Implementation of Project Study Courses at the Mechanical Engineering Program of FEU Tech During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The threat of a massive spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the Philippines prompted its government to implement community lockdowns all across the country. The first of which was implemented in Metro Manila beginning on 15 March 2020 and lasted up to 15 May 2020. During the lockdown, all schools were prohibited to conduct face-to-face classes while businesses were encouraged to implement work-from-home arrangements. FEU Institute of Technology (FEU Tech), located in Metro Manila, Philippines, was able to quickly adapt to the health crisis mainly due to its previous implementation of Canvas, an online learning management system, in 2017. The mechanical engineering department at FEU Tech revised its strategy in its implementation of its undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Project Study course (MEPROSTUD) to adapt to the class disruptions caused by the community quarantines imposed in Metro Manila. Comparing student performance before and during the pandemic, it was observed that there was a significant decline in oral communication and a significant improvement in written communication in MEPROSTUD1 and MEPROSTUD2, respectively. This paper documents the experiences of the mechanical engineering department at FEU Tech in its implementation of MEPROSTUD courses during the pandemic and intends to provide additional information to other engineering schools about how to remotely implement their undergraduate thesis courses.