Integrating Undergraduate Learning in Engineering and Business to Improve Manufacturing Education

将工程和商业本科学习相结合以改善制造教育

• 批准号: 2021303
• 负责人: Faisal Aqlan
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-10-01 至 2022-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2021303&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Integrating; Undergraduate; Learning; Engineering; Business

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving undergraduate manufacturing education. Manufacturing contributes enormously to the U.S. and world economy, including through creation of high paying jobs. This project intends to improve manufacturing education by helping undergraduate students develop a system view of manufacturing. Successful delivery of a new product to market involves a series of steps that include design, construction, implementation, and management. Although companies understand this big picture, engineering and business graduates often fail to realize the connection between these key steps. This lack of understanding stems in part from the failure of undergraduate engineering and business education programs to connect these steps in their curricula. To address this gap, this project will develop learning modules for different stages of product development that will emphasize the inter-dependencies between the stages of the product life cycle. Each learning module will include design, process, system, and business components and feature modeling, simulation-based learning, virtual reality, and hands-on experiences. These modules will be integrated into engineering (industrial, mechanical, and electrical) and business (management information science) courses. It is expected that this approach will enable students to better understand product manufacturing as an interdependent system, as well as improve problem-solving and decision-making skills. The project has three specific aims: 1) Design a set of cohesive learning modules that introduce key manufacturing stages, from product design to information systems; 2) Cultivate students’ system thinking skills as they simulate the complete product cycle, and critique and reflect on product design to remove downstream constraints; and 3) Use simulation and modeling activities to help students recognize and engage in interdisciplinary collaboration that leads to development of professional skills. Product design will focus on graphical, analytical. and computer modeling of a new product (a bicycle), taking into consideration aesthetics, ergonomics, dynamics, and mechanical properties. Based on their product design, students will select manufacturing materials and processes to successfully produce the components that make up the product. They will then model a manufacturing system comprised of the required technology and labor. Finally, they will use information systems, including a modern Enterprise Resource Planning system, to demonstrate how to manage and execute an integrated process to procure materials, manufacture components, and deliver the product to the end consumer. Following pilot testing and iterative refinement, the modules will be integrated into an interdisciplinary curriculum in project life cycle management. A quasi-experimental design will be used to investigate the impact of the new curriculum on the decision-making processes of students from diverse educational backgrounds. This project has the potential to educate future engineers who can apply advanced modeling methods and working with supporting information systems and technology, thus contributing to the quality of the nation’s STEM workforce. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目旨在通过改善本科生制造业教育来服务于国家利益，包括通过创造高薪就业机会来为美国和世界经济做出巨大贡献。该项目旨在通过帮助本科生形成制造业的系统观来改善制造业教育。成功地将新产品推向市场涉及一系列步骤，包括设计、构建、实施和管理，尽管公司了解这一大局，但工程和商业毕业生往往无法意识到这些关键步骤之间的联系。部分源于本科工程学的失败为了解决这一差距，该项目将为产品开发的不同阶段开发学习模块，强调产品生命周期各个阶段之间的相互依赖性。设计、流程、系统和业务组件以及特征建模、基于模拟的学习、虚拟现实和实践经验这些模块将集成到工程（工业、机械和电气）和商业（管理信息科学）课程中。预计这种方法将使学生能够更好地理解产品制造作为一个相互依赖的系统，并提高解决问题和决策的能力 该项目有三个具体目标：1）设计一套内聚学习模块，介绍从产品设计到信息系统的关键制造阶段。 2）培养学生模拟完整产品周期的系统思维能力，批判和反思产品设计以消除下游限制；3）利用模拟和建模活动帮助学生认识和参与跨学科合作，从而促进产品的发展；产品设计将侧重于专业技能。基于新产品（自行车）的图形、分析和计算机建模，考虑到美学、人体工程学、动力学和机械特性，学生将选择制造材料和工艺来成功生产制造组件。然后，他们将对由所需技术和劳动力组成的制造系统进行建模，最后，他们将使用信息系统（包括现代企业资源规划系统）来演示如何管理和执行采购材料、制造的集成流程。组件，并将产品交付到最后经过试点测试和迭代完善，这些模块将被整合到项目生命周期管理的跨学科课程中，将使用准实验设计来研究新课程对来自不同背景的学生的决策过程的影响。该项目有潜力培养未来的工程师，使他们能够应用先进的建模方法并使用支持信息系统和技术，从而提高国家 STEM 劳动力的质量。 NSF IUSE：EHR 计划支持研究和开发项目提高效率通过“参与式学生学习”轨道，该计划支持所有学生的 STEM 教育，支持有前途的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和能力进行评估，被认为值得支持。更广泛的影响审查标准。