Student retention in a mechatronics programme in first and second years: Motivating engineers to learn through music and creativity

It can be difficult to retain modern students in an engineering programme given their demand for instant gratification. To engage students and improve our retention, we exploit a `trickle-down' approach from our post-graduate research, using topics from sonic engineering as the new focus in a second year data acquisition course. Results have been extremely encouraging - a 99% assessment completion rate and a 100% course pass rate.