2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Learning Beyond the Classroom: Educational Impacts of a Long-Term Multidisciplinary Robotics Student Team

Presented at Multidisciplinary Engineering Division (MULTI) Technical Session 1: Experiences in Multidisciplinary Robotics Education I

Co-curricular experiences are increasingly recognized as important complements to formal engineering curricula, particularly for developing professional competencies and authentic engineering practice. This paper presents a mixed-methods case study examining the educational impact of sustained participation in a multidisciplinary robotics student team.

Data were collected through a structured survey administered to 43 current members and alumni, combining Likert-scale items and open-ended responses. Results indicate consistently high perceived gains in technical competencies, especially system integration and engineering problem solving, as well as professional skills such as teamwork, communication, leadership, and autonomous learning. Participants also reported increased academic engagement, stronger connections between theory and practice, and meaningful influence on career trajectories.

In addition, findings highlight longitudinal learning dynamics, including role evolution from novice to mentor and sustained knowledge transfer across student generations. The results suggest that long-term multidisciplinary robotics teams can function as sustainable co-curricular learning environments that integrate technical development, professional skill formation, and career readiness.

Authors

Dr. Anderson Harayashiki Moreira http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-3598-9504 Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia [biography]

Graduated in Control and Automation Engineering from Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia (IMT) (2008). Master in Mechatronics Engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA) (2011). PhD in Mechatronics Engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA) (2017). He is currently a professor at the Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia. He develops activities and research in the area of mobile autonomous robotics, control systems, industrial robotics and microcontroller systems.
Miss Andressa Corrente Martins Instituto Maua de Tecnologia [biography]

Andressa Martins is holds a master's degree in Aerospace Systems and Mechatronics with a focus on Robotics from the Aeronautics Institute of Technology and a degree in Control and Automation Engineering from the Universidade Paulista. Currently, she is a professor at the Mauá Institute of Technology. She has experience in the field of Control and Automation Engineering (Mechatronics), working mainly on the following topics: Intelligent Systems, Digital Twin, Industrial Automation, Instrumentation, Robotics, Mechanism Design, and Engineering Fundamentals.
Alexandre Harayashiki Moreira http://orcid.org/0009-0005-3876-9071 [biography]

Alexandre Harayashiki Moreira received M.S. (2017) in multirobot system from UFABC Univ., Brazil. Since 2016, he has been a Member of Control & Automation Research group at Maua Institute of Technology focused on autonomous robots and smart cities.
Fernando Silveira Madani http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5576-1494 [biography]

Fernando Silveira Madani holds a Bachelor’s degree in Control and Automation Engineering (Mechatronics) and a Ph.D. in the same field, with extensive experience in engineering education, including over 20 years of teaching and more than 18 years in academic leadership as a Program Director. He obtained his M.Sc. (2001) and Ph.D. (2009) in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering from the Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA), with research emphasis on Aerospace Systems Dynamics and Mechatronics. He completed his undergraduate studies at Universidade Paulista in 1997.

He is currently Vice-Provost at the Centro Universitário do Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia, where he is also a researcher affiliated with the Intelligent Mechatronic Systems and Robotics (S.M.I.R.) research group. In addition, he serves as a member of evaluation committees of the Brazilian Ministry of Education (INEP/MEC), contributing to the assessment of undergraduate programs in Control and Automation Engineering and Mechatronics.

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