Development and Implementation of a Multi-Specialty Advanced Capstone Design Course Zeynep Dilli and Neil Goldsman University of Maryland, College Park, USA dilli@eng.umd.edu

Outline Introduction Course design goals Implementation Outcomes Components Timeline Main project Outcomes Student gains Student comments Conclusion and future changes

Design Courses in ECE Engineering jobs require design experience from graduates ABET requirements: Engineering school graduates need to be able to “…design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs…” “…identify, formulate and solve engineering problems…” “…function on multi-disciplinary teams…” Capstone Design Courses address this need

Design Courses in ECE Electrical and computer engineering covers many subjects and progresses rapidly UMCP offers Capstone design courses on Signal processing Communications Microcontroller based design Optoelectronics Digital VLSI Mixed-signal VLSI… Senior students have time to specialize in a few branches

ENEE 498C: Capstone II, Advanced Design Pilot run in Fall 2003 Builds on single-semester Capstone courses Students with different specialties Interaction between electrical engineering specialties Easier to implement and offers more freedom than industry-partnership courses

Course Design Goals Expose students to system-level design collaboration Combine varying previous design experiences Allow students to shape the project themselves Present their previous experiences Determine project specifications by themselves Expand on single-semester Capstone courses and address more industry expectations

Implementation: Lecture Component One lecture hour per week Guest lecturers: Professors of different Capstone design courses Student-ran seminars: Presentations of their past design experience Training classmates Project group meetings

Implementation: Timeline Student presentations on past design experience Warm-up project: IC design and fabrication Main project Guest lectures interspersed through the semester They chose what to design; laid it out, fabricated through MOSIS

Implementation: Main project Instructor proposed outlines… …student-led discussions focused on possible projects… …instructor provided a functional definition… “A system useful for large groups to find each other… in a big place, like a shopping mall or amusement park. Performs two functions: 1) Indicates… the direction of a target unit … 2) Acts as a basic walkie-talkie.” Students determined Detailed specifications Block diagrams Group composition Work assignments Block dependencies Task lists & timeline

Implementation: Main project Projects: Direction finder Range finder Required technical skills: Microcontroller-based design Digital design RF design PCB layout experience Required project skills: System-level design Teamwork: Work division Inter- and intra-team communications Project management Final: Project reports and demos

Implementation: Main project: Direction finder

Implementation: Main project: Direction finder

Outcomes Assessment Excellent student performance and contribution Final reports Project results Student commentary Through the semester, and At the end of the semester Instructor observations Excellent student performance and contribution independently of their GPA or previous academic performance!

Outcomes: Student Gains Teamwork and Project Management Work division Intra- and inter-team communication Time management System Engineering Experience Awareness of the need created by complexity and interacting subcomponents Student suggestion: intro-level system engineering course The Design Process Student-designed process along with product Spec modifications and requirements Documentation: Task lists, block design reports, block dependency lists Varying Technical Strengths Combining past design experiences

Outcomes: Student Response Enthusiastic student response to autonomy Provided training to each other Expanded the original design goals Created a course website for discussion and resources

Possible Modifications Offering the course in Spring instead of Fall, for students graduating in Spring Add seminars on business, marketability and legal aspects of product design These issues were considered when relevant Students comment more formal coverage could be useful Instructor might require discussion on these points in final reports

Conclusion Students comment that the course provided them with chances to use project management and teamwork/ communication skills experience a system-level design process co-operate with others having different technical skills use their own background skill set simultaneously learn from more experienced students and teach less experienced ones This is a valuable addition to the curriculum.