultural diversity, for different national standards, and for the global economy.

Using Digital Libraries to Enhance Distributed Design Team Performance

Volume 3b: 2nd Symposium on International Issues in Engineering Design, 2004

This paper describes the purpose and initial results of a 5year project to develop, implement and use a testbed to improve the teaching and learning of students partaking in global team based design projects. It is expected that the project will, when complete, fundamentally change the way design engineering is taught by combining the use of digital libraries with virtual design studios.

Using engineering design tools in multidisciplinary distributed student teams

2015

Collaborative design practice in distributed student teams is becoming more popular as technology makes it easier to communicate ideas with others that are geographically distant. However, a challenge for students is to use design tools which they are not familiar with. These design tools usually differ from each other and engineers may find it much more difficult to share their ideas. This could make the whole design process longer and less successful. Each year the University of Malta, City University London and University of Strathclyde organise a joint collaborative design project, involving engineering students with different disciplines and cultural backgrounds. In this paper, the patterns of use of design tools by students to collaborate with each other are investigated. Based on survey results of students, this paper proposes an approach which can be utilised by engineering students to enhance collaboration in multidisciplinary distributed design teams.

Creating an information‐rich learning environment to enhance design student learning: challenges and approaches

British Journal of …, 2005

The use of technology with engineering design students is well established, with shared workspaces being particularly supportive of the collaborative design process. This paper reports on a study where a design knowledge framework involving three learning loops was used to analyse the effectiveness of shared workspaces and digital repositories in supporting design education. The issues discussed include the relationship between knowledge and information structures, the importance of integrating information literacy support, and the need for different systems within the learning environment to support formal and informal storage of resources. These issues are explored within the context of experiences of working in a multidisciplinary team with different approaches, research methodologies, and discourses.

Global Design: Innovative curricula towards global collaboration.

de Vere, I., Gill, C. (2010) Global Design: innovative curricula towards global collaboration. 2nd ConnectED International Conference on Design Education, Sydney, Australia

Increasingly design teams are engaged in distributed globalworking in either synchronous or asynchronous time modes.Such scenarios present diverse workplace challenges withregard to communication, coordination and collaboration.Distributed design teams occupy both physical and virtualenvironments, and project managers must address issuesrelating to trust, unrealistic or inequitable expectations,cultural diversity, challenging logistics and unusual groupdynamics. Differing work methods and behaviour may resultin inter-team rivalry, misconceptions and unintendedconsequences with regard to project intent, processes andoutcome. Tools, teams and environments must be carefullystructured and managed to realise the potential strengths of global distributed design.Contributing to the Erasmus Mundus Global InnovationManagement course, the ‘Global Design’ unit addressesglobal product design and team management, whereconcurrent or sequential activities occur with responsibilitiesshared amongst distributed teams with limited informalinteraction or social connectivity. In the design projectsinternational Masters students at University of Strathclyde,Glasgow collaborate with design and engineering studentsfrom Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne (inasynchronous mode) and the University of Malta (insynchronous mode).Students utilise strategic methods, work cooperatively andmanage workloads, responsibilities and product designdevelopment across cultural, language and time constraints.The experience gained in global distributed working isinvaluable, and students develop understanding of societal,economic and environmental impacts of globalised design,manufacturing and distribution.This paper describes curricula that focuses on processesand tools for global product design and development, andprepares students for non-traditional work environments andpractices. Opportunities exist for development of new globalsynergies of understanding and cooperation, leading towardssustainable, responsible and equitable global productdevelopment. The authors (visiting Erasmus Mundusacademic fellows) joined the course in its second year,contributing with lectures, studio teaching and curriculumdevelopment.