An official website of the United States government
While the demand for interdisciplinary knowledge is undeniable, there are formidable challenges when offering graduate education to Engineering students. To address that, we designed an educational research project that delves into the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Trainee (NRT) program for engineering students studying robotics and autonomous systems. This newly funded NRT program aims to train next-generation scientists and engineers with professional skills through interdisciplinary courses such as leadership, business, and psychology in addition to cutting-edge technical knowledge in the field. We are using retrospective surveys and content analysis to identify student experience with interdisciplinary training and education programs. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis evidenced an increased level of confidence in soft skills such as interdisciplinary understanding, communication, and collaboration skills throughout participating in the interdisciplinary NRT program.
more »
« less
This content will become publicly available on March 9, 2026
Exploring the Connection between Foundry-Guided Activities and Holistic, Interdisciplinary Engineering Education
This study explores synergies of a holistic, interdisciplinary National Science Foundation - National Research Traineeship (NSF-NRT) Program that leverages a Foundry-guided approach5 to foster integrative thinking and problem-solving skills among and between students.6 Specifically, we look at selected outcomes from a course that is required as part of the first-year experience for student trainees participating in this program. As part of this work-in-progress, we offer insight into students’ growth in specific areas related to interdisciplinary communication. The preliminary findings reveal that students are developing skills related to a deeper understanding of real-world applications through interdisciplinary collaboration and that holistic approaches in engineering education can improve student outcomes. Implications and lessons learned are connected to key areas relevant to the Engineering Unleashed framework.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2152218
- PAR ID:
- 10603925
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Society for Engineering Education Southeastern Annual Meeting
- Date Published:
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Renaissance Foundry Model Holistic Professional Foundry-guided learning Communication Interdisciplinary Learning
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Starkville, MS
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Innovations by engineers and physical scientists working at the frontiers of microbiome engineering and discovery requires in-depth understanding of microbiome systems with parallel skills in bioinformatics and biostatistics. Despite the importance of integrating bioinformatics and biology into graduate student training in fields outside traditional biological sciences, academic institutions remain challenged with including these disciplines across departmental boundaries. Furthermore, it is critical for students in engineering, bioinformatics, and biostatistics to understand fundamentals behind the biological systems they model, and for biology students to gain competencies in applying bioinformatics and biostatistics to biological questions. To address these needs, we developed the Integrative Bioinformatics for Investigating and Engineering Microbiomes (IBIEM) graduate training partnership between Duke University and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, which was funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) program. IBIEM’s goals include training interdisciplinary groups of students to: (a) transform conceptualization and develop skills for application of quantitative biology in microbiome areas; (b) perform cutting edge research requiring interdisciplinary team skills; and to (c) communicate their research across disciplinary barriers and to diverse audiences. The pedagogical framework adapted to foster trainee engagement is learner-centered teaching which emphasizes the importance of selfdirected learning with parallel ongoing assessment to optimize student outcomes. Since IBIEM trainees’ goals as well as entry-level knowledge and skills across disciplines varied greatly, program implementation was found to be challenging and required rigorous evaluation and refinements for effective training across disciplines and skill levels. A comprehensive program evaluation over five years found that the strongest learning and skills outcomes were linked to several “best practices”. Early provision of depth in fundamentals in R programming and reproducible research was found to be critical to “jump start” students without programming backgrounds. Addition of an overview of microbiome experimental design and analysis added important context as to how and where in the research process informatics fits into design progression and was highly motivating to students. Course modality was found to impact trainee outcomes with in-person classes that included hands-on practice and feedback showing greater improvements in training outcomes over hybrid, flipped and virtual course modalities. Furthermore, introduction of low, medium, and high level “challenges” along with in-person tutoring was found to be impactful in building a common foundation to span expertise levels and for engaging students across entry and advanced levels. Training impacts peaked during year four with cumulative implementation of revised strategies. Innovative training revisions and inclusion of critical elements was strongly linked to program satisfaction and ratings of advances in technical, professional and career skills as well as post-training carry over into trainees’ own research and leadership in their labs and careers. Furthermore, this training collaboration and partnership provided the foundation and training model for the newly funded NSF Engineering Research Center for Precision Microbiome Engineering (PreMiEr) for work in the critical area of engineering the microbiome in built environments.more » « less
-
null (Ed.)Although engineering graduates are well prepared in the technical aspects of engineering, it is widely acknowledged that there is a need for a greater understanding of the socio-economic contexts in which they will practice their profession. The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) reinforces the critical role that engineers should play in addressing both problems and opportunities that are technical, social, economic, and political in nature in solving the grand challenges. This paper provides an overview of a nascent effort to address this educational need. Through a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded program, a team of researchers at West Virginia University has launched a Holistic Engineering Project Experience (HEPE). This undergraduate course provides the opportunity for engineering students to work with social science students from the fields of economics and strategic communication on complex and open-ended transportation engineering problems. This course involves cross-disciplinary teams working under diverse constraints of real-world social considerations, such as economic impacts, public policy concerns, and public perception and outreach factors, considering the future autonomous transportation systems. The goal of the HEPE platform is for engineering students to have an opportunity to build non-technical—but highly in-demand—professional skills that promote collaboration with others involved in the socio-economic context of engineering matters. Conversely, the HEPE approach provides an opportunity for non-engineering students to become exposed to key concepts and practices in engineering. This paper outlines the initial implementation of the HEPE program, by placing the effort in context of broader trends in education, by outlining the overall purposes of the program, discussing the course design and structure, reviewing the learning experience and outcomes assessment process, and providing preliminary results of a baseline survey that gauges students interests and attitudes towards collaborative and interdisciplinary learning.more » « less
-
The National Science Foundation’s funded ($625,179) SPIRIT: Scholarship Program Initiative via Recruitment, Innovation, and Transformation at Western Carolina University creates a new approach to the recruitment, retention, education, and placement of academically talented and financially needy engineering and engineering technology students. Twenty-Seven new and continuing students were recruited into horizontally and vertically integrated cohorts that will be nurtured and developed in a Project Based Learning (PBL) community characterized by extensive faculty mentoring, fundamental and applied undergraduate research, hands-on design projects, and industry engagement. Our horizontal integration method creates sub-cohorts with same-year students from different disciplines (electrical, mechanical, etc.) to work in an environment that reflects how engineers work in the real world. Our vertical integration method enables sub-cohorts from different years to work together on different stages of projects in a PBL setting. The objectives of the SPIRIT program will ensure an interdisciplinary environment that enhances technical competency through learning outcomes that seek to improve critical skills such as intentional learning, problem solving, teamwork, management, interpersonal communications, and leadership. Support for the student scholars participating in this program incorporates several existing support services offered by the host institution and school, including a university product development center. This paper will discuss several aspects of the program including participant selection and initial cohort demographics; implementation of the vertical-based cohort model in PBL; program and student assessment models; and associated student activities and artifact collection used to foster student success in the program and after graduation. Successful implementation of the SPIRIT program will create a replicable model that will broadly impact 21st century engineering education and workforce preparedness.more » « less
-
null (Ed.)The role of modern engineers as problem-definer often require collaborating with cross-disciplinary teams of professionals to understand and effectively integrate the role of other disciplines and accelerate innovation. To prepare future engineers for this emerging role, undergraduate engineering students should engage in collaborative and interdisciplinary activities with faculties and students from various disciplines (e.g., engineering and social science). Such cross-disciplinary experiences of undergraduate engineering students are not common in today’s university curriculum. Through a project funded by the division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) of the National Science Foundation (NSF), a research team of the West Virginia University developed and offered a Holistic Engineering Project Experience (HEPE) to the engineering students. Holistic engineering is an approach catering to the overall engineering profession, instead of focusing on any distinctive engineering discipline such as electrical, civil, chemical, or mechanical engineering. Holistic Engineering is based upon the fact that the traditional engineering courses do not offer sufficient non-technical skills to the engineering students to work effectively in cross-disciplinary social problems (e.g., development of transportation systems and services). The Holistic Engineering approach enables engineering students to learn non-engineering skills (e.g., strategic communication skills) beyond engineering math and sciences, which play a critical role in solving complex 21st-century engineering problems. The research team offered the HEPE course in Spring 2020 semester, where engineering students collaborated with social science students (i.e., students from economics and strategic communication disciplines) to solve a contemporary, complex, open-ended transportation engineering problem with social consequences. Social science students also received the opportunity to develop a better understanding of technical aspects in science and engineering. The open ended problem presented to the students was to “Restore and Improve Urban Infrastructure” in connection to the future deployment of connected and autonomous vehicles, which is identified as a grand challenge by the National Academy of Engineers (NAE) [1].more » « less
