Development of an ocean-themed introduction to engineering & technology course for freshmen students

The paper provides an overview of the development of a new Introduction to Engineering and Technology course for freshmen students. The course provides an opportunity to introduce engineering students early on to the field of ocean engineering and opportunities in the Navy STEM field. The course relies heavily on a hands-on laboratory component that builds on technical content introduced in the lecture. The centerpiece of the class is the design and build of a mini-ROV by student teams. The results of a survey indicate that the ROV activity had the highest impact on increasing student understanding of what it means to be an engineer or technologist. More than three quarters of the students indicated that they were interested in considering ocean engineering/technology career opportunities. Almost half of the students indicated that they were interested or very interested in considering career opportunities in a Naval STEM field.