Convergence and translation: attitudes to inter-professional learning and teaching of creative problem-solving among medical and engineering students and staff

Introduction: Sleep is essential for mental health of all ages. Sleep deprivation leads to cognitive disturbances, behavioural changes, fatigue and even accidents. Internet addiction is an individual's inability to control their use of internet causing disturbances and impairment in social and personal commitments. Engineering and medical students are the major groups of society suffering from abnormal sleep and Internet addiction leading to poor academic performance. The aim of this study was to compare sleep quality and Internet addiction among Medical and Engineering students during their first academic year in Eastern India. Materials and methods: It was a Descriptive, Epidemiological, Institution based Cross-sectional study. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Internet Addiction test Questionnaire were administered to young healthy medical and engineering students at three different stages of first professional year to measure sleep quality and internet addiction. Results: Poor sleep was found to be prevalent in 55% of the participants, in all the 3 phases of the year with a considerable proportion (45%) reporting Mild Internet addiction. Both Medical and Engineering students had the poorest sleep quality just before their examination, whereas the best quality of sleep was experienced at the middle of the year. The Medical students experienced worse quality of sleep compared to their Engineering counterparts. Conclusion: A high prevalence of poor sleep quality and Mild Internet Addiction was found among undergraduate students in Medicine and Engineering. Higher sleep disturbances were found among medical students than Engineering peers. Students should be targeted with Counselling programs with goal of sleep improvement.

Objectives: Depression amongst undergraduates has been widely reported, however its correlates have been inadequately identified. Furthermore, a comparison, between the two most stressful curriculum is lacking. We aimed to highlight the prevalence and predictors associated with depression in Undergraduate Medical and Engineering students, with the hope of guiding mental health experts to implement policies that would benefit said individuals. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in two institutes of Lahore, Pakistan namely Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Medical College, and University of Engineering and Technology, in 2013. A structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to segregate the predictors associated with depression, and Beck’s Depression Inventory II was used to diagnose depression. Results: The overall response rate was 94.7%. Among the 451 responders, 87 were clinically depressed with a mean BDI-II score of 28.72 ± 5.144. The difference in prevalence amongst the two, 22.5% for Engineering and 15.0% for Medical was statistically significant (P = 0.047, 95% Confidence Interval). There was, however no significant difference in the severity of depression or gender preponderance. Using Binomial Logistical Regression Analysis the predictors found to be associated with depression irrespective of gender and institute were ‘always observed arguments between parents’, ‘loved ones taking drugs’, ‘college discontentment’, ‘always feeling like daily workload is too much’, ‘never feeling satisfied with academic performance’, ‘sometimes feeling someone else is being favoured academically’, ‘difficulty meeting parents’ expectations’, ‘always feeling bullied’, ‘always felt socially isolated’. Predictors more significant in Medical students were ‘not satisfied with living environment’, ‘career-personal life conflict’, ‘college discontentment’, and ‘always feeling bullied’. For Engineering students, ‘dropping out of college’ , ‘not being satisfied with hair’, ‘always felt socially isolated’, ‘recent breakup’, and ‘sexual abuse’ were significant. Conclusion: The results identify possibly modifiable psychosocial and academic predictors of depression which need to be further addressed through prospective studies.

Caffeine consumption is highly prevalent among college students, particularly during periods of academic stress, owing to its perceived psychoactive benefits such as enhanced alertness and concentration. However, regular intake may lead to dependency and associated adverse health effects. This study explored the prevalence, sources, patterns of caffeine consumption, and awareness of its effects and withdrawal symptoms among medical and engineering students in Belagavi city, Karnataka, India. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 640 students, including 320 medical and 320 engineering students, selected through random sampling. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire assessing caffeine consumption habits, sources, awareness, and withdrawal experiences, and analyzed using SPSS with statistical significance set at P ≤ 0.05. The findings revealed a high prevalence of caffeine consumption among both medical (92.5%) and engineering students (92.2%). The mean daily caffeine intake was higher among engineering students (232.9 mg) compared to medical students (186.3 mg), with coffee identified as the primary source. A considerable proportion of students, particularly medical students (74%), reported increased consumption during examination periods compared to engineering students (31.1%). Withdrawal symptoms, including difficulty concentrating and irritability, were commonly reported by both groups upon cessation attempts. Despite awareness of potential negative effects, caffeine consumption remained widespread, especially during academically stressful periods. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to regulate caffeine intake and improve awareness regarding its potential for dependence among college students.

Background: Undergraduate students, especially those in medical and engineering fields, face significant academic pressures coupled with other stressors which makes them susceptible to mental distress, including anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances. Objective: To assess and compare mental distress among undergraduate medical and engineering students and factors affecting it. Materials and Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 students (150 each from medical and engineering colleges of Delhi, India. Data was collected using a structured online questionnaire, which included demographic details and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) to assess mental distress. Results: We observed that 61.3% of participants were likely to have some sort of stress disorder, with higher prevalence in medical students (62.7%) than in engineering students (60%). Longer sleep latency was significantly associated with moderate to severe stress disorders (p < 0.001). Association of gender with mental distress was also found to be significant (p value= 0.022). Conclusions: Medical students were more prone to severe stress disorders compared to engineering students. Prolonged sleep latency was a strong predictor of psychological distress. Early intervention and mental health support are essential for improving student well-being.

Technological innovation and entrepreneurship contribute significantly to the U.S. economy. U.S. colleges and universities contribute to this technological innovation through, for example, entrepreneurship education programs for undergraduate engineering students. In order to design these programs and related courses, however, there is a critical need to better understand engineering students' career choices, personal characteristics, and contextual factors that may be related to innovation and entrepreneurship, especially as how these compare with those among their peers in business, where the bulk of entrepreneurship education historically has been offered. There also is a need to understand similarities and differences in entrepreneurship-related characteristics by gender, given research suggesting a gender gap in entrepreneurial pathways. This study is designed to address these topics. The participants were 518 engineering and 471 business undergraduate students from 51 U.S. universities and colleges who took the Young Entrepreneurs Study (YES) survey in 2012. The results indicate that, in general, engineering students have lower entrepreneurial intent than do business students, and women have lower entrepreneurial intent than do men among both engineering and business students. Compared with their counterparts in business, engineering students also rated themselves less positively on several personal characteristics that are related to entrepreneurship, have less interaction with mentors, and have been less involved in entrepreneurship activities and extra-curricular activities. Implications for pedagogy and practice, including those in multidisciplinary classrooms, are discussed.

This paper combines two bodies of engineering education work aimed at improving the undergraduate engineering classroom experience for industrial and mechanical engineering students. The integration of these two bodies of work has led researchers to propose a framework for maximizing undergraduate engineering student motivation, satisfaction, and performance. The “Interact, Cultivate, Deliver” or I-C-D methodology has been shown to significantly increase undergraduate industrial engineering student ratings of teaching effectiveness when compared to industrial engineering courses where the I-C-D methodology is not formally implemented. Decreasing student anxiety while improving student self-recognition, cognitive value, and intrinsic value have been shown to be the driving factors behind student motivation among undergraduate mechanical engineering students. Along with discussing the results of both studies, an optimal teaching methodology dubbed “Interact, Cultivate, Deliver, Motivate” or I-C-D-M methodology is proposed to maximize student motivation and satisfaction leading to increased engineering student retention and performance.

The Science and Engineering Project Center at Seattle University, in partnership with sponsoring businesses and government agencies in the Puget Sound region, provides all undergraduate engineering students with experience working on real-world design problems. During their senior year, students work in teams on projects proposed by the sponsors, developing skills in project planning and management, team building, and technical applications. The Real-Time Environmental Monitoring Project conducted by electrical and environmental engineering students for the US Public Health Service demonstrates an interdisciplinary approach to assessment of environmental quality and associated human health problems. It also serves as a model for academic institutions in building a long-range cooperative relationship with a government agency or corporation for undergraduate education. This paper describes the technical aspects of the project as well as the steps taken to form a successful partnership between academic institutions and industry or government agencies in developing interdisciplinary design experiences for undergraduate engineering and science students.

BackgroundTwenty-first century communication has changed how we connect to the rest of the world. Therefore, it requires the preparation of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students who are capable of coping with problems on a global scale and who can participate effectively in a global economic and civic environment. Breathtaking ability to send vast amounts of data instantly and at times globally often translates to graduates entering the workforce needing to be aware of the global community. Hence, in this study, factors related to engineering students’ global awareness have been explored so that higher education institutions may consider those factors when designing programs meant to influence this competence. The current study used a validated new instrument, based on a developmental model—the Model of Domain Learning (MDL)—to gauge engineering students’ growth in global awareness. The presented research is studying the following research question: What is the relation between students’ curricular and co-curricular experiences and levels of global awareness classified using MDL?ResultsPerson-centered analyses were used to answer the research question. Four hundred twenty-five engineering students, who enrolled in 18 different engineering programs in a US land-grant university, participated in this study. The study found that engineering students’ engagement in extra-curricular activities was correlated with an increase of their knowledge, strategic processing, and interest in the domain of global awareness.ConclusionsBased on the data analysis, students’ international experiences were positively related to not only their interest and knowledge but also their strategic processing predicted by the MDL. Moreover, engineering students’ international experience and high academic engagement are important variables related to their perception of increased global awareness and improved skills for international careers. Hence, higher education institutions should consider making pedagogical interventions in their programs to effectively embed international experience into students’ curriculum.

To assess the frequency of anxiety and its coping mechanism among medical and engineering students. The comparative cross-sectional study was conducted from April to September 2023 in Faisalabad, Pakistan, and comprised students from two medical and two engineering education institutions. Within the two subsets, one was a public-sector institution and the other was in the private sector. Data was collected using Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 and Brief Cope Inventory. Data was Analysed using SPSS 27. Study subjects ranged between 17-26 years of age and 144(36%) of them were females. Of the 400 subjects, 200(50%) were medical students and the rest were engineering students uniformly representing all years of education. Also, 200(50%) responses were from private-sector institutions and the rest were from public-sector institutions. Mild anxiety was present in 220(55%) subjects, more in engineering students. Moderate anxiety was found in 98(24.5%) students, most in public-sector medical institutions. Minimal and severe anxiety were noted in 56(14%) and 26(6.50%) subjects, respectively. Medical and engineering students showed the same patterns of coping mechanisms, with planning (2.55±0.69) being the most adopted, and substance abuse (1.78±0.68) the least. Except for mild anxiety, all other groups of anxiety levels were found to be higher among medical students. In terms of coping behaviour, there was no difference between medical and engineering students.

Methods: The study randomly selected 640 students either majoring in medicine or engineering from two universities in Kyung-Gi province, Korea. Each of 320 students majoring in either of the two majors from each university was recruited. Among 640 students, 360 students, who were composed of 172 medical students and 188 engineering students was fi nally chosen for the analysis. The Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale was used to measure the depression state. Results: The average Zung depression score of university students was 49.2 ± 9.8. Medical students had a higher score of 52.4 ± 9.3 as compared to engineering students, who scored 46.3 ± 9.4. Overall depression rate was 42.8%. Medical students had a higher depression rate (52.3%) than engineering students (34.0%). The logistic analysis showed that infl uencing factors on depression state were sex, grade, major, stress and satisfactory sleep. The main source of stress for medical students was the grades from classes whereas job search was for engineering students. There were differences between the two groups in managing the stress. Medical students chose alcohol drinking or smoking for stress management whereas engineering students playing selected video games as their outlet. Conclusion: Medical students from urban areas seemed to be depressed more than engineering students. Their stress management methods among the subjects were drinking, smoking, and playing video games which may cause further physical and psychological problems in the future.

This study explores undergraduate engineering and education students’ perspectives on their interdisciplinary teams throughout the rapid transition to online learning and instruction from a face-to-face to a virtual format. In this qualitative study, students’ reflections and focus groups from three interdisciplinary collaborations were analyzed using the lens of Social Cognitive Theory. COVID-19 created a dramatic change in the environment such that the most immediate and direct impact on students’ experiences was on the environmental aspects of Bandura’s triadic reciprocal determinism model, which then triggered behavioral and personal responses to adapt to the new environment. Subsequent evidence of reciprocal effects between environmental, behavioral, and personal factors took place as students continued to adapt. Results suggest that the modifications made to transition the project fully online were meaningful experiences for students’ learning and teaching of engineering through teams. This interdisciplinary partnership provided both pre-service teachers and undergraduate engineering students with the opportunity to learn and practice content and professional skills that will be essential for success in future work environments.

Background: College students, who are in a phase of transition from adolescence to adulthood, are in the most Challenging phase of life. Stress is one of the most important determinant of health & its Prevalence of stress has varies from 53.6 to 73.5 in Indian medical students. QOL is assessed by calculating 4 domains namely Physical, Psychological, Social and Environmental domain, Rationale of the study is to Due to Competitive environment among students they are at greater risk of Stress, Depression and anxiety. Present study compares the quality of life as well as mood status of Medical and Engineering Students in MGM campus Objective: 1. To study the effect of professional course on the Quality of life and mood disorders among Undergraduate medical and engineering students. 2. To compare QOL in medical and engineering students 3. To assess the mood disorders like stress, depression, anxiety among undergraduates of medical and engineering college. 4. To study daytime sleepiness among participants. Methodology: A cross-sectional Comparative research design was adopted that includes Medical Students and Engineering Students of Mahatma Gandhi Mission Campus. 25 students of each year (1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th.) of Medical and Engineering. Inclusion Criteria: - Both genders, willing to give consent. Exclusion Criteria: - none. Study conducted in July 2023 to Sept. 2023. Pre- structured Questionnaire was used to collect the data. Quality of life was assessed using WHOQOL-BREF which is an international cross-sectional assessment instrument. Data was conducted by personal interview. Our sample size is 200 Results: Mean values & ranges of QOL are as following, Physical domain 57.4(32.1-93.6), psychological domain 65(16.6-95.8), Social domain 63.4(30-95.7), Environmental domain 67.4 (28.1-100). Conclusion: We found out that maximum number of students had significant mood disturbances and poor quality of life. Medical students were weak in all the three domains when compared to engineering students.

This work-in-progress investigates the impact of a novel course on engineering thriving on twelve undergraduate engineering students' own thriving attitudes. More specifically, we investigate their non-cognitive competencies (including mindfulness, gratitude, identity, and sense of meaning) relevant to student success and psychological well-being. Research findings from positive psychology and related fields suggest that improving students' abilities to thrive improves their academic performance, retention, engagement, and satisfaction. Despite the increasing interest in non-cognitive factors relevant to engineering student thriving, intervention studies of this kind on undergraduate engineering populations are currently lacking. As a first step towards addressing this, we developed a one-credit course for undergraduate engineering students based on research from positive psychology and related fields. This research-based class served the purpose of introducing the concept and language of thriving to undergraduate engineering students to allow them to articulate their own reflections of thriving in the engineering context. We evaluated the impact of this course as an intervention to support engineering students' non-cognitive competencies. Using a qualitative analysis of course documents and survey data, we seek to understand whether providing undergraduate engineering students knowledge and language about thriving affects their own non-cognitive profiles, and further, whether those changes continue to endure six months after completing the course. We examined changes in students' pretest (n = 12), posttest (n = 12), and six-month follow-up (n = 5) scores using a survey that examines the impact of various non-cognitive factors relevant to engineering student success (NSF #redacted). To better understand the observed changes, we also reviewed students' written course reflections, written feedback, and notes from class discussions. Together, our findings indicate that engineering students' non-cognitive competencies are malleable over time, can be taught and learned, and individual non-cognitive competencies should not be researched in isolation. Preliminary findings from survey data showed that the distinct non-cognitive variables we measured changed in similar patterns over time. Preliminary findings from ENGR 396 course documents suggest that distinct non-cognitive competencies are interconnected and function synergistically to impact students. Overall, this study serves as a first step in advancing our knowledge of thriving in the context of undergraduate engineering students. We conclude with a broader discussion of the importance and implications of focusing on positive strengths of undergraduate engineering students, presenting an opportunity to enhance the ways we attract, retain, educate, and graduate engineering students.

Higher education institutions play a central role in societal development, acting as catalysts for change and reflecting the evolving nature of our world. Particularly, in the fields of science and engineering, higher education holds immense societal importance and is crucial for addressing complex global challenges outlined by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Despite this recognition, research about science and engineering students does not usually focus on understanding these students’ perspectives on social awareness and responsibility. Accordingly, this paper aims to examine the perceptions of undergraduate science and engineering students regarding social responsibility. Applying a grounded theory framework for characterizing perceptions of all stakeholders regarding social responsibility in higher education, which is illustrated in this paper for the case of undergraduate science and engineering students.

First-generation college students face unique challenges compared to non-first-generation college students, especially in STEM fields. First-generation STEM students drop out of their major at higher rates than non-first-generation students. This may be due to a lack of role models or mentorship in the college environment or in the field, a challenging curriculum, and difficulty balancing personal and academic commitments. There has been a lack of significant attention given to studying first-generation college students in undergraduate engineering, and therefore, there is limited understanding of how to navigate post-secondary education as a first-generation college student to succeed in undergraduate engineering. Here, I lay out tips for success based on my own experience as a first-generation student in engineering. This includes how to find the right major for you, adjust to college, have a solid support system, seek out research opportunities, become involved in outreach, experience inclusivity, balance courses with other commitments, and apply for scholarships. This article also discusses considerations in pursuing graduate education. With more support, mentoring and guidance, a greater percentage of first-generation students will succeed in pursuing undergraduate engineering degrees.