The Development of Design Capability in Young Engineers

The design of an educational system to develop design capabilities in young graduate engineers is described. The system emphasizes the concepts of design, the application of engineering theory, interdisciplinary fundamentals, design problems, and an actual finished design project. The effectiveness of the system was evaluated using creativity tests, self-administered attitude questionnaires, and peer ratings. A control group of peers was matched with the system group to provide a measure of relative improvement. Exposure to the system developed factors in the students that are exhibited by experienced design engineers.