Creation and Evaluation of the National Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) Program

9903195CoyleThe工程项目在社区服务（EPICS）计划是独特的，并满足当前的教育和社会需求是通过其选择确认（1）ASEE的1997年切斯特F。卡尔森工程教育创新奖，以及（2）1998年波音杰出教育家奖竞赛决赛选手。 EPICS令人信服的性质的证据包括：（1）在普渡大学参与EPICS的土木，电气和计算机，机械工程和文学院的学校，和（2）在圣母院和爱荷华州的EPICS计划的最后一年创建。在EPICS，由10至15名工程专业本科生组成的团队为当地社区组织解决具有挑战性的技术问题的多年项目获得学分。 每个EPICS项目团队都是由大一，大三，大三和大四学生组成的，每个学生可以参加一个团队长达七个学期。 这种结构使得长期的、真实的、定义-设计-构建-测试-部署-支持体验成为学生整个学术生涯的一个组成部分。 它还提供了完成大规模，多学科项目所需的连续性。EPICS提供了现实生活中的环境，时间和教师的个人指导，使学生能够：从与客户的初步讨论到交付客户日常使用的功能系统，执行设计过程;学习如何处理和解决具有挑战性的问题;学习如何写得好，说得有效;作为团队的一部分并最终领导团队;应用课堂上获得的知识;识别和获取对项目技术进步至关重要的课堂上没有的知识;在法律的和经济限制范围内确定和操作;并学习其他学科在解决复杂问题中的重要性和作用。 EPICS还使学生能够掌握工程和技术在解决社会问题方面所起作用的第一手知识。建议将EPICS方案的好处从地方扩大到国家一级，从而实现工程教育的系统改革，包括EPICS方案的扩大和传播。 普渡大学和圣母大学将继续扩大和改善他们的EPICS计划，并增加工业参与。 格鲁吉亚理工学院和威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校将启动EPICS项目。

9903195CoyleThe Engineering Projects in community Service (EPICS) Program is unique and meets current educational and societal needs is confirmed by its selection for (1) the ASEE's 1997 Chester F. Carlson Award for Innovation in Engineering Education, and (2) finalist in the 1998 Boeing Outstanding Educator Award Competition. Evidence of the compelling nature of EPICS includes (1) participation in EPICS at Purdue by the Schools of Civil, Electrical and Computer, and Mechanical Engineering and the School of Liberal Arts, and (2) the creation within the last year of EPICS Programs at Notre Dame and Iowa State.In EPICS, teams of 10 to 15 engineering undergraduates earn academic credit for multi-year projects that solve challenging technology-based problems for local community organizations. Each EPICS project team is a mix of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, ard seniors, and each student may participate on a team for up to seven semesters. This structure makes a long-term, real-world, define-design-build-test-deploy--support experience an integral part of the student's entire academic career. It also provides the continuity required to complete large-scale, multidisciplinary projects.EPICS provides the real-life context, the time, and the personal mentoring by faculty necessary for students to: execute the design process from initial discussions with a customer through delivery of a functioning system for daily use by the customer; learn how to approach and solve challenging problems; learn how to write well and speak effectively; work as part of, and eventually lead, a team; apply knowledge gained in classes; identify and acquire knowledge not available in classes that is critical for technical progress on projects; determine and operate within legal and economic constraints; and learn the importance and role of other disciplines in solving complex problems. EPICS also enables students to develop first-hand knowledge of the role that engineering and technology can play in solving social problems.Proposed to extend the benefits of the EPICS Program from the local to the national level, thus achieving systemic reform of engineering- education include expansion and Dissemination of the EPICS Program. Purdue and Notre Dame will continue to expand and improve their EPICS Programs and to increase industrial participation. Georgia Tech and the University of Wisconsin-Madison will initiate EPICS programs.