2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Nationally, undergraduate engineering design contests tend to address a single engineering discipline. Commonly, contests offer the same design challenge each year, require only a report and an oral presentation and only a handful focus on environmental issues. The design contest described in this study distinguishes itself by offering five new environmental design challenges each year that require teams to build a working bench-scale demonstration. At least one task is offered for each engineering discipline, highlighting that all engineers can engage in sustainability efforts.
The competition presents an opportunity for underrepresented groups from across the country to improve their confidence, skills, and a sense of belonging in STEM fields, in particular engineering. Participating teams solve real-world environmental challenges that the world faces, with topics addressing environmental- and climate-justice concerns. Women, first-generation students, and students of color, all of whom are underrepresented in the engineering profession, tend to be motivated by environmental projects and team-based learning opportunities, as evidenced by the 2023 contest where 52% of the participants identified as female, 23% as Hispanic, 14% as Black, and 3% as Native American.
This study aims to gain insight into engineering students’ leadership styles as they participate in a team-based design challenge. The research investigated the question: What traits of leadership did women engineering students implement during preparation and participation at the national environmental design competition?
The contest has been held annually each Spring semester since 1991. Participants register, attend short courses, and write progress and technical reports. The contest happens in three days where teams present flash pitches, oral and poster presentations, and bench-scale demonstrations. On average, 12 institutions participate in the contest bringing over 20 teams.
Two models undergird and inform this study. The Hill Model for Team Leadership developed by Zaccaro et al. [1] emphasizes horizontal leadership in which both leaders and team work together to achieve team effectiveness. The Leadership Labyrinth Model [2] is applied to the leadership challenges women face in male-dominated fields such as engineering.
The evaluation and research team implemented a post-contest survey that collected quantitative and qualitative data on teamwork, self-efficacy associated with problem-solving and design skills, as well as communication and presentation skills. For the 2024 contest, 29 student participants completed this survey. In addition, three focus groups were conducted with each team’s student leader. Twenty leaders, five men and 15 women, participated in the focus groups and completed the survey. Quantitative results were analyzed through descriptive statistics. Findings from the survey’s open-ended questions and focus groups were analyzed using comparative techniques, in particular, highlighting women students’ leadership traits.
Findings revealed general improvement among all participants in self-efficacy, applying new knowledge, using appropriate learning strategies, communication and presentation skills, and feeling comfortable designing and using an apparatus. In addition, student leaders were highly motivated by the environmental and societal aspects of the projects. Furthermore, women leaders underscored both the challenging task of leading a group of peers and the leadership skills they gained during this experience.