2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

We present a holistic approach that culminates the senior design course as a unique opportunity/outcome for the civil engineering undergraduate program. The objectives are to deliver a capstone senior design that, in addition to meeting design educational requirements, (1) enhances the professional skills of the students, as necessary for them to thrive in their future careers, and (2) serves as a platform through which the undergraduate experience of all students in the program is enhanced. The approach involves complementary engagement of a technical advisor, a course instructor, a course facilitator, and an industry sponsor. The technical advisor ensures that the project synthesizes and applies technical knowledge (e.g., engineering design, software, analysis, prototyping, testing, project management, etc.) as taught in the sophomore and junior years. The course instructor is responsible for overall guidance, scheduling, assignments, team set-up and coordination, and assessment. The course facilitator incorporates specialty seminars, networking events, outreach, site visits, and career opportunities offered within the senior design course to the entire undergraduate program with the aim of enhancing students’ professional skills and industry contacts. The industry sponsor provides the problem statement with design criteria and objectives and provides industry-specific guidance to solve the problem. Based on surveys, substantial department administration and faculty buy-in, this approach has proven to be highly beneficial to the students and department. Particularly, this holistic approach demonstrates that, in addition to meeting the program's overall goals, the capstone senior design could be used to cultivate an education environment that presents more internship and career possibilities to the students, enhances faculty mentoring, and encourages alumni engagement.