An interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning

An interdisciplinary course in semiconductor processing has been developed successfully introduced into the chemical, materials and electrical engineering curricula. Teams of students drawn from a range of engineering and scientific disciplines build microelectronic devices using a 5 mask PMOS metal gate process and perform open-ended experiments to improve this process. The team approach is set in the context of a start-up company culture and professional work environment to give students the opportunity to be actively engaged constructing their own knowledge. The wide spectrum of fields and experiences that students bring to the course mirror the highly interdisciplinary nature of microelectronics device processing which requires knowledge of physics, chemistry and chemical, materials and electrical engineering. The results of surveys given to the students taking the course over the past three years (1995-97) were used to assess the success of this approach and to deduce the most important features for effective teamwork in this context.