Optimizing the Undergraduate Engineering Curriculum
Advisor
Dr. Lilianny Virgüez
Department
Engineering Education
Project Dates
February 2024 - Present
Research Focus
Undergraduate engineering programs face challenges in aligning with the professional expectations of entry level engineering positions. The engineering industry has experienced exponential growth in recent years due to technological advancements, yet the undergraduate engineering curriculum has remained largely the same. The increase in the number of annual graduating engineers has prompted a need for adaptations in traditional teaching methods to accommodate a larger volume of students. However, this influx of students poses a pertinent question: how can the undergraduate engineering curriculum be revised to make each course a valuable learning experience for all students without compromising rigor and accessibility?
Responsibilities
I will leverage LinkedIn, a prominent online recruiting platform, in order to analyze the professional skill requirements for entry-level engineering positions. I will be using Microsoft Excel to catalog each job posting. I will break down each requested professional skill into a broader category in order to identify professional skill trends. I will utilize these results to make informed changes to an undergraduate engineering course in order to align course delivery with industry expectations.
Solution
Because of the broadness of the mechanical engineering field, exploring the professional skill requirements for entry-level mechanical engineering jobs is a pathway to addressing this pressing concern. This assessment involves scrutinizing professional skill requirements from a variety of mechanical engineering entry-level job postings sourced from a prominent online recruiting platform. Furthermore, an undergraduate electrical engineering course offered by a public university in the southeast United States will be optimized in order to address technical and professional requirements. Aligning coursework with the evolving demands of the engineering industry allows future engineers to be equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to tackle the complex challenges of our time. Thus, the revisions made to the undergraduate engineering curriculum have the potential to create a more sustainable world and a prosperous future for humanity.