In this integrative, team-based capstone project, students in an upper year Tectonics course built a planet of their own design from the basic concepts of plate tectonics. They created a tectonic map complete with plate boundaries, continental-ocean boundaries, motion vectors, and hot spot traces. In subsequent weeks, students produced a geologic…

In our investigation of university students' knowledge about real numbers in relation to computer algebra systems (CAS) and how it could be developed in view of their future activity as teachers, we used a computer algorithm as a case to explore the relationship between CAS and the knowledge of real numbers as decimal representations. Our work was…

In this paper, we consider the perceived effectiveness of using industry-based transdisciplinary, complex problems as a vehicle for final year undergraduate mathematics students to apply their knowledge and skills in realistic settings, preparing them for the world of work. The discussion centres on a recently designed, implemented and evaluated…

This paper explores the potential opportunities to enhance the entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial attributes of graduates in the Metallurgy and Materials Engineering curricula at two universities in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Due to the diminishing geographical constraints between Zimbabwe and South Africa, and the strong juxtaposition between…

Engineering education addresses the development of professional competencies in undergraduates. In this context, the core set of professional competencies includes critical thinking and problem solving, effective communication, collaboration and team building, and creativity and innovation--also known as the four Cs--as well as socio-professional…

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…