Capstone design: A vehicle to explore landscapes of practice in engineering education

Engineering design as capstone course creates an opportunity for practitioners to demonstrate their familiarity with the particular landscape of practice of their chosen field. This research follows a team of seven final-year Mechanical Engineering students as they complete a capstone design project to design and build an energy efficient vehicle to be entered into an international race. A qualitative, ethnographic study was conducted, collecting data through observation, reflection, and interviews with each of the student-participants and their academic supervisor. Landscapes of practice are defined through patterns of interaction within and between the various communities occupying the landscape. How we design the landscape of practice determines the opportunities we create for student development. The research demonstrates how the institutional and technological backdrop of capstone design introduces pressures that can both hinder student learning and create space and opportunity for deep learning to occur. It is concluded that the engineering curricula should include a series of design projects which allows for conceptualization to operation of the final product, challenging students learning both with respect to technical and social skills.