USING ENGINEERING DESIGN TOOLS IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY DISTRIBUTED STUDENT TEAMS
Year: 2015
Editor: Guy Bingham, Darren Southee, John McCardle, Ahmed Kovacevic, Erik Bohemia, Brian Parkinson
Author: Mamo, James; Farrugia, Philip; Borg, Jonathan; Wodehouse, Andrew; Grierson, Hilary; Kovacevic, Ahmed
Series: E&PDE
Institution: 1Engineering, University of Malta, 2Department of Design, Manufacture & Engineering Management, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 3School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering, City University London, London, United Kingdom
Section: Collaboration
Page(s): 099-104
ISBN: 978-1-904670-62-9
Abstract
Collaborative design practice in distributed student teams is becoming more popular as technology makes it easier to communicate ideas with others that are geographically distant. However, a challenge for students is to use design tools which they are not familiar with. These design tools usually differ from each other and engineers may find it much more difficult to share their ideas. This could make the whole design process longer and less successful. Each year the University of Malta, City University London and University of Strathclyde organise a joint collaborative design project, involving engineering students with different disciplines and cultural backgrounds. In this paper, the patterns of use of design tools by students to collaborate with each other are investigated. Based on survey results of students, this paper proposes an approach which can be utilised by engineering students to enhance collaboration in multidisciplinary distributed design teams.
Keywords: Design collaboration, social media, collaborative design, student projects