Education Commons^™

Understanding Professional Skills In Engineering Education: A Phenomenographic Study Of Faculty Conceptions, Una Beagon, Brian Bowe

Articles

Abstract Background Globalization and socially complex problems will greatly affect the way engineers work in the future. Therefore, efforts to transform engineering education must focus on professional skills and engagement of faculty as key change agents.

Purpose/Hypotheses For engineering programs to address the needs of society, graduates must have the skills to tackle future challenges. Transformation will only be successful if faculty fully engage in all curriculum design aspects; however, little is known about how faculty view professional skills. This understanding is critical if we wish to support and encourage their participation in the transformation effort. This novel study reveals …

Interpreting Multi-Stage Teaching And Learning Initiatives For Mechanical Engineering Students - A Knowledge Management Perspective For Students, Kevin Delaney, Ger Nagle, Mingzhu Chen

Conference papers

Encouraging students to “think differently”, to “think like an engineer”, to “just solve the problem” is challenging and depends upon many factors such as the prior learning and experiences of the particular students involved. Sometimes it is difficult to convince students to really engage with activities outside their own comfort zones if they cannot see the potential benefits that might accrue through such engagement.

This paper describes a paradigm, inspired by knowledge management, which the authors have used to explain the importance of engaging with teaching and learning activities to undergraduate students. More importantly it helps these students to understand …

Application Of Competitive Intelligence For Insular Territories: Automatic Analysis Of Scientific And Technology Trends To Fight The Negative Effects Of Climate Change, Henri Dou, Pierre Fournie

International Journal of Islands Research

Islands are fragile territories because of their geographical position. As a result, climate impacts can have serious consequences, of which some are irreversible. Therefore, it is necessary to allow insular territories to benefit from the latest scientific and technological advances in combating climate effects. The current article shows how to deal with automatic analysis of scientific information on the one hand, but also its applications via patents. We will analyse the latest scientific results as well as their possible applications using patent analysis. We will also focus on experts, laboratories, and leading companies, that are active on the field. The …

What The Post-Coronavirus University Will Look Like, Thomas Power

Articles

The opportunity of a crisis is that it forces an industry to re-examine its policies and practices. Since the coronavirus pandemic university leadership teams have been forced to re-examine its policies and practices on teaching, learning, research and funding.

Share Buybacks And Income Inequality, Thomas Power

Articles

Should you care what companies do with their profits? Two U.S. democratic senators, Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders, in an article in the New York Times, argue that we should all care because what companies do with their profits can damage the economy and jobs.

Exploring The Curricular Content Of Engineering Ethics Education In Ireland, Diana Adela Martin, Eddie Conlon, Brian Bowe

Conference papers

Our contribution aims to determine the main curricular themes employed in engineering ethics instruction. In the use of the term `curricular content", the study is guided by an understanding of curriculum in terms of the syllabus content of a specific discipline or set of units taught to students. The research study has been conducted in cooperation with the national accrediting body Engineers Ireland and includes 23 Engineering programmes from 6 institutions in Ireland that underwent accreditation between 2017-2019. The research method employed is a documentary analysis of the materials prepared by the programmes for accreditation or made available on the …

The Expanding Business Of The Entrepreneurial University: Job Creation, Mike Murphy, Michael Dyrenfurth

Books/Book chapters

This chapter explores the role of universities in job creation. It does this by taking two approaches. The first is to look at how the university sees its role as expanding from traditional first and second mission activities to encompass third mission activities including industry engagement and how this supports job creation and economic development. The second approach is to examine how new jobs are created in a geographic region or country, and the role that the university can play in support of this. Typical third mission activities such as incubators, technology transfer, and science parks are also examined; including …

The Development Of A Psychometric Test Aimed At Aligning Students To A Range Of Professional Roles, Darren Brian Carthy, Brian Bowe, Kevin Gaughan

Conference papers

Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), working as part of the PREFER project, a European commission funded project, have developed a psychometric test in order to better align engineering students to three distinct professional roles within industry. This paper reports on the development process of the test, which took place between February and August of 2018.

Linking Geospatial Engineering Into Collaborative Multidisciplinary Bim Projects - An Educational Perspective, Avril Behan, Helen Murray, Jonathan Argue, Ronan Hogan, Audrey Martin, Pat O'Sullivan, Robert Moore, Malachy Mathews

Conference papers

This paper describes the background to and execution of a postgraduate project undertaken by students on DIT's MSc in Geospatial Engineering (GeoEng) in support of a project on level 2 BIM being undertaken by students on the MSc in applied Building Information Modelling & Management (aBIMM) around the retrofit of and new build extension to the Grangegorman Clock Tower Building. In support of this requirement, an external and internal survey of the existing structure and its surrounding topography was required. The aBIMM students and staff acted as the Design Team who subcontracted the Geo Eng group who were organised into …

Cultural Change Through Bim: Driving Lean Transformation In Education, Avril Behan, Malachy Mathews, Kevin Furlong, Ciara Ahern, Una Beagon, Peter Brennan, Colin Conway, Lee Corcoran, Pierce Fahy, Alan Hore, Barry Mcauley, Trevor Woods

Conference papers

This paper presents a case study of how the adoption of BIM-based practices in the AECO industry is being reflected by cultural change in higher education in Ireland. The silo-mentality that has dominated the AECO sector for more than a century has, despite numerous reorganisations, been replicated in the structures of educational institutions, including in Dublin Institute of Technology since the inception of its founding colleges in the late 1800s. Most AECO programmes must include content that is external to the programme’s specific discipline. Through the School structures of the Institute, delivery of such content is known as "service teaching" …

Bridging The Gap Between Engineering Workforce Needs And Student Engagement, Eileen Goold

Stream 2: Curriculum

This paper is inspired by the development of the proposed new technological university in Dublin; TU4Dublin is to become “Dublin’s Globally Engaged University” and is to be located at the nexus between learning and engagement (TU4Dublin, 2015). This study investigates engineering education in the context of career focused education. The main objective of this study is to investigate whether engineering students’ cognitive engagement benefits from bridging the gap between technical issues and the practical realities of modern engineering practice. A portfolio of engineering practice illustrating the practical realities of modern engineering practice in the context of Engineers Ireland’s competencies is …

Dit-Topcon Internship Experience, Audrey Martin, Abigail Iversen

Articles

The Technological University Dublin (DIT: http://www.dit.ie/) is one of the largest Higher Education Institutes in Ireland, with 20,000 students registered and over 2000 members of staff. It has been providing technological higher education for over one hundred and twenty years encompassing the full spectrum of Third Level programmes. During that time the Institute's alumni have played important roles in technical and scientific innovation, economic and social development and culture and education both in Ireland and internationally.

The CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems Inc., Ray O’Connor is a DIT School of Surveying alumnus and in October 2013 Ray visited his …

Analysing The Impact Of Digital Photography Projects On Student Engagement And Performance In A Higher Education Engineering Discipline, Michael Gleeson

Conference papers

Developing and implementing engaging activities aligned with the learning outcomes of a module within a higher education programme is essential to successful teaching practice in the 21^st century. Substantial research evidence indicates that student engagement plays a pivotal role in the academic performance and success of the student. The aim of this research is to compare student performance after adopting an alternative pedagogic approach utilising digital photography as a tool to engage the student in an engineering discipline. The activity was designed to promote student engagement by integrating digital photography, replicating authentic construction professional practice and focusing on images …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of A Problem-Based Computer Modelling Module From The Student's Perspective, Garrett Keane, Brian Bowe

Conference papers

The Computer Modelling module delivered to the third year Level 8 Mechanical Engineering students in the Technological University Dublin is marked completely by continual assessment. It was developed using a problem based approach in that the theory of Computer Modelling methods is first explained but is then illustrated by demonstrating its application to the solution of real life problems. It is delivered in a traditional manner for the first six weeks in that the underlying principles and techniques of the finite difference method are covered in lectures and practical assignments are completed in the weekly computer laboratory classes. A problem …

What Role Does Mathematical Preparedness Play For Engineering Students Who Transfer From And Ordinary Degree Into An Honours Degree?, Michael Carr, Marisa Llorens, Susan O'Shaughnessy, Anne Marie Mccarrick, Domhnall Sheridan

Conference papers

Students who have not achieved a high level of mathematics at secondary school but have a pass in ordinary level mathematics have the option of entering onto a 3-year Ordinary degree (Level 7). Upon successful completion of this award students may apply to progress to the third year of the Honours degree. Up until relatively recently an upper merit (60%) was the minimum required to make this transition. In recent years this requirement has been reduced with many students with lower marks being offered the possibility of transferring.

Relatively little work has been done on the transition from an Ordinary …

Phenomenology And Hermeneutic Phenomenology: The Philosophy, The Methodologies And Using Hermeneutic Phenomenology To Investigate Lecturers' Experiences Of Curriculum Design, Arthur Sloan, Brian Bowe

Articles

This article investigates the philosophy of phenomenology, continuing to examine and describe it as a methodology. There are different methods of phenomenology, divided by their different perspectives of what phenomenology is: largely grouped into the two types of descriptive and interpretive phenomenology. The focal methodology is hermeneutic phenomenology – one type of phenomenological methodology among interpretive phenomenological methodologies. The context for phenomenology and the location of hermeneutic phenomenology is explained through its historic antecedents. When using phenomenology as a methodology there are criteria for data gathering and data analysis and examples of these are cited in this paper. Also in …

A Model For Transforming Engineering Education Through Group Learning, Shannon Chance, Gavin Duffy, Brian Bowe, Mike Murphy, Tony Duggan

Conference papers

Electrical engineering educators at Technological University Dublin (DIT) have successfully implemented pedagogical change. They now use group-based, student-centered and inquiry-driven approaches to teach emerging engineers. The objective of this was to foster students’ personal as well as professional skills (i.e., teamwork, communication, self-directed learning, etc.). This paper explores how such change was achieved and provides graphic models that draw from prior phenomenological studies and incorporates aspects of Rogers’ (1962) product adoption curve and Lowe’s (2012) interpretations of it.

Developing A Collaborative Virtual Learning Environment Between Students In Cross Disciplines In The Built Environment., Fiacra Mcdonnell, Ruairi Hayden

Articles

Integrated Project Delivery is a rapidly developing approach to Design and Construction.This approach uses business structures, new technologies, and newly developing practices to collaboratively utilise the talents and contributions of all participants in the Design and Construction process.This project replicated this approach by creating a collaborative project between the School of Construction and the School of Real Estate and Construction Economics. The term “collaborative learning” refers to a method of delivery in which students at various performance levels work together in small groups towards a common goal. The students were responsible for one another’s learning as well as their own. …

Participants Perspective Of The Fas Redundant Placement Scheme, Maurice Collins, Robert Morris

Conference papers

The aim of this study is to gather and analyze feedback from participants of a scheme which was put in place in the early stages of the Irish economic recession to provide work placements to redundant Apprentices. As part of the research for this paper a series of qualitative interviews were conducted with partipancts of the FAS Redundant Apprentice Placement Scheme (RAPS). FAS is the authoriity which organises and administers the Statutory Apprentice Scheme in Ireland.The scheme detailed in this study was put in place to aid Apprentices who has been made redundant, to complete phases 3,5 and 7 of …

Learning From Learning Groups, Mike Murphy, S. M. Chance, Gavin Duffy, Brian Bowe

Articles

Collaborative learning is a key, and complementary, component of student-centred enquiry-based pedagogy. Today, many educators understand that students learn effectively when working together with their peers to construct new knowledge. Many teachers are working to help their students develop such ability. Teachers do this to help students better understand the relevance of new content, connect new ideas into existing frameworks of understanding, and construct new neurological pathways and connect synapses in their brains. In addition, group learning has been shown to increase students’ critical thinking skills, creativity, collaborative behaviours, understanding of ethics, and the like. In the literature, attention has …

Examining The Role Of The University In Creating Jobs, Mike Murphy, Michael Dyrenfurth

Articles

This paper begins by setting out the rationale for why today’s university must be involved with job creation in terms of institutional mission and global competitiveness. We present a review of recent literature, from both sides of the Atlantic, regarding universities, technology and science parks and job creation. Measuring the impact of university actions is reviewed in terms of general criteria, impact of incubators, and where jobs are being created. A case study of Silicon Valley is reviewed as well as a discussion of roles that government might play. The paper concludes with the presentation of findings from the literature …

The Measurement Of Success In External Engagement Activities, Mike Murphy

Conference papers

Our ambition is to identify, through the presentations and the discussion, a number of key insights and necessary actions for development of more and deeper partnerships between Higher Education Institutions and Employers.

A Doctoral Thesis Examining Change In A Hei In Ireland: Changing Universities And The Response Of Academics To Change In The Dublin Institute Of Technology, Kevin Kelly

Books/Book chapters

This is doctoral thesis undertaken by an experienced academic in the Engineering Faculty of a Higher Education Institute in Ireland. It examines the demand for universities to change in response to a fast changing external environment. This research explores how stakeholders are responding to the demands for change and how a bureaucratic organisation is attempting to become more responsive and innovative.

The Application Of Web 2.0 Technologies As An Experimental Method Of Teaching Remote Sensing At Dit, Ireland, Avril Behan

Conference Papers

This paper describes the implementation of an experimental method of delivery for a module of remote sensing material to second year students on the BSc (Hons) in Geomatics at the Dublin Institute of Technology. The project began as a reaction to poor levels of student engagement and unsatisfactory grades, as well as the requirement to focus more on real-world type problems due to the implementation of a work-placement semester for third year students. Both pedagogical considerations (movement towards formative feedback, interactivity and group-based work) and the effect of technological drivers, such as the popularity of the internet in general and …

An Integrated Approach To The Teaching Of Numerical Methods To Engineering Students, Garrett Keane, Michael Carr, Patrick Carroll

Conference papers

In Technological University Dublin, historically, numerical methods were taught to engineering students using a format of traditional mathematics lectures, to a large class group consisting of students from five different engineering disciplines, complemented by small class tutorials. Assessment was by a single, written exam only.

In order to improve the overall effectiveness of the students’ learning experience, it was deemed beneficial to also introduce practical computing classes in which the students would be required to apply the general mathematical methods covered in lectures to discipline-specific examples.

Three different practical computing assignments were devised for the students to undertake, and 20% …

Preparation And Accreditation Of Level 7 Engineering Programmes, Mark Mcgrath

Conference Papers

Accreditation of 3^rd level educational programmes by a suitably recognised professional body is of particular relevance in relation to engineering. The completion of a sequence of modules which leads to the attainment of this professionally recognised award is viewed as integral to the undertaking. The engineering technology fields are developing and expanding rapidly and the third level sector must keep abreast of these changes. This is essential if the third level institutions wish to continue delivering programmes which produce graduates who can successfully complete the transition from 3rd. Level to the various engineering sectors.

This paper outlines various aspects …

Reinventing A Level 7 Programme In Electrical Engineering And Greatly Improving On Student Retention, Eugene Coyle, Mike Murphy, Frank Costello, Leslie Shoemaker

Books/Book chapters

Following the successful implementation over a number of decades of a three-year Diploma in Electrical and Control Engineering at Technological University Dublin, the programme entered a period of extreme difficulty and uncertainty in the late nineteen ninetees and early years of the new millennium. As with many such engineering programmes, student numbers seeking to enter began to diminish. Furthermore, engagement and retention of students who had enrolled on the programme became evermore challenging, necessitating some radical moves in the formation and operation of the programme and in putting additional student support mechanisms in place. The situation hit rock bottom between …