Exploring the use of student taught classes to introduce new technical topics to engineering undergraduates

As engineering disciplines evolve, universities are challenged to continually incorporate new material into the undergraduate curriculum. Traditionally, the two primary methods of incorporating new material are to either change the curriculum of a specific class or hire a new instructor to teach a new class. In our paper, we introduce a new model for introducing skills and tools necessary for undergraduates to succeed in industry/academia via the Student Taught Classes program (STC). Overall, the STC program has been widely successful and far reaching. The popularity of the program can be attributed to the rigorous application process, flexible class structure, and broad impact that each of the seven classes taught have had over the past three semesters. When instituted in the right way, Student Taught Classes have the ability to add a new dimension to any undergraduate engineering curriculum.