Students' Design Project Series: Sharing Experiences [SP Education]

The fast pace of technology refresh offers new opportunities in engineering training and education. Undergraduate engineering programs are seeking the right balance between theory and practice, as students are increasingly expected to have more knowledge of cutting-edge technologies along with the fundamental understanding of engineering concepts and modeling tools. Instructors constantly look for opportunities to enrich the learning experience through demonstrations and hands-on experience to address a growing demand from the industry for engineers with “know‐how” skills. This can be accomplished through traditional channels such as instructional laboratories, independent study, and research activities or, alternatively, through student design project programs. In the United States, many universities and colleges have programs for senior design projects in place, also referred to as capstone projects. These engineering projects are an assimilation of knowledge and capabilities built over the first three years in undergraduate studies and, in many cases, are deeply reliant on signal and information processing expertise.