Modelling is a central activity in practical engineering and something that is also useful in engineering education research (EER). Additionally, qualitative research methods have found important applications in engineering research, although their use in EER has not always been widely accepted. Design science research is a qualitative research…

Interdisciplinary engineering programs have many perceived benefits including developing broader skills and an ability to work with complex real-life problems. However, the development of interdisciplinary programs faces many challenges including how to balance breadth and depth, how to integrate interdisciplinary learning into existing studies…

This article presents how Problem- and Project-Based Learning (PBL) in engineering education can exploit the theoretical framework of the Space-Time (ST)-Continuum, according to which educational contexts can be classified in terms of the tightness vs. looseness of the relevant conceptual space S and available time T. By crossing these two…

Engineering and technology have a central role in shaping our reality that frequently goes unnoticed or not critically analyzed by engineers and engineering faculty and curricula. In so doing, the engineering that is taught, investigated (and improved), and practiced can unwittingly foster an ethical-political reality with which many engineers and…

Engineering education is appropriately concerned with technical problem solving. However, the philosophical tradition has periodically asserted that technical rationality is but one mode of rationality. Informed by experience in both design practice and engineering education the authors agree with Donald Schön that professional artistry is an…

Many traditional engineering schools are struggling to balance the calls to provide an innovative engineering education that meet the demands of graduates and their employers with the constraints and momentum of their existing curriculum. In this paper we present the conceptual design behind a framework that integrates existing discipline-specific…

Systems dynamics and automatic control is classified as one of the toughest courses in the college of engineering at Qassim University according to the statistical analysis of the final grades. This motivated us to think about a new approach to teach this course by extending the design term project to include experimental part beside the…

The application of Capability Maturity Models (CMM's) is recognised throughout diverse organisations in different domains as a route to achieve strategic schemes and continuously improve organisational competitiveness of the implementing entity. This paper shall look into the development and implementation of a specific Project Based Learning…

Although engineering educational endeavours are often described with regard to how well they prepare students to meet national or global engineering concerns, the purpose of this paper is to show how those efforts can also serve the larger educational goals of the educators themselves as they develop learning experiences for their students. This…

This paper discusses the benefits and threats of promoting and reinforcing a research-based education environment to STEM undergraduate students. The paper explores the rationale for research-based education as a pedagogical driven approach, where undergraduate students learn through enquiry and discovery. Research evidence of a STEM case study…

Engineering education for sustainable design often focuses on technical solutions with little consideration of social impact. This paper presents a case study of a project-based learning (PBL) studio course engaging engineering students in social and sustainable design practices with external clients in developing economies. The case is a review…

The engineering graduate of today will engage in a career which will span the middle of the twenty-first century, and beyond. They will work in a world which is increasingly more complex and uncertain than at any time before. This will require an integrated combination of technical knowledge and transferable skills and values, to a greater extent…

Demonstration models allow students to readily grasp theory and relate difficult concepts and equations to real life. However drawbacks of using these demonstration models are that they are can be costly to purchase from vendors or take a significant amount of time to build. These two limiting factors can pose a significant obstacle for adding…

This paper gives a focussed summary of good practice taken primarily from engineers who are responsible for teaching topics related to systems and control. This engineering specialisation allows the paper to give some degree of focus in the discussions around laboratories, software and assessment, although naturally many of the conclusions are…

The aim of this paper is to describe the design of chemical engineering laboratory sessions in order to focus them on the learning company approach. This is an activity carried out in the classroom similar to the activities that exist in real companies. This could lead classroom practice to a more cooperative learning and a different style of…