New
Engineering Programs and University-Industry Collaboration in Engineering
Education
Kambiz Farahmand
North Dakota State University
Abstract
When collaboration between Universities and Industries
are the topic, one could ask the question “What is the nature and extent of
collaboration on the industry side as it relates to engineering education?” Do
companies assist with course instruction and in developing curriculum, or
perhaps allow company access to students working on projects. Of course it could be all of the above. With the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) passing through congress, the border area of states neighboring Mexico
became the center of economic activity, or what is known as a
"Boom." As the border areas
with Mexico
grew and more money and resources were poured into these regions, the demand
for a more professional labor population, technicians, engineers, and managers
increased. Many US companies and manufacturer found
themselves relocating entire factories, equipment, and warehouses. Relocating managers and engineers would
become a bigger challenge and in some cases almost impossible.
This
paper describes the collaboration between a higher education institution and
several companies collaborating to educate and train their engineers and managers. This collaboration provided better student
learning, synchronized project work for classes, company tours and involvement
in learning, simultaneous final project reporting to company managers, and even
financial backing from the companies involved for communication infrastructure
and logistics. Obstacles and challenges
that must be overcome to develop a program that is technically sound and in
some ways is performing better than expected is described. This paper also discusses
some of the difficulties facing faculty and administrators of such programs and
presents various approaches that have been implemented successfully.
Introduction
A
graduate program geared specifically toward the needs of the engineers and
managers employed at companies called Maquiladora twin plants, is designed by
collaboration between Texas
A&M University
and companies that mostly manufacture electronics, parts, and components for Automotive
Industry [1]. The curriculum provides
two integrated portions (Industrial & Electrical Engineering) based on
design, testing, and manufacturing with respect to the knowledge base and
application requirements of the companies.
Most companies in this region are suppliers of the Automotive Industry.
Due
to rapid increase in global competition for automotive sales and profitability,
more and more auto makers pass the requirements of success to their suppliers. As a result, demand for leading-edge concepts
in design, including Design for Assembly and Manufacturability, Concurrent Engineering,
Reengineering Technology, Quality Control and Certification, and environmental
requirements became the supplier’s responsibility. These requirements, along with demand for
technical expertise, provided the catalyst needed for a mutually beneficial
collaboration between the University and the Industry.
As
part of curriculum development, the administration and faculty met with the
Maquiladora plant managers and leaders several times over a span of several
months. The primary objective was to
asses the technical, educational, and administrative support required to keep
up with the forecasted growth of the twin plants and to establish a long-term
goal based on the future of manufacturing in the area [2]. The secondary
objective was focused on the type and level of collaboration needed to make
this a successful project. The first challenge was to establish a curriculum
that would be broad and multi-disciplinary, while satisfying the individual
plant's requirements, the department requirements, and the university resources
available for a long distance educational program. Lack of resources as far as facilities,
classrooms, and even the faculty members to support the proposed curriculum,
were some of the challenges that the college of engineering was facing.
Industry and Collaboration
The companies that bought in the idea of this collaboration agreement
were mostly companies that recognized the need for both short and long-term
advanced technical expertise. After
months of negotiation, the collaboration agreement resulted in development of the
following guidelines.
On the university side:
- The university would provide a Masters of Engineering degree program, identifying course curriculum, scheduling, and all requirements toward receiving a master’s degree from the institution.
- The university would provide two courses in each discipline every semester.
- The courses would be scheduled to be offered after-hours on Fridays and all days Saturdays for engineers and managers accepted to the program.
- The degree curriculum would be designed so students could join the program at any time.
- Classes would be conducted geographically at a central location that would serve all companies within the agreement or on campus until distance education delivery was implemented. This central location would end up at the Texas A&M Research Extension Center.
- The institution would agree to provide tuition discount to the qualified foreign engineers working at the companies to include paying in-state tuition for all participants.
- The department would allow students to base their class projects on projects that they were involved in at the time in their respective companies.
- The department would also allow final projects to be related to company projects after review and approval by the graduate committee and the student’s engineering supervisor at the company.
At the company side:
- The companies would identify qualified candidates for this Masters of Engineering degree from their pool of engineers and managers.
- The companies agree to pay the student’s entire tuition and cost of books provided that the student is accepted to the graduate college and the department and receives the in-state tuition discount from the university.
- The company also stipulated in providing space for class meetings at various plant locations as the need arises.
- The companies would provide access to faculty and students working on projects for completing class projects or student’s final project.
- Companies would allow access to hardware, software, technology and provide technical assistance toward completion of assignments and projects.
- The companies would also raise money to build a T1 tower for teleconference delivery of instruction to various sites at the industrial parks and provide additional funds for audio and visual teleconferencing equipment for instruction delivery.
The Program Kickoff
The
program started with faculty traveling over the weekend to one of the plants
centrally located and lecturing Fridays and Saturdays. To meet the goals set by the companies, a set
of features were set forth for the curriculum development. The main objective was to have a program that
provides a sound technical knowledge and solid background in the following
areas:
1. Mathematics
2. Computer Information
Systems
3. Computer Aided
Design in Electrical Engineering/Electrical Engineering
4. Computer
Aided Design in Industrial Engineering/Industrial Engineering
5. Manufacturing
Process, Quality Control, and Safety
6. Economic
awareness and Management Science
7. Research project
in a major area
Keeping
these features in mind, two independent and yet integrated curriculums were
developed [3]. Table 1 illustrates the
curriculum model for Electrical and Industrial Engineering degrees. These two programs combined provided 95% of
the technical knowledge and expertise the companies needed to stay competitive
and self supporting from the technology stand point. The curriculum consisted of two main
segments: Masters of Engineering in Electrical Engineering and Industrial
Engineering. The Electrical Engineering
branch consists of seven specific courses in two major areas, Electronic and
Control. The Industrial Engineering branch also consists of seven specific
courses with emphasis in Manufacturing, Design, Operation Research, Ergonomics
and Safety. The engineering economics,
computer science, and manufacturing components were shared in both curriculums.
Besides
the general prerequisites, essential courses for a specific discipline and
research project are also required. For
a student to graduate from the program, he or she must follow the steps
outlined in Figure 1 [4]. With a B.S.
degree in engineering, grade point average above 2.5, Graduate Record Exam
(GRE) scores of 1000, and an English proficiency exam such as Test of English
as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) of 525, a student could be admitted to the
program. The students may begin the two-year
program upon full admission at any semester along the two years scheduled
program, assuming that they have the necessary background or experience to
begin without taking any pre-requisites.
Table 1:
Curriculum and Contents for the Two Masters of Engineering Programs
|
INDUSTRIAL
ENGINEERING ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Advance
Engineering Economic Analysis (6) Advance
Engineering Economic Analysis (6)
Advance Numerical
Methods (1, 2) Advance
Numerical Methods (1, 2)
Computer Appl.
Statistical Methods (1, 4) Dynamic
Systems I (1, 3)
Principles of
Optimization (1, 3) Digital
Computer design (2, 3)
Ergonomics (4) Control
Systems Synthesis (1, 3)
Computer
Simulation Industrial Systems (4) Electronic
Systems Design (3)
Database Systems
(2) Database
Systems (2)
Manufacturing
Systems Design (4, 5) Manufacturing
Systems Design (4, 5)
Activity
Scheduling (4, 5) Electronic
Circuit Design (3, 5)
Computer
Integrated Manufacturing (4, 5) Computer
Networks (2, 3)
Systems Safety (4, 5) Systems Safety (4, 5)
Research Project (4, 7) Research
Project (3, 7)
|
Program Coordination with the Companies
During the first year of this program, classes were
held at the twin plants located in Reynosa,
Mexico. They were later relocated to Hidalgo, Texas, a small
town by the border immediately north of Reynosa. Exploring the challenges involved in distant
learning reiterated by the brevity of resources, and yet planning to maintain a
quality and successful program was the issue to be addressed in the near
future. The most logical and economically feasible solution to the distant
learning was the use of Trans-Texas Video conference Network (TTVN), with 15
sites within various Texas A&M University
system facilities all across Texas. This technology provided the state-of-the-art
digital interaction video conference and distant education capabilities. Two-way visual/verbal communications links to
all Texas A&M system university campuses and facilities in Texas.
 |
Figure 1: Program Flow Chart
Since
1990, TTVN system has been used for one-half of the total teaching time. The faculty and the students must meet at one
location at least 1/2 of total class time. To meet the course objectives, when
using TTVN as a teaching medium, a strategy must be used to not only cover the
course content but also create the necessary interaction with the
students. From a total of sixteen
lectures per semester, four are taught on campus and another four are presented
at Weslaco, Texas,
serving the south Texas border areas between Laredo and Brownsville
Texas. Weslaco is the
home to Texas A&M University Agricultural Research and Extension Center
and is located centrally to all major cities in south Texas.
The
dynamic schedule and the rotation of meeting locations, in combination with
changing instructional mode, have become a challenge for the faculty and
students. Other contributing factors
include language differences and multi-cultural personalities between students,
faculty, and staff. Time differences and
national and local holidays between the two countries include some of the
logistical problems that remains discrepant.
Using
the TTVN system as a teaching media is a challenge of its own. It requires at least several semesters and a
few training courses for the faculty to become familiar and comfortable with
the system. The same challenge is
bestowed upon the students as well. They
must be motivated enough to achieve the level of concentration required,
especially in highly technical and advance classes. The dedication and the level of commitment
are higher for the students, faculty, and administrators, as it would be for a
traditional on campus program. Students
are instructed in a technology classroom using TTVN.
Figure 2: TTVN
Classroom
In addition to a work load
which averaged around 50 hours per week for most engineers and managers from the
Maquiladora companies, they were now attending classes six (6) hours per week
and commuting to class location or campus for an average of 2.5 hours per
week. This does not include the class preparation
time, time required to complete homework and other assignments, and time needed
to coordinate project work and activities which averaged around 5 hours per
week. Many companies realized that this
additional time-tax of around 13.5 hours per week on their employees would be
justified if there is a complete emersion and interaction of educational
activities and company activities within different projects at various
department or divisions. Many of the
students would move from project to project or change assignments following
their course curriculum and topics. This
again brought a better understanding of the course topic and its application to
the real world and company projects and provided for lively discussions and
even free consulting or faculty opinion from the classroom.
The Collaboration on the Final Projects
Each
student, after completing all courses, is required to complete a research
project to receive the masters of engineering degree. The research projects are tied or derived
from existing problems or ongoing projects in the company where the students
are employed. Identification of the problem is performed by consulting the
manufacturing management. The proposed
research project must then be approved by the members of the research project
committee. The faculty advisor guides
the student in deriving at a state-of-the-art engineering solution. After the completion of the project, a formal
report and a presentation and defense for the project are due. Many successful
projects have been taken up by the students and their faculty advisor. A short list of project topics at various
companies is provided in Table 2. The
procedure is very similar to a normal on campus Masters program. The main difference lies in the selection of
the research project. The research project
can be individual, departmental, or company-wide projects that the students are
currently involved with at various levels and capacity.
The interaction experience in
the classroom between the students, faculty, and student-faculty was
tremendous. The interaction was at all
levels-cultural, educational, technical, and intellectual. The students brought their companies and
their projects and challenges into the classroom and it seemed that there was
never enough time for these in-depth and interesting discussions. It was also apparent early on that the
students were getting much more than a traditional Masters of Engineering
classroom exposure and experience. The
feedback to their companies was overwhelmingly positive and reassuring.
The project topics and the
extent and the depth of the study would be based on the company’s assignment of
the student engineer to a specific project.
In some cases, engineers would be participating in the program just so
they would be assigned to a project critical to the success of the
company. Some project reports could
become more complex than a thesis or dissertation. Occasionally students were allowed to select
topics not related to their companies’ activities. In all cases, both the company and the
faculty graduate committee must approve the project topic. In many instances, as part of this
collaboration effort, companies would allow students to utilize company
resources such as hardware and software or even access to technicians,
mechanics, or machinists. In all cases,
the final report presentation would be to both University faculty and students
and members of student’s organization or company.
The companies soon realized
that along with their engineers and managers getting an advanced engineering
education and technical knowledge, they also have access to additional high-level
expertise of the faculty when needed as consultants. This became even more prevalent after several
years when many of the program graduates were promoted to higher positions
within the companies. Some even became
industry leaders and entrepreneurs and started their own companies with great
success, and some became chief engineers or plant managers.
Table 2: List of Various Projects at Different
Companies
1. “How to Design and Implement a Quality System to be in
Compliance with ISO 9000 Quality Standard Series”, Johnson Controls-Mexico.
2. “Computer Simulation and Animation of the Operation at
Deltronicos Using WITNESS”, CMM-Mexico.
3. “Development of an Expert System to define Physical
Work Requirements”, Zenith-Mexico.
4. “Just-In-Time Purchasing in a Manufacturing System”, Delphi.
5. “Accelerometer Transducers Calibration Using LabView
Software as an Automation Option”, Breed Automotive-Brownsville,
TEXAS.
6. “Computer Simulation Model To Assist In Information
Management And Emergency Evaluation In The Texas
Coastal Area”, GM-Brownsville,
Texas.
7.
“Ergonomic Guide
to Improve Productivity and Quality”, Calidada
Electronics-Brownsville, Texas.
8.
“Design and
Implementation of an Accelerated Business Plan”, Lucent Technologies-McAllen TEXAS.
9.
“The Calcination
of Sodium Altimonate Glass Grade E to be used for Manufacturing of TV Glass
Screens”, Enron-Laredo, TEXAS.
10. “Utilizing Identification Matrix for Shop Floor
Tracking: A New Manufacturing Technology for Product Identification”, Breed Automotive-Brownsville, Texas.
11. “Practical Approach to The Implementation of an Environmental
management System”, Delco-Electronics-Mexico.
12. “Computer Simulation Applied to the Manufacturing
Industry”, Delto Electronics-Mexico.
13. “Implementation of a Lean Packaging System”,
CMM-Mexico.
14. “Evaluating the Effects of Temperature on Physical Work
Performance”, Valeo Automotive-Detroit,
MI.
15. “Analysis of the Application of Design for Assembly to
an Electro-Mechanical Device”, Deltronicos-Matamoros,
Mexico.
16. “Impact of Kanban Systems on a JIT Manufacturing
Process”, Deltronicos-Matamoros,
Mexico.
17. “Hazard Tasks Assessment in Sand Molds Preparation in
an Aluminum Foundry Plant”, Reynosa Foundary, Mexico.
18. “Implementation of Reliability Centered Maintenance
(RCM) in a Manufacturing Facility”, Delphi Automotive, Mexico.
19. “Lean Manufacturing in a Magnesium Die Casting
Facility“, DISM, Mexico.
20. “Total Productive Maintenance Implementation in a
Manufacturing Environment“, Global Data Solution, Hidalgo,
Texas.
21. “Ergonomic Evaluation of A Steering Wheel Leather
Wrapping Process “, Delphi,
Mexico.
22. “Optimization of the Electrical Design Process in the
Automotive Industry”, Deltronicos,
Mexico.
Conclusion
The
program is able to react to fluctuation in the regional demand for education
and changes in NAFTA policies along with global economic outlook. As more experience is gained, a more flexible
approach to University-Industry collaboration and interaction is utilized. The feedback from the students, graduates,
and the participating plant's management has marked the success of this
program. Similar programs have started at other higher education institutions
mimicking this program but placing focus on short term technical support or
training and not a degree-offering program with substantially developed
curriculum.
References
[1] Hernandez,
P, "Texas
A&I Engineering Program,” Twin Plant News, The Magazine of The Maquiladora
Industry Since 1985, Vol 7, No. 3, Oct. 1991, p 31.
[2] Denning,
P. J., “Educating a New Engineer,” Communications of the ACM, Vol. 35, No. 12,
December 1992, pp 86-97.
[3] Cherrington,
B. E., "An Integrated Approach to Graduate Education in Manufacturing
Systems-The U.T. Dallas model," Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 82,
No. 1, January 1993, pp 43
[4] Farahmand,
K., “Quality In Engineering Education, Engineering Curriculum To Keep Up With
The Future Trends In Industry”, ASEE Conference-Manufacturing Track, Anaheim, California,
June 25-28, 1995.
Biography
KAMBIZ FARAHMAND is currently
a Professor and department head at the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
and Management at North Dakota
State University.
He is an internationally recognized expert in Productivity Improvement.
Dr. Farahmand has over 23 years of experience as an engineer, manager, and
educator. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas and past president
of IIE Coastal Bend Chapter.
