Abstract:

The self-assessment standard for the CDIO (Conceive Design Implement Operate) approach to engineering education has recently been updated to a CDIO 2.1 (Bennedsen, 2016). In this paper a new engineering program in “Industrial technology and sustainability” will be preseented an self-assessed using the CDIO 2.1. An idea of a flipped education is here claimed to support both systems thinking and CDIO. Flipped aspects are: starting with the system whole, early introduction to industry practice, use of web lectures (flipped classroom) and use of systemic gamification.

A challenge for many established and traditional engineering programs lies in its path dependency of courses and faculty. In order to create a satisfactory whole for i.e. cross-cutting skills, which are not the main subject for a course, requires integration of these aspects. Another challenge is the need to update traditional engineering courses with greater emphasis on aspects of sustainability across all life cycle stages of systems. It is also necessary to ensure progression thoughout the program. All this requires substantial collaboration between teachers i.e. to agree on who does what and when. As a program director of an all new engineering program the author found herself in a position free to design an education from scratch, without much constraints of old structures.

The “Industrial technology and sustainability” program has a focus on sustainable production. This has implication for its’ education. Production systems are complex socio-technical systems and sustainability aspects of production systems deals with each on its own challenging issues on sustainability for work systems, for companies’ competitiveness and for environmental impact from production. Production is seen as a system of logistics, maintenance and manufacturing as well. The program has, except common core engineering courses for math, physics, mechanics, and supporting subjects of optimization, statistics, programming, a program specific content.

The core of the educational program was considered a system and in the early conceptual stage, the main system components were identified to be these core subjects:
1) Sustainability,
2) Production technology,
3) Logistics,
4) Maintenance,
5) Production management,
6) Human aspects,
7) Data and information management and finally
8) Flows, processes and systems.

The program is starting off with a whole and then successively is broken down to subject specifics. This is a challenge for the introductory courses and program specific courses to introduce basic but enough bits and pieces, in a piecemeal manner, of different subjects from various system perspectives. Like in manufacturing, the concept of modularization is used. With short web lectures various experts may discuss one subject in respect to one or all other system components 1-8 above. Modularization of web lectures has been used to resolve the early complex content. Gamifications and close collaboration with major manufacturing industries supports engineering context. This approach is stated to be broader than flipped classroom. It is a flipped education. Piecemeal modules and systemic games is also suggested to contribute to “old structure” programs by facilitating integration and managing progression.

In addition to the self-assessment, the new course designs and content will be presented. The Engineering program has just been started so the evaluation will at this early stage be a verification of its concept and design.

Keywords:

CDIO, engineering, sustainability, systems, flipped education, industry collaboration.