Purpose - The authors have developed an educational model that operates at the undergraduate level and aims to produce graduates who can comfortably operate in the gulf between the laboratory bench and the commercial marketplace. The purpose of the paper is to describe the course, approaches, activities and initial outcomes of the Bachelor of…

An important challenge in the introductory communication networks course in electrical and computer engineering curricula is to integrate emerging topics, such as wireless Internet access and network security, into the already content-intensive course. At the same time it is essential to provide students with experiences in online collaboration,…

Shortly after becoming a CIO (Chief Information Officer), the author read an article by Gregory Jackson in the January 2004 Chronicle of Higher Education entitled, "A CIO's Question: Will You Still Need Me When I'm 64?" Jackson, one of the most widely known and respected CIOs in higher education, argued that CIOs in higher education face four…

This paper presents the preliminary work for developing guidelines to ensure that industry-sponsored projects in first-year courses aid, not hamper, retention of students. Specifically, the overall research plan includes the following steps: (1) investigating the appropriateness of industry projects in a required introduction to engineering design…

It is striking to notice that the notion of skill is not only used in industry but also in higher education in most major industrialized countries. If a significant number of companies have taken a skills approach, one notices that this term is also used in higher education to determine teaching programmes according to a simple idea: higher…

The work of Activity 1 of the Thematic Network E4 "Employability through Innovative Curricula" on curriculum development issues has been guided by the intention to contribute to the establishment of a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) by addressing crucial aspects of harmonisation, compatibility and comparability. In due course the…

The individual stories of scholars of South Asian descent are as divergent as the communities, countries of origin and cultural traditions from which they and their families originate. Though their numbers are believed to trail those of their counterparts in business, science and engineering fields, U.S. scholars of South Asian descent are adding…

This article describes a chemical-processing program at Saginaw Career Complex in Saginaw, Michigan. The program is preparing 42 11th- and 12th-graders to work as chemical-processing operators or technicians by the time they graduate from high school. It was developed in partnership with the Saginaw Career Complex--one of 51 centers in the state…

This article describes BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology), a hands-on robotics program founded by Texas Instruments engineers Ted Mahler and Steve Marum. BEST links educators with industry to provide middle and high school students with a peek into the exciting world of robotics, with the goal of inspiring and interesting…

A systematic study of the implementation of simulation hardware (TIMS) replacing software (MATLAB) was undertaken for advanced undergraduate and early graduate courses in electrical engineering. One outcome of the qualitative component of the study was remarkable: most students interviewed (4/4 and 6/9) perceived the software simulations as…

The need to develop alternatives for fossil fuel energy consumption is mandated by the limit of world oil reserves and the environmental costs associated with their continued use. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate to local farmers the environmental benefits provided by a modified farm implement and to enhance interest in alternative…

Magnet schools have developed strong national and local constituencies among parents and educators, who see them as vehicles for bringing equity and academic excellence to all students. Typically, these schools offer innovative programs through a specialized focus or theme. They may emphasize subjects like science or the arts, or they may adopt…

The authors synthesize preliminary findings from an interdisciplinary study of the practicum/clinical phase of undergraduate pre-service education in the professions. Early data analysis identified similarities and differences across disciplines in terms of: (a) the terminology describing each practicum program, (b) the programs' key…

To resolve the dispute amongst several studies, this research investigated whether the new generation of women engineering majors, who have been better academically prepared and presumably instilled with confidence, still experience lower levels of achievement than male engineering students. This study was framed under Bandura's (1986) triadic…

In U.S. coverage of leadership in science and engineering (S&E), Latinos are generally dismissed from consideration. The pipeline metaphor tends to ignore advances made by Latinos in completing doctoral degrees in S&E. New data suggest a better metaphor, the pyramid of higher education, for understanding the progress of Latinos in S&E. Questions…