Curriculum Integration Through The Virtual Enterprise

在过去的十年里，即将毕业的工程师所面临的环境和期望发生了巨大的变化。除了传统的工程基础知识外，研究生工程师还需要具备系统工程技能、信息技术技能和软技能，能够立即在竞争激烈的环境中做出贡献。工程教育能否培养出符合市场需求的毕业生，将决定其在竞争日益激烈的技术教育市场上的地位和生存能力，并直接影响我们作为一个国家的长期影响力。这个概念验证项目正在解决两个领域对工程能力日益增长和突出的需求：系统工程和信息技术（SE/IT）。该项目的重点是设计、实施和评估通过虚拟企业集成的部分工程课程。虚拟企业是一个利用信息技术集成、生产实际产品的全规模制造供应链。部门实验室作为业务部门组织。虚拟企业由机构提供所需硬件的资助和购买。该项目使用这个虚拟企业作为开发系统工程、信息技术和工程学生软技能的实用和一致的手段。拟议项目的主要成果将是两个模块：一个是制造过程，一个是制造执行系统。这种方法的好处包括扩大工程教育，以吸引更多的人，包括在工程领域代表性严重不足的少数民族。

Engineering - Other (59) The environment and expectations facing graduating engineers have changed dramatically in the past decade. Graduate engineers are expected to contribute immediately in competitive environments with system engineering skills, information technology skills, and soft skills in addition to traditional engineering fundamentals. The ability of engineering education to produce graduates meeting these market demands will dictate its prominence and viability in the increasingly competitive technical education market, as well as directly impact our long term influence as a nation. This proof-of-concept project is addressing the growing and preeminent need for engineering capability in two areas: Systems Engineering and Information Technology (SE/IT). The project is focused on the design, implementation, and evaluation of part of an engineering curriculum integrated through a virtual enterprise. The virtual enterprise is a full scale manufacturing supply chain, integrated using information technology, and producing actual product. Departmental laboratories are organized as business departments. The virtualenterprise is supported by the institution with required hardware funded and purchased. The project uses this virtual enterprise as a practical and consistent means of developing systems engineering, information technology, and soft skills in engineering students. The primary outcome of the proposed project will be two modules: one in manufacturing processes and one in manufacturing execution systems. Benefits to this approach include the broadening of engineering education to appeal to a larger population, including minorities that are severely underrepresented in engineering.