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Barrie, Jeff; Norman, James

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This paper discusses the delivery of design principles across engineering disciplines, in particular between Mechanical/Design Engineering and Civil Engineering. The paper discusses a 5 week conceptual design project undertaken by first year Civil Engineering undergraduates, delivered from an Engineering Design perspective. Key learning outcomes from the project were to enable students to demonstrate an appreciation of the environmental, economic, social, professional and interdisciplinary contexts, as well as scope and purpose of civil engineering, in delivering sustainable development. The students were able to demonstrate an appreciation of how civil engineering fulfils its purpose through design as a process of individual and collective learning; by undertaking a team-based design project with high-level conceptual output, from visuals generated from AutoCAD and physical modelmaking using 3D printing and laser-cutting in a new hackspace facility. The students presented their design work to academic staff playing the hypothetical roles of different key stakeholders in the design process, as an engaging method of formatively assessing their learning outcomes. The project relies on very little to no understanding of engineering analysis; focussing instead on understanding stakeholder needs, conceptual design output, and the principles of the engineering design process in a multi-disciplinary context.

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Civil Engineering, Conceptual Design, 3D printing, Prototyping, Problem Based Learning, Multi-disciplinary, CAD, Hackspace, Makerspace