Engineering Education and Practice: Embracing a Catholic Vision

7. Human Development and a Senior Project in Mali

Chapter Seven Human development and a Senior Project in Mali camille m. george aND BarBara K. SaiN The University of St. Thomas (UST) has two innovative capstone courses available for engineering students. One course is the Engineering Design Clinic, the senior capstone component of the engineering curriculum. Each year, one or two senior design teams are engaged in global service-learning projects that seek to address a specific engineering need in the developing world. Recently one of those projects was to develop a passive cooling system for use in Mali and other areas of sub-Saharan Africa. The second course is an upper level theology course entitled Christian faith and the Engineering Profession that explores the relation of theology and engineering, particularly how the two disciplines come together in the profession of engineering lived in the contemporary world. Study of theological topics, such as the dignity and integral development of the human person, provides a foundational Christian vision for consideration of ethical issues in engineering . Extensive case study analysis assists the integrated comprehension of that vision and its application to the social, moral, and professional obligations and responsibilities of engineers. 143 144 Camille M. George & Barbara K. Sain This chapter draws on both courses, using human development as a unifying theme. A theological understanding of development, drawn from Catholic social teaching and presented in the theology course, will be used in this paper to analyze the experience of UST faculty and students involved in the development project in Mali. The senior design project in Mali is used here as an example of the case study analysis that takes place in the theology course. The discussion of theology and engineering in that course gives the students the opportunity to integrate the technical and liberal arts components of their education. The remainder of this introduction describes the two capstone courses. The following section contains the case study analysis. It discusses the relevant theological principles, describes the cooling project in Mali, and concludes with an analysis of the project. A final section places the courses and the representative case study in the context of Catholic education, highlighting the contribution Catholic universities can make to the integrated education of the students in their engineering programs. Integration of Global Service Learning in the Senior Design Capstone The senior design course is an integral part of the undergraduate engineering curriculum. The School of Engineering at UST has placed a large emphasis on the practical aspects of the discipline. As a Catholic university it has the opportunity to provide unique design experiences that incorporate service to the community and enable the program to live out its mission as a university concerned with social justice for all. The School of Engineering offers one or two global service-learning projects yearly. These projects seek to address a specific engineering need in the developing world. The students work on the project for two semesters. The first semester culminates in a critical design review of a proposed solution, and the second semester concentrates on the prototype build and test. A final design and comprehensive report is required at the completion of the course sequence. for the past two years the overseas on-site travel has taken place during spring break. The spring-imbedded trip is necessary for prototype evaluation and testing. These projects emphasize developing sustain- Human Development and a Senior Project in Mali 145 able practices and introduce the students to global issues. The students must consider the perspectives of another culture as well as the environmental and social impact of their design. The projects require the students to play an active role in the world around them. The on-site interaction with local communities creates powerful lifelong experiences that can move students to think of their career as a calling rather than just a way to earn a living. The students are asked to think of their talent to grasp scientific concepts and to think analytically as a gift that can be used to better someone’s life. During the trip, students are expected to write in a daily trip log. Reflective questions are provided to help the students discern their experiences. These trip-logs have been used in a research study that examines the effect of short-term international service learning on the growth of intercultural awareness or intercultural competency.1 Integration of Theology and Engineering in an Upper-Level Theology Class UST offers a series...