Singapore makes Student Design Competition part of coursework

Henry Baumgartner
ASME NEWS

When it came to designing a course that would hold the full attention of college students yet teach them the elements of mechanical engineering, a professor at the National University of Singapore had to look no further than ASME's Student Design Competition.

In September, participation in the Student Design Competition became part of a required course for all mechanical engineering students attending the National University of Singapore — a first for any engineering department anywhere.

The course, known as Introduction to Design, is taught by Francis Eng Hock Tay, an assistant professor and a member of ASME.

"The decision to incorporate the ASME Student Competition was made," Tay said, "because we have found the previous ASME competitions, as outlined on the ASME Web site, to be of great educational value and of high standard, to challenge the young and creative minds of undergraduates. This year's competition is no different."

The Student Design Competition is an annual event that begins with teams forming to design a mechanical solution to perform a specific task. Those teams enter one of 13 regional competitions. Regional winners advance to the final competition, which takes place in November during ASME's International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in New York.

The task this year is to design a "sip-and-puff" control for a fishing rod that would enable a quadriplegic to fish.

The three top winners of the National University of Singapore event, which took place March 31, will be entered in ASME's Region XIII competition. That region includes all members outside of North America.

The Region XIII winner is determined by a panel reviewing videotapes and other documentation of the entry's capabilities.

With the hectic pace of students' lives, many activities compete for their time. So, to make the most of both, Tay said, "We incorporated the competition into the curriculum."

Tay's course will be taken by all mechanical engineering students in their sophomore year. For the March event, all 342 students who signed up to take the required course participated. That competition was covered by the local media.

"The course is designed around the competition," Tay said. "The lectures are centered around the machine elements that are used in the competition. This includes motors, bearings, cable systems and gears. The design process is emphasized."

Instead of a report at the end of the course, students submit their design notebook. They are graded on the design processes in the notebook, including the generation, analysis, evaluation and selection of ideas.

For many students, their entry was their first design-and-build project.

Because teamwork is also important to this project, Tay said, a group appraisal completed by each student becomes part of the grade, as does an assignment in which the student reflects on the lessons learned during the design process.

"To be able to compete with all the undergraduate students in the world who are taking part in this competition generates tremendous excitement and satisfaction," Tay said.

At this stage, students don't have to be ASME members, although it is encouraged, Tay said. But, if they win the local contest, he added, they are signed up on the spot.

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