Defining the Emerging Role of the Technologist in a Computer-Aided-Engineering Environment

The Industrial Technology and Safety Program at Keene State College seeks a four-year project grant from the Advanced Technology Education Program to plan, implement, and optimize a revised curricula in its two-year associate degree program in Design and Manufacturing based on the emerging Computer Aided Engineering environment. Today our graduates are entering an increasingly competitive job market. They need to have readily marketable skill in order to compete for jobs or the academic proficiency to go on to obtain advanced degrees. The companies that hire our graduates are facing enormous competitive pressure from around the world. The loss of our manufacturing base continues and the resulting job loss is a significant social-economic and political problem. United State's companies need a flexible and technologically competent workforce in order to stem this tide. The emerging role of the technologist must be one that can fully utilize computer assisted technology. This computer environment is integrating once discrete job functions, of design, manufacturing, and business. The current limitations in existing discrete curricula suggests a new "seamless" educational paradigm. To address this situation we are suggesting three areas of study. The first is a conceptual based curriculum, using a projects focus, to deliver technical problem solving for meeting curriculum goals. The second aspect of our proposal is to create a series of four integrated courses in the area of product design and development utilizing this computer assisted environment. The third is to establish a collaboratively working on these projects on the InterNet, with other schools, government laboratories, and companies. The curriculum model we are creating is basically an immersion model for our students that provide both a contextual and constructivist environment for problem solving. In this environment students solve holistic and fully integrate problems in math, science, technology, and business. This curriculum model emulates both the emerging computer assisted environment and the world of work. Our goals is to create this new curriculum paradigm and study its effectiveness. We are creating a model that is both pragmatic and realistic and that can serve as a nation model. This is one of many solutions being offered to help improve the competitive position of our graduates. By breaking with traditional paradigms it can serve as a model to entice non-tradition, and minority students, as well as displaced workers to move into the exciting and challenging world of product design and development. Our project opens many new and exciting opportunity for educational research. Through this curriculum project we will help guarantee our students the opportunity to compete effectively and become contributing citizens in a global economy.