The Role of Projects in a Mechanical Engineering Design Curriculum

The inclusion of required projects having specific characteristics into an engineering curriculum has been found to be of significant help in increasing the industrial readiness of the engineering student. Projects, whose goal it is to teach a balanced concept of design expose the student to the effects of manufactureability, time constraints, and material constraints on basic product design and cost. It has been found that if several student groups are assigned the same project and put in a competitive situation, further incentive is produced in addition to the students learning to work together, to compromise their thoughts, and finally, to become of one mind in accomplishing their project goal.