Industrial Engineering Degree Research Articles

Validation of the use of concept maps as an evaluation tool for the teaching and learning of mechanical and industrial engineering

Abstract This paper presents the experimental work developed to measure the learning process through concept map analysis. The development of a concept map is requested by the students for each chapter or theme of the subject. As a result, maps from engineering courses have been analyzed. The measurements carried out consider several parameters, such as individual and team map building, student progressive knowledge level, and map complexity. Concerning the complexity analysis, the focus is qualitative, and it is based on the data extracted from the concept maps elaborated by the students. The study, conducted during the 2018–2019 academic year, included students from various academic levels and institutions, such as the Public University of Navarra UPNA and the University of the Basque Country UPV-EHU, covering first-degree students of Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering and first-degree students of Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering at UPNA, third-degree students of Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering at UPV-EHU. The data collected from 37 individual maps in Industrial Drawing, 31 group maps in Industrial Drawing, 12 individual maps in Design of Machinery, and 12 group maps in Design of Machinery, along with a control group of 79 students who did not participate in any activity, provided valuable insights into the effectiveness of concept maps for evaluating understanding levels and learning outcomes across various engineering subjects and academic levels. The learning outcome of the students is treated to obtain the level of understanding of complex systems shown by the students through the concept maps previously drawn and the questionnaire answered by each student about the achievement of learning results through the use of concept maps. This work shows the research methodology established and the learning results achieved qualitatively: measuring the maps by means of a rubric, self-assessment based on a survey, and through the questionnaires. Also, the results obtained in the final exams have been compared. From the observed results, this methodology is presented as a suitable alternative for evaluating the correct acquisition of concepts in online teaching situations.

Developing soft skills in the business classrooms of industrial engineering students in Brazil

PurposeIn today’s highly competitive global business environment, there is a growing demand for professionals who possess well-developed soft skills. Such abilities include flexibility, effective communication and other skills. Soft skills are personal attributes and qualities that are more closely related to the emotional side of human beings. Individuals must cultivate and hone soft skills during their undergraduate studies. These skills, also known as interpersonal or non-technical skills, are essential to complement hard skills and pave the way for a thriving career trajectory. Soft skills are developed over the course of one’s career and are indispensable in establishing a strong, professional presence in the corporate or academic realm. The field of engineering is no exception in this regard, and the business approach during the engineering course is of significant relevance. By acquiring soft skills, engineering graduates will become competitive and adaptable professionals capable of handling the current and future challenges of the job market. The purpose of this study is to investigate the soft skills that students perceive as being better developed during their business classrooms in the engineering course and identify areas for improvement in the business education process.Design/methodology/approachThe research method consisted in four different phases from variables identification to statistical analyses. Then, as part of this approach a structured questionnaire was administered at the end of the engineering course, where students rated their perception of the degree of development of each of the soft skills covered in the course on a scale of zero to ten. The collected data were analysed using multivariate analysis techniques, including factorial analysis.FindingsThe results of the study demonstrate that the set of skills acquired by individuals in business classrooms pursuing a degree in industrial engineering is in high demand by potential employers. Such skills are deemed essential for the successful operation of businesses in modern-day industries. The findings of this research validate the significant role that industrial engineering students play in fulfilling the requirements of the job market and pave the way to meaningful insights on how to approach this topic during the business education process in engineering courses.Practical implicationsThe findings bring about significant insights for national educational councils and ministries, universities and educational stakeholders in the process of updating, rethinking and implementing new curricula criteria in higher education, particularly in the Latin American context.Originality/valueThis paper enriches the literature by assessing the development of soft skills of engineering students in the Latin American context. The research reinforces the importance of developing soft skills aligned with those required for the context of current and future labour markets.

Assessing Mental Workload in Dual STEM–Air Force Language Listening Practice

Cognitive workload analysis is an important aspect of safety studies at the Spanish Air Force Academy where students must complete a dual academic curriculum based on military pilot training combined with an industrial engineering degree. Recently, a mental workload assessment (MWA) and forecasting model based on Shannon’s law from information theory (IT) has been published; it proposes a new mathematical procedure (MWA-IT) that defines a workload index that could be extrapolated to other case studies. The aim of this study was to adapt this model to the Spanish University Centre of Defence to calculate the mental workload caused by the listening practice in English as a foreign language. In addition, a contrasting methodology, the NASA task load index (NASA-TLX), was applied to validate the proposed model using the error study provided by SMAPE and MSE. The results established an expected reference baseline for MWA-IT in English listening that is between 36 and 92 at the end of the four courses, which corresponds to the students that start with the lowest English level (higher workload = 92) and the ones with the highest English level certification (lowest workload = 36); meanwhile, the NASA-TLX result was between 49.8 and 193.7 for the same circumstances. The main difference is that MWA-IT can be predicted with 41% less deviation than can NASA-TLX and does not require the completion of a questionnaire following the activities. Finally, the study also highlights the fact that that nearly 65% of the workload was caused by the first two courses, when the advanced STEM subjects were taught and the pilot learning and practice program had not yet begun. This methodology may help the teachers in charge to redesign or add new content depending on the expected workload reference.

EasyComVi: A Tool for the Interactive Learning of Computer Vision in Distance Education

This article presents the EasyComVi Tool, an interactive application developed to facilitate the study of Computer Vision for students enrolled in an Engineering Master degree with a Distance Learning methodology. The main objective of this tool is to enable students in subjects related to Computer Vision with a distance learning methodology, to acquire a better understanding of different concepts about the subject studied in a theoretical way, through its interactive visual illustration, in an autonomous way. This tool offers the students the possibility to visualize the results of applying different image processing operations to various example images selecting the value of a set of input parameters. The usefulness and applicability of the tool has been evaluated by means of a questionnaire disseminated among the students of a subject on Computer Vision in a Master's degree in Industrial Engineering. This paper presents the preliminary results obtained in the study carried out, which are very promising and encourage further research in this work.

Problem-Based Learning. Application to a Laboratory Practice in the Degree of Industrial Chemical Engineering

The transformation of university teaching towards a competency acquisition approach requires an update of teaching methodologies. In the case of laboratory practices, the application of the Problem-Based Teaching methodology encourages students to apply their knowledge to solve problems based on real situations, as well as efficient communication in a work environment. This paper presents the results obtained by applying this alternative teaching methodology to a laboratory practice in the last year of the Degree in Industrial Chemical Engineering at the University of La Laguna. The results confirm a greater theoretical understanding of the concepts and the ability to apply them in practice, with a notable increase in motivation and interest in their learning process.

Analysis of the integration of Sustainable Development Goals in the Industrial Engineering Degree Course

Universities play a key role in transforming society, which necessarily leads them to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) laid down in the UN’s 2030 Agenda. The Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Industrial (ETSII) of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) is working on a project to design and develop strategies and interventions to include the SDGs in their degree courses. For this, the present paper proposes a map of the industrial subjects in both the BSc in Engineering in Industrial Technologies and the MSc in Industrial Engineering to determine how far the SDGs have been incorporated into these courses. An exhaustive review of the syllabus of the related subjects was carried out, together with a diagnosis of the current status of the SDG concepts so far included. The subsequent analysis of the data identified the possibilities of each subject to develop a sense of responsibility for educating students in the SDGs.

Jupyter Notebooks for the study of advanced topics in Fluid Mechanics

AbstractIn recent years, Jupyter Notebooks have become a very useful free and open‐source tool in teaching, as they allow you to combine text, images, mathematical expressions, links and code into a single document. This gives students an interactive document with which they can experiment and learn with the help of high‐level mathematical calculus. In Fluid Mechanics, it is very common for students to deal with complex computations that take away attention from the Mechanic, especially in advanced topics such as Rheology, Turbulence, or Boundary Layer. The subject “Advanced Fluid Mechanics” is an elective one of the last year of the Bachelor's degree in Industrial and Aerospace Technology Engineering at the Terrassa School of Industrial, Aerospace and Audiovisual Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. This subject has three ECTS credits and has been taught since the academic year 2020–2021 This subject complements the compulsory subject Fluid Mechanics and is developed in 6 weeks with 5 h of class each week. This work presents Fluid Mechanics modules with Jupyter Notebooks that complement the syllabus given in the compulsory subject. An elective subject is presented where subjects of Fluid Mechanics per week are studied independently, using different Python tools: symbolic calculation, modeling of experimental data, statistical analysis, numerical calculation, and so forth. The main goal is for the student to focus on mechanical concepts and actively learn to use the tools available, especially open source, to do the associated mathematical calculations.

Design and Assessment of Survey in a 360-Degree Feedback Environment for Student Satisfaction Analysis Applied to Industrial Engineering Degrees in Spain

The number of students enrolled in engineering studies in Spain is in decline, mainly due to the difficulty in passing the subjects, whose factors may be linked to the science-related content of the subject, a very demanding evaluation system or a lack of active participation of students. The main objective of this study is to provide the student with a 360-degree feedback tool and a survey, from which lecturers can extract the degree of satisfaction of students in its application in a standardized way in scientific-technological activities of BSc/MSc in industrial engineering to quantify learning and motivation. The involvement of students in the assessment process was carried out in three phases: peer-assessment (among students), self-assessment (student himself) and hetero-assessment (teaching staff). After that, a survey was designed, which was validated through confirmatory factor analysis. Ninety-nine percent of the students valued this evaluation experience very positively with respect to the objectivity of the criteria used in the methodology and the material provided by the teaching staff. The fact that only 37.5% of the students considered this experience very favorable for their learning and self-training shows the importance of the teaching staff in their learning process and suggests a need to find complementary improvements to this evaluation system in industrial engineering degrees.

Teaching How to Research: A Case Study on Chemical and Industrial Engineering Degrees

Final Degree Projects (FDPs) in scientific and technical studies are often the first significant approach to real research and can be a challenging step for students. Their own experience at this stage can influence the students’ professional calling to a research career instead of other technical occupations. In any case, it should be an interesting experience for students, regardless of their future career. Thus, suitable guiding by academic tutors is vital to favor the engagement for scientific research as a feasible professional career in youngsters. The aim of this work was to point out our own experience when it comes to teaching how to research, inspired by research-based learning. In other words, this is an example about how to introduce final degree students to research, to prepare them for a possible future career in the research world. Specifically, the expectation for each FDP was to materialize their work in the publication of a research paper or a conference communication, in the context of research carried out in the frame of a transference project with a firm purpose: to emphasize how their work will be applied as a solution to a real problem. To achieve this goal, a general didactic guide (which should be customized for each student) is presented, adapted to a chemical engineering laboratory, mainly devoted to biodiesel and biolubricant production.

A gap study between industry expectations and current competencies of bachelor’s degree graduates in industrial engineering in Thailand 4.0 era: A case study of industrial engineering graduates of Khon Kaen University

The purpose of this research is to study the gap between industry expectations and the current competencies of bachelor’s degree industrial engineering graduates in Khon Kaen University in Thailand 4.0 era so that the research results of this study may be used as the guideline for improvement of the existing Bachelor of Engineering Degree program in Industrial Engineering in Khon Kaen University. A literature survey was conducted to determine appropriate indicators for assessing Thailand’s readiness for Industry 4.0. These indicators were further screened by 17 industrial experts using the Delphi method. Twenty-five competency performance indicators were finally adopted and sent in questionnaires to 71 industrial factories and 60 industrial engineering engineers freshly graduated from Khon Kaen University to rate the competency indicators with scores ranging from 1–5. The data were collected and analyzed to determine the gaps between the industry expectations and the current competencies of the graduates. The results of the analysis revealed that the greatest gaps were found, in descending order, delivery management, data usage, and data analytics in the usage phase. These are the areas which must be closely considered when the study program is revised. On the other hand, the smallest gaps were found, in ascending order, for innovation management, cloud usage, ICT add-on functionalities and technology in production, indicating the strength of the industrial engineering degree program of the case study university.

Analysis of Industrial Engineering Students’ Perception after a Multiple Integrals-Based Activity with a Fourth-Year Student

In industrial engineering degrees in Spain, mathematics subjects are usually taught during the first two academic years. Consequently, it is often the case that students sometimes do not feel motivated to learn subjects such as Mathematics II (calculus). Nevertheless, this subject is fundamental for understanding other subjects in the degree study plan, as well as for the graduate’s future professional career as an engineer. To address this, a problem-based teaching methodology was carried out with the help of a fourth-year student who explained an activity to first-year students in a manner which was both friendly and approachable. In this experiment, the student went through a series of practical problems taken from different engineering subjects, which required multivariable integrals to be calculated and which he had learned in mathematics as a first-year student. In addition, a method based on pre-test and post-test assessments was applied. From this work, various benefits were observed in terms of learning, as well as an increase in the level of motivation of first-year students. There was a greater appreciation of the usefulness of calculus and computer programs to solve real-life problems, and the students generally responded positively to this type of activity.

Content Curation in E-Learning: A Case of Study with Spanish Engineering Students

Over the last decade, e-learning and the use of digital tools have received a great boost in higher education. This paper presents a content curation methodology to assess the acquisition of specific content and soft skills during the attainment of a Degree in Industrial Electronic Engineering at the University of Jaén. In this teaching–learning experience, 101 engineering students were involved in activities with digital tools related to content curation, and four steps were proposed: search, select, sense making, and share. As evaluation tools, a rubric and a questionnaire of the digital tools were proposed. Moreover, a curation index was defined in order to assess the degree of achievement of the content curation. The academic results after using the rubric were better than previous years. The average content curation index obtained was 53.53. Of the four evaluated steps, search and sense making had the lowest scores and, therefore, these steps should be further developed in the future. In addition, the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin test and Pearson’s correlation were used for analyzing the results of the questionnaires. It was concluded that the experience had a great impact on the skills related to collaborative work, digital information management, and lifelong learning, which are transversal skills at the university level. Thus, the results highlight the great educational potential of content curation.

In Memoriam: Linda Catherine Schmidt

Abstract Professor Linda Schmidt, a pioneering leader in engineering design research and education, passed away on March 12, 2021. She was born in Blue Island, Illinois on November 27, 1958, and received her B.S. degree (1989) and M.S. degree (1991) in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University before going on to complete her Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1995. She was one of Professor Jonathan Cagan's early Ph.D. students. Her dissertation entitled “An Implementation Using Grammars of an Abstraction-Based Model of Mechanical Design for Design Optimization and Design Space Characterization” was foundational to her early investigations.

Methodology to evaluate transversal competences in the master's degree in industrial engineering based on a system of rubrics and indicators

<p>This paper presents a methodology to evaluate transversal competences in the context of the subject “Design and application of industrial equipment” in the Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering at Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain). The competency-based education implies several activities, such as a project-based learning that must be eventually defended in public by students in groups. Evidence of learning is collected based on a well-defined system of rubrics and indicators, which are known in advance by students. We have observed that the use of such techniques improves the students learning on the contents of the subject, allows to acquire the transversal competences related to the analysis and problem solving, and enhances the ability to understand concepts intuitively. Moreover, results clearly show a positive influence on the use of such tools for improving the professional and ethical commitment to the issues raised.</p>

A Gap Study between Employers’ Expectations in Thailand and Current Competence of Master’s Degree Students in Industrial Engineering under Industry 4.0

Abstract Industry 4.0 is an era in which the manufacturing industry has adopted digital technologies and the Internet to enable smart manufacturing system, machines used in the production now can communicate with each other and exchange information between each other, and the machinery used in the manufacturing process is more modern and precise. Therefore, educational institutions should develop the curriculum to produce qualified graduates with the knowledge required for the Industry 4.0 era, especially Industrial Engineering graduates who are directly related to the industry sector. The purpose of this research is to collect the data for the Master of Industrial Engineering (MSIE) curriculum development. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique is used to rank the indicators of knowledge that is important to the employment of graduates with a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering, and study the gap between the expectations of employers and the ability of the current MSIE students of Khon Kaen University. The results of the study reveal that the first indicators that are most important to the employment of MSIE graduates is the knowledge of Industry 4.0 strategy and the knowledge that the students should have developed are the collaboration of humans and robots, big data analytics, real time data usage and databased decision making.

An employer branding strategy: developing a talent atraction model through action research

Organizational difficulties in attracting talent should alert to the need of employer brands to present characteristics differentiating them from competitors. Employer branding is a fusion area between human resources and marketing, which aims to build an organization’s reputation as a great place to work. The future of organizations depends on the quality of the workforce they can attract (Chhabra & Sharma, 2014) and people, as brands, are the most important assets in a company (Backhaus & Tikoo, 2004). This research aimed to conceive and test a talent attraction model of graduated engineers for a large business group with decades of experience in industry and automotive sectors, in Portugal. Action research was performed in two cycles, consisting in focus group, intervention (detailed organizational presentation) and a final survey with 6 questions about organizational attractiveness of the organization in study. The Employer Attractiveness Scale by Berthon, Ewing and Hah (2005) was used as a guiding paradigm. Twenty recent graduates and finalists participated, with an average age of 23, male, from Mechanical, Automotive Mechanical and Industrial Management Engineering degrees of two Oporto Schools (Portugal). Data was collected personally, by researchers on campus. NVivo Content analysis and descriptive statistics were used, and intervention improvements were introduced before the second cycle. Results showed that: (i) The most valued dimensions by participants were development and economic; (ii) Before the intervention, students didn’t know the organization well, neither in terms of business areas or size; (iii) Post-intervention, participant’s opinion about the organization improved, with an average of 6.4 (1-7 lickert scale); (iv) After the intervention 90% would consider the organization as their employer. Based on the two cycles and organizational information, a model for engineer attraction was proposed, however, it’s overall principles might be adapted and applied to other areas of talent and different organizations facing similar challenges.

Improving the Teaching of Hypothesis Testing Using a Divide-and-Conquer Strategy and Content Exposure Control in a Gamified Environment

Hypothesis testing has been pointed out as one of the statistical topics in which students present more misconceptions. In this article, an approach based on the divide-and-conquer methodology is proposed to facilitate its learning. The proposed strategy is designed to sequentially explain and evaluate the different concepts involved in hypothesis testing, ensuring that a new concept is not presented until the previous one has been fully assimilated. The proposed approach, which contains several gamification elements (i.e., points or a leader-board), is implemented into an application via a modern game engine. The usefulness of the proposed approach was assessed in an experiment in which 89 first-year students enrolled in the Statistics course within the Industrial Engineering degree participated. Based on the results of a test aimed at evaluating the acquired knowledge, it was observed that students who used the developed application based on the proposed approach obtained statistically significant higher scores than those that attended a traditional class (p-value < 0.001), regardless of whether they used the learning tool before or after the traditional class. In addition, the responses provided by the students who participated in the study to a test of satisfaction showed their high satisfaction with the application and their interest in the promotion of these tools. However, despite the good results, they also considered that these learning tools should be considered as a complement to the master class rather than a replacement.

An Intervention Based on Identifying Topics That Students Have Difficulties with

Students who start university coming from secondary school commit some common conceptual errors. This paper presents a study developed in the subject of Numerical Methods taught in the second term of the Industrial Engineering Degrees of Oviedo University (Spain). The study was comprised of several activities, with two main objectives. Firstly, detecting over time the main deficiencies in mathematical knowledge presented by students in the first year of their university degrees and secondly, overcoming these shortcomings. The activities carried out involved preparing teaching materials to be uploaded to a shared folder and made available to the students of the subject, the preparation of a questionnaire and the performance of a task group by the students and then giving them feedback about the shortcomings identified. These activities have been well-received by the students and the results obtained have been positive. Our intention, for later courses, is to continue developing this work with some supplementary activities.

Theory and Its Applications to Large-Scale Industrial Engineering Problems of Industrial Engineering Education

Industrial engineering is manufacturing and service Design, analysis of operations and systems, and related to control. Past At the time, an industrial engineer was in a manufacturing plant Working and workers and machines Engaged in functional capacity. Industrial Engineers To eliminate waste in production processes Find ways. a product or service Labor, machinery, materials, information to supply, and efficient systems for integrating energy They create. Industry Engineering every year countless international attracts students. It's great engineering and Committed to business. It is provides undergraduate students with key concepts in the design, planning and optimization of manufacturing and production processes. That is the basis of a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree. Petroleum engineer tops our list of highest paying engineering jobs. The primary responsibility of petroleum engineers is to design and develop ways to extract the natural resources of oil and gas from the earth. Elon Musk is a South African-born American who is an Industrial Engineer with Paypal Co-founded and Space Transportation Service He founded the company Space X. He is an electric car Among the early investors in the company Tesla Was and is one company's CEO. SPSS statistics is a SOA, SHO, GWO, PSO, MVO, SCA, GSA, GA, DE. The Cronbach's Alpha Reliability The overall Cronbach's Alpha value for the model is 0.991 which Indicates 70 % reliability. From the literature review, the above 80 % Cronbach's Alpha value model can be considered for analysis.

Collaborative online international learning: A way to develop students’ engineering capabilities and awareness to become global citizens

In the 21st century, academics must recognise the value of incorporating e-learning activities in teaching in order to provide students the opportunity to interact and engage with peers in collaborative learning. To achieve this, a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) activity was introduced to 2nd and 3rd year students in Mechanical and Industrial Design Engineering degrees, with the aim of enhancing aspects such as global manufacturing and reverse engineering. This activity was also used as an approach to internationalise the curriculum which is an important mechanism to promote intercultural competencies, international perspectives and ethical sensitivities, whilst also contributing to the enhancement of students’ abilities to develop as responsible global citizens. Three institutions were involved in this project, with results indicating that 93% of students felt they had a better understanding of the topic under study, 93% were satisfied with the learning experience and 90% enjoyed interacting with international peers.