Abstract
<p class="Abstract" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Abstract</span></strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">&frac34;</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></em><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal; layout-grid-mode: line; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Many students are uncomfortable with real world engineering problems where needs and requirements must be concretely defined and the selection of design solutions is not black and white. This paper describes a two semester, multi-disciplinary senior capstone project for students from three Engineering and Technology Department programs (electrical engineering, electrical and computer engineering technology, and engineering technology) that brings together the tools of project management and the creative product development process into industry sponsored projects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The projects are fully integrated with the Center for Rapid Product Realization with its dual goals of economic development and enhanced learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The stage/gate development process is used with six formal reviews covering the development of the proposal through to the fabrication and testing of the project&rsquo;s output.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Over the past four years thirty five (35) projects have been undertaken with students getting an exciting authentic life experience and introducing them to the real world of engineering.</span></span></strong></p>
Highlights
Western Carolina University (WCU), a regional comprehensive institution founded in 1889 with a distinguished history of teaching and learning for western North Carolina has begun the process of alignment with a new focus on innovation
The curricular sequence which combines project management, new product development and the student senior capstone project is in full alignment with these recommendations and forms part of the transformation of rural western North Carolina into this new economic model
The authors use the “Teammaker” interview survey provided in the Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness tool (CATME) to assist in forming team based on project preference[6]
Summary
Western Carolina University (WCU), a regional comprehensive institution founded in 1889 with a distinguished history of teaching and learning for western North Carolina has begun the process of alignment with a new focus on innovation. WCU has launched an initiative to engage the resources of the university, its faculty, students, and facilities in the economic growth of the region. Numerous initiatives have been launched to stimulate this engagement in new product development, in broadband communications, in adaptive devices, and in rapid prototyping. The Kimmel School of Engineering and Construction Management at Western Carolina University plays a leading role in this engagement initiative. The Center for Rapid Product Realization was created to form a bridge and connect the resources of the Kimmel School to the external community. The curricular sequence which combines project management, new product development and the student senior capstone project is in full alignment with these recommendations and forms part of the transformation of rural western North Carolina into this new economic model. Our purpose is to produce engineering graduates who are open to the injection of new ideas, comfortable in an environment that will nurture new product ideas from diverse disciplines and can mature promising ideas into actual business propositions
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