An Engineering Learning Center; description, results, and lessons learned

The Engineering Learning Center (ELC) of Kansas State University provides internship opportunities for engineering students in the same way a teaching hospital trains medical school students. The center consists of state-of-the-art manufacturing and engineering design hardware and software, a staff of experienced engineers, and a group of faculty associates from various engineering disciplines. In this center, graduate and undergraduate students from engineering and business colleges work as interns on product and process development projects contracted with industrial partners. To each project contracted with client companies, an interdisciplinary group of interns is assigned to work under the supervision of an experienced staff member and deliver new designs, prototypes and manufacturing processes. This operation provides a unique and innovative active learning environment for junior and senior students from several engineering disciplines. Students learn to perform as members of an interdisciplinary team, develop outstanding communication skills (because they have to sell their ideas to a paying customer), and realize the business side of engineering activities. The paper presents the detailed results of the operation of ELC since its inception in 1995. It also details the lessons learned in establishing and operating this center with a guide for things to emphasize and pitfalls to avoid.