Many see engineering as a practical major where you learn how to use formulas. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Engineers are constantly solving problems no one has ever seen with such effectiveness that the solutions seem obvious despite the countless hours that they require.
At USC, the engineering curriculum provides students with a fair amount of opportunities to develop their thinking skills. For instance, last semester in AME 101 I had 2 design projects where I was presented with a problem that needed solving and analysis. Outside of the set curriculum, USC fosters an environment that promotes clubs like Aerial Robotics and SC Racing to form. Generally run by students and with little guidance from professors, you learn a lot about how to think in these clubs.
While USC's current system is decent, there is certainly more that can be done. For instance, being given the chance to work on projects that students can pick in class would greatly help. During the course of the project, classes should not be held, only office hours so that all of the students' interest can be directed at research and the project at hand.
I completely agree with you, USC should change the structure to make classes more hands on outside of the clubs offered. I think they actually do this at Cal SLO and it's been really successful. I think that given all it's resources, USC could definitely offer a great engineering program that offers practical experience.
ReplyDeleteThat last point is a great idea, as in the field, engineers would be completely useless in most cases without a highly-developed ability to come up with innovation. By having more of an emphasis on design projects, it gives students a much stronger understanding of the other side of engineering which requires critical thought.
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