Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre

The winner of  the Engineering Subject Centre’s 2011 Teaching Awards, sponsored by the Engineering Council, has now been announced.

Overall Winner 2011

Dr Esat Alpay (Imperial College London), for his case study titled ‘Student engagement in engineering ethics’

Ethics teaching in engineering can be problematic because of student perceptions of its “woolly”, “obvious” or “trivial” nature. The use of discipline-specific case studies and anecdotes has helped to address such perceptions. However, approaches are also needed which help develop the critical thinking necessary for ethical decision making, give an appreciation of the practical value of some ethical frameworks, and enthuse students to continuously reflect on ethical issues in their discipline area, studies, and life occurrences. In courses recently developed at Imperial for first year engineering students, a novel teaching approach is used to ask students to undertake the design of a method, activity or resource for further engaging their peers in ethics. Students work in their personal tutorial groups, with input from their personal tutor. The preparatory work of the lectures, and the design nature of the assessment activity, has led to a process of ethics teaching-resource development which is student-inspired and has wide academic staff engagement.

Teaching Award Finalists 2011

Greg Rowsell (Harper Adams University), for ‘Professional engineering design skills development’

Investigating the transformation of the Engineering Design curriculum at Harper Adams University College to one which: (1) models professional practice and prepares students to be workplace-ready with transferable skills (team-working, communication, time management) and technical design skills; (2) substitutes traditional, classroom learning with a major design challenge, supported by a combination of online reusable learning objects (RLOs) and tutors who,  rather than information deliverers, take the role of senior, professional design reviewers and advisors to student teams; (3) culminates in a thrilling competition which tests the manufactured designs of human powered vehicles.

John Mills (University of Southampton), with ‘Blended learning for foundation engineering students’

In 2009/10 Mr Mills implemented a system of ‘blended-learning’ on the module, which consequently now includes a combination of electronic and face-to-face teaching and learning methodologies. In particular, the weekly problem class, where students have traditionally been required to work through a problem set under the supervision of post-graduate teaching assistants has been targeted for improvement. In designing the new teaching and learning structure, John was mindful of producing a system that enhanced rather than replaced current provision.

Dr Elies Dekoninck (University of Bath), for her case study ‘Boosting creativity, design and prototyping skills for engineering innovation’

Looking at the activities and deliverables used in a final year masters-level design unit that builds on solid engineering fundamentals whilst enthusing and developing students' passion for design innovation. The students work on their own open-ended design brief for a whole academic year. The teaching methodology is based on methods used in Product- and Industrial- Design courses. The unit is based in a studio setting where new design skills are introduced and creative brainstorming takes place. Design work is reviewed and critiqued in peer-group sessions and students are assessed through deliverables such as: design concept work and prototype deliverables.

Peter Green (University of Manchester), for ‘Microcontroller themed engineering education'

The Microcontroller Engineering theme blends a range of teaching methodologies (action learning, project based learning and open enquiry) to support students in transitioning from pre-university learning styles to the creative problem solving expected of practising engineers. The relevance of this theme in modern electronics can not be overstated – microcontrollers provide the ‘intelligence’ in virtually all personal communication, navigation and entertainment systems. A partnership with one the world’s leading microcontroller manufacturers, Microchip Inc, has ensured that our teaching in this technology-driven subject remains relevant.

The Engineering Subject Centre 2011 Teaching Award is supported by the Engineering Council.