At GMI, three conditions reduce the effectiveness of how we deliver the engineering design process, especially in capstone design courses: 1) fragmented approach to teaching design 2)short quarter system (11 weeks of instruction), and 3) alternating work and study terms required by, and essential to GMI's cooperative education program. Like GMI, many institutions of higher learning teach various steps of a typical design cycle from problem identification to functional prototype. This teaching process is often loosely supervised by faculty due to physical dispersion of resources and also traditional classroom environments. As a result, students do not learn the design process as an "holistic" and interdisciplinary activity. Additionally, institutions which face GMI's challenge of short access to students rarely have enough time to carry out the design process beyond a "paper" concept. It is proposed to set up a design environment called "Total Design Studio" which brings all necessary tools for conducting a complete design cycle under one roof. Unlike traditional classroom settings, the layout of the studio is carefully manipulated to be conducive to creative design activities. A few key technologies are requested via this proposal. These are coupled with a curriculum change that can serve as a role model for schools faced with similar time restrictions as GMI. Five capstone design courses, collectively taken by more than 60% of GMI's engineering students, will be spread over three terms one of which is an off-site work term. This will require integration of internet and multi-media tools into these courses. To date, we have spent about $60,000 to prepare the physical environment for the Design Studio. Also, three industrial contributors have offered $80,000 (cash and gifts in kind) as further support. We will inform the educational community as to the impact of the requested technologies and the proposed curriculum changes on our effectiveness in teaching engineering design.
