CAPSTONE DESIGN IN ENGINEERING AND SOCIETY AT MCMASTER UNIVERSITY

• Published in: Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA)
• Main Authors: Churchill, C. J., Baetz, B. W.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) 2011
• Subjects: Canada; Nunavut
• Online Access: https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/PCEEA/article/view/3664

Engineering and Society is a five-year program at McMaster University which is available to all departments within the Faculty of Engineering. A new core course, offered for the first time in the Winter 2009 semester, was taken by Society students in their final year. This course is a capstone design course titled “Design for Society”. The course culminated in a group design project wherein the students were given an open-ended problem and were asked to provide a conceptual solution. The problem involved the territorial government of Nunavut, Canada, wanting to give a boost to its tourist trade while showcasing the culture, history and heritage of their people. This case study paper provides an overview of the challenges and successes of delivering this course and will be of interest to those individuals who are contemplating the development and launch of a multidisciplinary engineering design course offering.