Abstract:

Design is as complex as any other science or human activity, aesthetics being just one of its many facets, and, in our opinion, one of the important parts. Training students to observe, to understand, to acknowledge the aesthetical part of any design will help their future as engineers, especially in such a special industry as the aerospace industry.

At Politehnica University of Bucharest, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering , Department of Engineering Graphics and Industrial Design, students benefit from a special course, Engineering Aesthetics.

Our study targets the evaluation of such a course, from the point of view of the students, in order to help us improve the approach to the course and give the students the best learning opportunities, which in time develop in well needed abilities.

All the students taking the course are in the 3rd year of study, so they are no novices to industrial design. There are 41 students who were the active part of our research. We prepared a simple test, consisting of a set of 15 questions, to be answered at the beginning of the course and again at the end of the course, results being then compared. Another variable taken into consideration was the very project they chose at the beginning of the course – when the project was completed, at the end of the course, the students were asked to evaluate how the course of aesthetics helped them design the project.

The results were comprehensive, as described further in our study. Quite important is the fact that, for the 2020-2021 academic year, we had the most of applicants for a 2-year master degree. It means our direction leading to an aesthetic approach of industrial design is correct and appreciated.

Keywords:

Beauty, utility, learning opportunities, aerospace design.