People will create the jobs of the future, not just train for them, and technology is already central.
-Jonathan Grudin, Principle Researcher, Microsoft
The quickly changing skills market presents a significant challenge for businesses to recruit employees who fit with their company and who have the skills to adapt as technology and the market changes. This in turn affects how we prepare our engineering students for the workforce.The fourth year Capstone Design course pairs teams of students with industry or community clients to solve significant technical challenges. Students must draw on their skills to solve open-ended problems with limited resources and to deliver their solution to the client. By working on real-world problems, students face technical and non-technical challenges that reflect what they will experience in the workforce. In turn, clients have a chance to engage with graduating students resulting in new hires and development of IP.
This seminar introduces current challenges in engineering education and describes how the fourth year Capstone Design course prepares students for their careers.
Dr. Paul Lusina, P.Eng. is a lecturer in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of British Columbia. Paul believes that industry and community partnerships are an ideal vehicle for incorporating the latest pedagogical best practices in order to prepare the next generation of engineers for a constantly changing technological landscape. To this end, he co-designed the current fourth year Capstone Engineering Design course that pairs teams of students to solve significant technical challenges faced by industry and community organizations.
Paul is curious about people. He either taught, worked, or studied in Canada, Germany, India, Finland, and/or Quebec. His professional engagement includes volunteering with the Vancouver sections of the
IEEE and Engineers and Geoscientists BC and he is currently a director with the Pacific Energy Innovation Association. Paul draws on these experiences to inform his teaching. In times of difficulty, Paul draws upon the wisdom of the famous electronic circuits guru K.C. Smith’s motto of “trial and success”, which in his opinion captures the mindset of the engineering profession.
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