An Integrated Approach for Strategic Development of Engineering Curricula: Focus on Students´ Design Skills

This paper proposes an integrated approach for developing the engineering curricula with a specific focus on engineering design. The proposed approach allows a continuous and coherent development of engineering students´ design skills throughout the entire undergraduate curriculum. This ongoing design experience is delivered at an involvement and complexity level compatible with the students´ study year. In the integrated approach, three different stages are identified: Structured Design Experience, Guided Design Experience, and Open-Ended Design Experience. The objectives, implementation mechanism, and the expected outcomes of each stage are outlined. The proposed methodology systematically develops not only design skills but also teamwork, communication skills, project management, and lifelong learning. The implementation of the proposed approach is demonstrated by presenting courses in the Electronics track which shows the gradual, integrated delivery of structured, guided, and open ended design experiences as students progress from the freshman to the final year of study. As a case study, the delivery of design skills using the proposed approach is assessed through the students´ survey in the electrical engineering curriculum at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.