Development of Learn-by-Doing Programs on Engineering Career Education Conducted with Collaboration from Private Company Engineers

Development of Learn-by-Doing Programs on Engineering Career Education Conducted with Collaboration from Private Company Engineers

T. Oka

, Y. Tanabe, S. Harada, K. Abe, N. Ishii, T. Maruyama, T. Sato, H. Imaizumi, S. Nishimura, M. Sengoku, H. Ohkaw

Niigata University

Abstract

We have constructed three characteristic internship programs which were based on the different aspects of view by the grant in aid from MEXT of Japanese government. The most outstanding program is what we call “Market Internship”, where the students directly approach the market in which the engineering technologies are utilized. Then they must find out the problems and advantages of engineering technologies from the view of consumers. The experience would result in the enhancement of motivation to study the engineering technologies. It would be substantially effective in engineering education curriculums that the engineers of private companies in which university students will get their own jobs in near future could take important roles to conduct them. We believe that this activity would effective in reducing gaps they would feel between before and after getting jobs in practical society, and lowering the ratio of unemployment after getting jobs Keywords: Learn-by-Doing, Engineering education, Collaboration, Career education

Received : December 4, 2009 Revised : April 6, 2010 Accepted : May 10, 2010

† Corresponding author: [email protected]

Ⅰ. Introduction

It has been enthusiastically stated that it is needed to reconstruct the educational programs in univer- sities. The authors have defined a novel keyword

“Kougakuryoku” as ability for engineering designing.

The word means the total ability which is required to the university students under the curriculum of engi- neering design, and consists of ability to create and to learn something. Following said principle, Education Center for Engineering and Technology ECET was established in Faculty of Engineering in Niigata University in 2004. The center takes some roles to organize and conduct various educational projects which are adopted by Japanese government [1,2].

ECET is composed of four branches and sustained by fourteen staff which are assigned by three full-time and additional posts to conduct the programs.

A learn-by-doing career educational program is one of which has been precisely planned in ECET, and

has been adopted to the grant in aid what we call

“Support Program for Contemporary Education Needs”

by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japanese government in 2006. This educational program is based on the recent social problem of increasing NEET (Not in employ- ment, education or training) people in Japan [3].

Ⅱ. Practical and Vocational Engineering Education in Cooperation with Enterprises

A novel engineering education program named as

“Practical and Vocational Engineering Education in Cooperation with Enterprises (Students, specialists, and professors working together for professional awareness)”

was proposed and adopted by MEXT of Japanese government in 2006. This program is composed of three kinds of specific internship programs to eli- minate the discrepancy between students' expectation to the job and practical conditions after getting in companies. The whole concept is shown in [Fig. 1].

The program consists of three characteristic internship

programs which containing a special workshop dis-

cussing on the engineering issues. The most charac-

[Fig. 1] The whole concept of novel career design program conducted in Niigata University teristic program is what we call “Market Internship”,

in which the students study the problems residing in the engineering technologies from the users points of view, as shown in [Fig. 2]. The discussion among the

students, company engineers and faculties, named

“Career Design Workshop”, is prepared simultaneously

after the internship program. In 2008, three students

have experienced the novel program, “Technology

[Fig. 2] Concept of Market Internship

Internship” which was prepared by the regional enter- prises. In order to let the university students experience the practical engineering processes in their easy- understand way, we have constructed an assisting system named “Network of 100 wisdom” and the practical career education lectures named “Enterprise Week”

and the lectures of engineering ethical education named

“Technological Ethics Lectures” are planned by inviting the engineers who take part in the network.

1. Market Internship, Career Design Workshop, and Technology Internship

The education programs for career designing in Niigata University have started in 2006 year. The outlines of Market Internship, following Career Design Workshop, and Technology Internship have been precisely discussed in ECET. In the Market Internship, students have experienced the engineering technology from the point of the user's perspective, enabling themselves to find its benefits and problems which reside in engineering technologies. They have directly interacted with their users, experiencing real social demands, realizing new aims and technological pro- blems they contain. The reporting sessions were held twice a year. The students were divided into several groups and have reported theirinvestigation results on the self-proposed themes of their own, as shown in [Fig. 3] (a).

A characteristic workshop in which the students and teachers and a Network of 100 Wisdom join to discuss together has been performed in the meeting, as shown in [Fig. 3] (b). 15 students have attended the meeting which was divided in 4 teams lively discussed with 53 engineers in front of 21 faculties of Niigata University in the fall meeting in 2008.

Through this exchange of opinions, all of attendant students answered that the meeting was effective for them. According to the questionnaire after the investi- gation in August in 2008, participants answered the

(a)

(b)

[Fig. 3] A presentation by students (a) and Career design workshop (b) in the Market Internship meeting which was held on August 4 in 2008 program was profitable but requested us some impro- vements.

In 2008, we have conducted the new internship program called Technology Internship which is char- acterized by long term experience in practicalfactories in regional areas. Three students have taken this program and they have been trained by practical jobs in each company they have chosen by themselves for more than four weeks in 2008 summer. They were estimated by the presentations in the fall meeting and their reports which were submitted after their visits.

2. A Network of 100 Wisdom

A Network of 100 Wisdom was built for Niigata

University as a supporting network on engineering

education, as shown in [Fig. 4]. Since the experienced

engineers have tremendous know-how and up-dated

knowledge, we have constructed a kind of network

system of technical information instead of piling up

the know-how on the bookshelves in university. The

[Fig. 4] Discussion with a Network of 100 Wisdom at the presentation meeting

[Fig. 5] Enterprise Week (a) and Technology Ethics Lectures (b)

engineers outside university take part in presenting technical information to students and professors to promote the career education programs such as Market Internship, Career Design Workshop, and so on. 84 members have registered to the system until the end of 2008 fiscal year.

3. Enterprise Week and Technology Ethics Lectures Enterprise Week and Technology Ethics Lectures are conducted by ECET every year. They are made up of lectures and exhibitions by company engineers.

The practical and progressing R&D stories, they may be occasionally success stories, are lectured and the commercial products which are practically dealt in various markets are exhibited as the results of R&D activities in the company just in front of the students, as shown in [Fig. 5] (a). It is found that the education programs showing the practical instances are valuable for students to know the fact that 96 % of the parti-

cipants replied that the programs were effective to them in their reports after the course in 2007. 450 students (30% of freshmen) have taken the lecture in 2008. Social and environmental problems occur with the change of modern society. The lectures in ethical topics are presented because it is important to educate engineers and technicians on technology and enterprise ethics, as is shown in [Fig. 5] (b)

Ⅲ. Conclusions

A characteristic education program composed by three kinds of career design programs with different points of view has been constructed to motivate the university students to study fundamental subjects and to enhance the vocational consciousness. Market In- ternship and following Career Design Workshop was performed with attendance of the members of Network of 100 Wisdom. In 2008, these programs and new Technology Internships were conducted to eliminate the gaps between the image which students have before starting work and real condition after their getting jobs. As a result of the above practical career education, we have established a whole program that nurtures young graduates who can adopt themselves to society with their own initiative and high ethics.

References

Nishimura S., and Iwasa, A. (2004). A Collaborative Planning and Building Educational Program with Students and Inhabitants: Proc. of the 9th World Conference on Continuing Engineering Education, Tokyo, Japan, May 15-20, pp. 161-165.

Ishii N., Maruyama T., Nishimura S., Nitta I., Ohkawa A., Oka T., Sato T., Sengoku M., Sugawara A., Tanabe Y. (2006). Incubation of technical collaborations for developing learn-by-doing educational program through engineering developments: 10th World Conference on Continuing Engineering Education, Vienna, April 19-21, 384.

Oka T., Tanabe Y., Nishimura S., Imaizumi H., Harada S.,

Ishii N., Abe K., Iwabe Y., Haneda T., Souma H.,

Terasawa K., Maruyama T., Ohkawa H. and Sengoku

M., 11th IACEE World Conference on Continuing

Engineering Education 11th WCCEE Atlanta, US,

May 20 (2008) 178.

The Author

T. Oka, Dr. Eng

1979 : Kyoto University, Department of Engineering, Bachelor

1992 : Nagoya University, Graduate School of the University, Department of Applied Physics, Ph.D

Present : Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Niigata University, Japan

Interesting Research Area : Applied superconductivity, thermal behaviors of the magnetic flux during the pulsed-field magnetization, performances of trapped field magnet activated by static magnetic fields, construction of various magnetic field generators using HTS bulk materials, industrial application of high temperature superconducting bulk magnets

Phone : +81-25-262-7668 Fax : +81-25-262-7666

E-mail : [email protected]

Y. Tanabe

1988 : Tohoku University Graduate School of the University, Ph.D.

Present : Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Niigata University, Japan

Department：Creative Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Faculty of Engineering

Interesting Research Area : Orthopaedic Biomechanics, Fracture and Strength of Materials, Impact Engineering

Phone : +81-25-262-6806 Fax : +81-25-262-7010

E-mail : [email protected]

S. Harada

1978 : Niigata University Graduate School of the University, Master of Science

1983 : Dr. Eng. (Osaka University)

Present : Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Niigata University, Japan

Department : Applied Materials Science, Department of Materials Science and Technology, Faculty of Engineering　

Interesting Research Area : Hydrogen in Metals, Hydrogen Materials Science & Chemistry

Phone : +81-25-262-6723 Fax : +81-25-262-7010

E-mail : [email protected]

K. Abe

1991 Tokyo Institute of Technology Graduate School of the University, Dr. Eng.

Present : Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Niigata University, Japan

Department：Civil Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Faculty of Engineering

Interesting Research Area : Applied Mechanics, Computational Mechanics, Railway Engineering

Phone : +81-25-262-7028

Fax : +81-25-262-7021 E-mail : [email protected]

N. Ishii

1996 : Hokkaido University Graduate School of the University, Ph.D.

Present : Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Niigata University, Japan

Department： Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biocybernetics, Faculty of Engineering

Interesting Research Area : Communication/network engineering Phone : +81-25-262-7472

Fax : +81-25-262-7010

E-mail : [email protected]

T. Maruyama

1965 : Niigata University, Department of Engineering, Bachelor

1979 : Dr. Eng (Nagoya University)

Interesting Education Area : Human education, Engineering ethics

Present : Emeritus Professor, Niigata University, Japan

Phone : +81-25-262-7938 Fax : +81-25-262-7938

E-mail : [email protected]

T. Sato

1983 : Kyoto University Graduate School of the University, Ph.D.

Present : Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Niigata University, Japan

Department：Communication Systems, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering

Interesting Research Area : Applied optics/quantum optical engineering, Communication/network engineering, Quantum optics Phone : +81-25-262-6723

Fax : +81-25-262-6723

E-mail : [email protected]

H. Imaizumi

1977 : Niigata University, Department of Engineering, Bachelor.

1990 : Tokyo University, Graduate School of the University, Ph.D Present : Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Niigata University, Japan

Department：Material Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering

Interesting Research Area : Applied Radiochemistry and Analytical Chemistry

Phone : +81-25-262-6776 Fax : +81-25-262-7010

E-mail : [email protected]

S. Nishimura

1988 : Tokyo University, Graduate School of the University, Ph.D.

Present : Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Niigata University, Japan

Department：Architecture, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Faculty of Engineering

Interesting Research Area : city planning/architectural planning,

architectural history/design, architectural design, architects, architectural history, residential town planning housing problems Phone : +81-25-262-7217

Fax : +81-25-262-7547

E-mail : [email protected]

M. Sengoku

1967 : Niigata University B.E. degree, 1972 : Hokkaido University Ph.D.

Until March 2010, professor of the Department of Information Engineering at Niigata University.

Currently, Executive Vice President of Niigata University.

Interesting Research Area : Network theory, graph theory, and mobile communications.

Phone : +81-25-262-6014 Fax : +81-25-262-7700

E-mail : [email protected]

H. Ohkawa

Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Niigata University, Japan

1986 Tokyo Institute of Technology Graduate School of the University, Ph.D.

Department：Civil Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Faculty of Engineering

Interesting Research Area : Improvement of soil, Mechanism of soil liquefaction, Porous asphalt concrete, Mechanical behavior of flexible underground pipes

Phone : +81-25-262-6793 Fax : +81-25-262-7010

E-mail : [email protected]