Mechatronic curriculum – retrospect and prospect

Abstract

Recently, many attempts have been pursued to devise an engineering curriculum that will allow students to successfully enter the engineering fields. Mechatronics is a unifying theme that permeates and comprehends modern engineering. One weakness of the computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering curricula is the failure to achieve sufficient background, knowledge, depth, and breadth in integrative multidisciplinary areas to solve complex engineering problems. To overcome this weakness, the integration and developments are sought through mechatronics. The mechatronic curriculum can be viewed as the vehicle by which students are introduced to subject matter, multidisciplinary areas, and disciplines, e.g., electrical, mechanical, and computer engineering fields of study. Mechatronics is a part of the modern integrated (confluent) curriculum due to interaction, interpretation, relevance, and systematization. Efficient and effective means to assess the current trends in modern engineering with assessments analysis and outcome prediction must be devised through the mechatronic paradigm. The multidisciplinary mechatronic courses, combined with the variety of active student learning processes and synergetic teaching styles, will produce a level of overall student accomplishments that is greater than any achievements which can be produced by refining the conventional electrical and mechanical curricula. The multidisciplinary mechatronic paradigm serves very important purposes because it brings new depth to electrical, mechanical, and computer areas, advances students knowledge and background, provides students with the basic problem-solving skills that need to cope with advanced electromechanical systems controlled by microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs), covers state-of-the-art hardware, and applies modern software environments. Through the mechatronic curriculum, important program objectives and goals can be achieved and assessed. The integration of mechatronic courses into the engineering curriculum is reported in this article.