Enhancing Engineering Education Through Undergraduate Student Projects

PHILIPPINE ASSOCIATION FOR TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION

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Enhancing Engineering Education through Undergraduate Research Projects Joel Reyes Noche

Abstract— The Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering in the University of the Philippines, Diliman requires its undergraduate students to take a course where they will do an undergraduate research project. This paper presents the history of the course, the way the course is handled, and how the course can enhance engineering education. Index Terms—Undergraduate research projects.

I. I NTRODUCTION HE Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering in the University of the Philippines, Diliman requires its B. S. Electrical Engineering, B. S. Electronics and Communications Engineering, and B. S. Computer Engineering students to take a course where they will do an undergraduate research project. The objective of the course is for the student to specialize in a chosen field or area of study through a project that applies the student’s knowledge, skills, and research capability. A project may be part of, or result from, a collaboration of different research laboratories or departments. It could be in the form of: an engineering innovation; a technical feasibility study; a theoretical problem; a proof of concept versus implementation or performance specifications; a proposed solution to an outstanding engineering problem; or other projects approved by the undergraduate research monitoring committee. This paper presents a brief history of the course, the way the course is handled, and how the course can enhance engineering education.

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II. H ISTORY The course EE 81 (Electrical Projects) was instituted in May 1975 [1] with a course description: “Design, fabrication and testing of electrical hardware and equipment in the field of power, communication, instrumentation, controls, computers, etc.” Its prerequisite was senior standing and it had three units of credit: one lecture unit (one hour a week) and two laboratory units (six hours a week). In February 1985, the course was renamed EE 198 (Special Problems). In August 1988, a change was made, allowing the student to take the course twice (for a credit of six units). The course was made an elective, but when it was found that those who took the course acquired more skills and positive traits than Presented during the Philippine Association for Technological Education General Membership Meeting on April 26-28, 2001. J. Noche is with the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines (e-mail: [email protected]).

those who did not take it, it was later made a required course again. In March 1994, three courses were instituted in lieu of EE 198: EE 198.1 (Special Problems in Electrical Engineering), EE 198.2 (Special Problems in Electronics and Communications Engineering), and EE 198.3 (Special Problems in Computer Engineering). The course credit was also increased to five units (two lecture units and three laboratory units) to “allow more time for the discussion of research problems, procedures, tools and reports, and for the solution of engineering design problems.” In December 1998, the course numbers were changed from EE 198.1 to EE 198, EE 198.2 to ECE 198, and EE 198.3 to CoE 198. It was discovered that some students still had not finalized the topic of their project by the time they took the course. To ensure that the students had sufficient preparation, the course prerequisite was changed to a course called EEE 190 (Inspection Trips and Seminar), where the students were instructed to spend the semester researching their topic, among other things. III. H ANDLING Students do their undergraduate student project either individually or in groups. The student (or group of students) has one or more faculty advisers and one or more host laboratories. Three faculty members, selected before classes start, are assigned as course handlers [2]. The handlers are selected so that one specializes in Electrical Engineering, another specializes in Electronics and Communications Engineering, and the last specializes in Computer Engineering. Students show their progress by (1) submitting a written proposal, (2) presenting an oral proposal, (3) giving a halfway point presentation, (4) giving a final presentation, and (5) submitting a final documentation. The handlers meet the students four times during the semester: first, to discuss the requirements of the course; second, to hold the proposal presentations (for those who don’t already have approved proposals); third, to hold the halfway point presentations; and fourth, to hold the final presentations. A student’s request to drop the course may be denied. Dropping is discouraged because it results in inefficient use of laboratory facilities and disrupts the plans of the research laboratory. A. Proposal Presentation The written proposal [3] contains: the project’s title, objective, duration, and schedule; the names of the researcher, the project adviser, and the host laboratory; a brief introduction to

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the project (including the division of labor if the project is to be done by a group), as well as information on how the project is to be designed, implemented, and tested. The halfway point, a project milestone for the middle of the semester, is given special emphasis. Previously, the procedure was for students to submit their written proposals and present their oral proposals around a week after the first meeting. Now, the proposal presentations are made at the end of the prerequisite course EEE 190. The oral proposals are presented to a panel of at least four faculty members. The panel reviews the proposals to see if they are feasible and acceptable (e.g., the needed materials and equipment are available; the level of difficulty, the division of labor, and the halfway point are acceptable). The suggestions of the panel are taken into account. The handlers inform the students of the necessary modifications and approve the proposal only if these modifications are made before a set date. Students who do not have approved proposals by then are dropped from the course.

B. Halfway Point Presentation The halfway point presentations are held in the middle of the semester with a panel of at least four faculty members. It was found that without a halfway point presentation, students tended to work at a slow pace at the start, and cram near the end, often resulting in incompleted projects. The policy of giving students a failing grade for not meeting their halfway point encourages students to work at a steady pace and to finish on time.

C. Final Presentation and Grading Students are taught the importance of proper documentation and professional presentation of results. Each group recommends a faculty member or a lecturer to be a reader to review drafts as well as the final version of their final documentation [4]. The reader checks for technical, grammatical, typographical, and style errors, and makes sure that the information is presented clearly. During the last week of classes, the final presentations are held (ideally with the same panel in the halfway point presentation) and the final documentation are submitted. Students are graded individually by the panel during the final presentation. The grade is based on: the student’s time management and work attitude (which may be judged from the student’s regular progress reports); the student’s research methodology and thoroughness (exploration of alternative methods and approaches; thorough testing, verification, and documentation of results); the student’s final documentation (content; thoroughness; completeness of test data; comparisons, observations, and recommendations made; acknowledgment of sources), and the student’s oral presentation and defense (completeness; preparedness; clarity and organization of presentation; exhibiting thorough understanding of the project). Additional information on documentation, presentation, and grading can be found in [5].

PHILIPPINE ASSOCIATION FOR TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION

IV. E NHANCING E NGINEERING E DUCATION The course is usually taken by students during their last semester. Students are encouraged to “apply” to one of the department’s fourteen research laboratories one or two semesters (or more) before taking the course. The faculty members affiliated with each research laboratory understandably prefer the more qualified students to do research in their laboratories. This helps students see the need to perform well in their studies: their chances of getting into a research laboratory are dependent on their performance in their previous courses. Having been accepted into a research laboratory, some students become student assistants, gaining extra benefits as well as responsibilities. This process prepares the students for their applications to companies (if they choose a career in industry) or to research institutions and universities (if they choose to do research work, teaching, or advanced studies). For students who choose to do their project in groups, the course teaches the importance of each member’s contribution to the project. There have been cases where a student in a group stops working, causing the rest of the group who depend on that student’s work to not attain their objectives. Students are thus advised to select their groupmates wisely, and to structure their projects such their objectives can be attained even if the other members do not complete their work. Some students have presented the results of their undergraduate research projects in a national conference (e.g., [6]-[11]). In addition, some of the undergraduate research projects have won in the College of Engineering Undergraduate Research Competition. For example, in the latest competition, [12] and [13] won first and second place, respectively. The fact that undergraduates may have ownership rights to their research should not be ignored. A number of strategies for dealing with this is presented in [14]. Undergraduate research projects can also be used as a tool to identify and recruit potentially successful graduate students. This was done for electrical engineering students in [15]. Additional information on the research being done at the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering in the University of the Philippines, Diliman, can be found in [16] and [17]. More information on engineering design courses can be found in [18], [19], and (for electrical engineering in particular) [20]. How the requirement of engineering design in a computer engineering program is integrated with undergraduate honors research is shown in [21]. V. C ONCLUSION The required Special Problems course of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering of the University of the Philippines at Diliman teaches students how to specialize in a chosen field or area of study through a project that applies the student’s knowledge, skills, and research capability. Aside from learning how to design, implement, and test their project within a fixed schedule, the students also learn how to present and document the results professionally. Undergraduate research projects enrich the engineering educational experience and provide valuable experience, whether the student chooses a career in academe, in research, or in industry.

NOCHE: ENHANCING ENGINEERING EDUCATION THROUGH UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROJECTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENT I thank Louis Alarcon, Dr. Rowena Guevara, Richard Hizon, Prof. Rafael Mantaring, Dr. Joel Marciano, Gilba Padilla, and Prof. Romeo Solis for their comments.

R EFERENCES [1] Publications and University Council Secretariat Section, Office of the University Registrar, University of the Philippines, Diliman. [2] Proposed Guidelines for Undergraduate Student Project Handlers, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering, University of the Philippines, Diliman. [3] Proposed Format for Undergraduate Student Project Proposal, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering, University of the Philippines, Diliman. [4] Proposed Format for Undergraduate Student Project Final Documentation, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering, University of the Philippines, Diliman. [5] A. W. Fentiman and J. T. Demel, “Teaching students to document a design project and present the results,” Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 84, no. 4, pp. 329-333, October 1995. [6] M. M. Ancheta, M. A. Canare, M. A. Cuyugan, F. L. Dalay, O. P. Feliciano, M. M. Gabieta, R. C. Licuanan, P. O. Ludovice, S. C. Ong, A. C. Te, and L. P. Alarcon, “8-bit Harvard architecture RISC microcontroller,” presented at the 1st National ECE Conference, Philippines, Dec. 2000. [7] A. P. Chio and L. P. Alarcon, “Viterbi convolutional error-correcting coder-decoder,” presented at the 1st National ECE Conference, Philippines, Dec. 2000. [8] I. S. Garcia and R. L. Guevara, “Simulating three-dimensional sound over stereo speakers,” presented at the 1st National ECE Conference, Philippines, Dec. 2000. [9] R. Sevilla and J. Rubrico, “Robotics core toolkit,” presented at the 1st National ECE Conference, Philippines, Dec. 2000. [10] E. Tan, M. Co, A. David, E. Macalinao, A. Pascual, R. Ocampo, and R. Guevara, “Telephony over packet architecture for campus PBX,” presented at the 1st National ECE Conference, Philippines, Dec. 2000. [11] N. Toledo, “Design and characterization of a 3.07 GHz QPSK transmitter,” presented at the 1st National ECE Conference, Philippines, Dec. 2000. [12] M. Arcedera, “Three-dimensional mapping using the structured lighting approach,” Undergraduate student project, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering, University of the Philippines, Diliman, April 2001. [13] M. Y. Marinas, N. Mateo, and A. Ribano, “Antenna Radiation Pattern Measurement system - phase II,” Undergraduate student project, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering, University of the Philippines, Diliman, April 2001. [14] K. J. Nordheden and M. H. Hoeflich, “Undergraduate research and intellectual property rights,” IEEE Transactions on Education, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 233-236, November 1999. [15] R. M. Narayanan, “Use of objective-based undergraduate research project experience as a graduate student recruitment tool,” Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 361-365, July 1999. [16] L. P. Alarcon, “Microelectronics research at the University of the Philippines, Diliman,” presented at the 1st National ECE Conference, Philippines, Dec. 2000. [17] G. C. Denoga, “Information systems and technology research at the University of the Philippines,” presented at the 1st National ECE Conference, Philippines, Dec. 2000. [18] A. J. Dutson, R. H. Todd, S. P. Magleby, and C. D. Sorensen, “A review of literature on teaching engineering design through project-oriented capstone courses,” Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 86, no. 1, pp. 1728, January 1997. [19] R. H. Todd, S. P. Magleby, C. D. Sorensen, B. R. Swan, and D. K. Anthony, “A survey of capstone engineering courses in North America,” Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 84, no. 2, pp. 165-174, April 1995. [20] R. C. Born, “A capstone design experience for electrical engineers,” IEEE Transactions on Education, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 240-242, August 1992. [21] S. Ghosh, “Integrating design into undergraduate honors theses in a computer engineering program: an experiment,” IEEE Transactions on Education, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 203-210, May 2000.

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Joel Reyes Noche received the B. S. degree in electrical engineering (cum laude) from the University of the Philippines (UP), Diliman, in 1996 and is currently taking the M. S. degree in electrical engineering from UP, Diliman. His thesis is on asynchronous circuits and computer arithmetic. He is an instructor at the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, UP, Diliman.