2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

A Case Study: Deploying a First-Year Engineering Course at a Sino-U.S. Joint Program Abroad

Presented at International Division (INTL): Case Studies and Trends

A joint mechanical engineering program was established between a large R1 U.S. public university and a renowned public university in China to collaboratively educate the next generation of global engineers. The U.S. institution’s mechanical engineering curriculum was implemented at the partner university, with all courses taught in English. Qualified students can matriculate at the U.S. university during their senior year, as a source of international talent recruitment. As required by the Ministry of Education in China, one-third of the courses at a joint program must be taught by faculty from the U.S. institution. Among these, a project-based lower division technical elective course was collaboratively adapted as a first-year requirement for all students in the joint program to enhance the existing curriculum with experiential learning.

The two-term course, offered to lower division U.S. students, allowed participants to design, build and test engineering projects and obtain technical experiences such as computer aided design (CAD), basic and advanced manufacturing, electrical fabrication, etc. In addition, technical written and verbal communication skills were incorporated through presentations and design reports. Post-pandemic, U.S. faculty taught the course in person at the joint program. Due to the different academic systems, the course format and credit hours were adjusted to meet the partner university's requirements while retaining all learning outcomes such as understanding the engineering design process, developing CAD and manufacturing skills, and teamwork.

Course implementation was assessed with end-of-term student surveys regarding students’ experience in the course and their ability in obtaining critical engineering skills. A comparison study was performed with student survey results collected from the equivalent course offered at the U.S. campus as a baseline. Despite differences in education systems and cultural backgrounds, results showed successful course deployment in China, with an average of 94% of the students achieving the expected learning outcomes. Project-based experiential learning courses show great promise to impact students internationally.

Authors

Nicholas Choi University of California, Irvine [biography]

Nicholas Choi is a master's student in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Irvine. He is currently studying the impact of experiential learning in an engineering curriculum and the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in an engineering classroom.
Dr. Kan Li University of California, Irvine [biography]

Dr. Kan Li is the Associate Director for the International Programs at the UCI’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering. With a strong background in international education and cross-border collaboration, she manages academic operations, student advising, and global partnerships. Dr. Li holds a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership and has over 10 years of experience working with universities in the U.S., China, and beyond. Her expertise lies in building sustainable academic programs, supporting international faculty and students, and creating inclusive, globally engaged learning environments.
Dr. Farzad Ahmadkhanlou http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5170-2016 University of California, Irvine [biography]

Farzad Ahmadkhanlou, Ph.D., P.E., is a faculty advisor for the Professional Master of Engineering Program at the University of California, Irvine, where he has supervised over 100 industry-sponsored projects. Dr. Ahmadkhanlou has been involved in interdisciplinary research and development in academia and industry for 30 years in various science and engineering domains, including mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, structural engineering, biomedical engineering, computer science, and materials science. His diverse expertise extends to multidomain industries and applications, encompassing smart materials, telerobotic and haptics systems, Virtual Reality (VR) and game controllers, software and App development, additive manufacturing, advanced automotive systems, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). He is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in the State of California and holds over 10 U.S., international, and provisional patents. He is a technical committee member of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) and a technical reviewer for multiple peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Dr. Tiejun Bai University of California, Irvine [biography]

Dr. Tiejun (TJ) Bai is a seasoned executive, engineer, and educator with over three decades of leadership and technical experience spanning the aerospace, telecommunications, technology consulting, and education sectors. He earned his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1992 and has since held prominent positions in both academia and industry. Dr. Bai is a Project Scientist in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Irvine and currently serves as a Lecturer in the joint program between the University of California, Irvine and the Dalian University of Technology.
Prof. Liang Li Wu University of California, Irvine [biography]

Liang (Lily) Wu is an Associate Professor of Teaching at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Irvine. She is also the Faculty Director of International Programs at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering. Her responsibilities include instruction and curriculum assessment to enhance and support the engineering education at the School of Engineering. Dr. Wu received her Ph.D. degree in Engineering, with a concentration in Materials and Manufacturing Technology, from the University of California, Irvine with primary research focuses on the design, development and integration of microfluidic systems for biomedical applications.

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