INTEGRATED APPROACH TO MASTERS PROGRAMME DELIVERY IN MANUFACTURING AND DESIGN ENGINEERING AT UTT

Abstract

Translating theory into practice at the university level is easier said than done. Students often tend to experience difficulty in the application of knowledge learnt, as they seem to be accustomed to learning theory by rote and simply repeating it for the purpose of assessments. A somewhat different approach has been taken by the Design and Manufacturing Engineering (DME) Unit at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. In its BASc and MSc offerings, the DME Unit has made the application of knowledge learnt in the various courses offered a key feature of its programmes. The focus of this paper will be on the MSc programmes offered by the Unit. The DME Unit currently offers two Masters programmes, one which focuses on management (Innovation, Manufacturing Management and Entrepreneurship – IMME) and another which focuses on design (Innovative Design and Entrepreneurship – IDE). These programmes are designed with a view to achieving several outcomes, including fostering the entrepreneurial spirit of students with the intention that they will start businesses at the end of their course of study, thereby commercialising any product or service they develop during the programme; developing their management capabilities, which prepares them for higher level positions and responsibilities at their places of work; immersing students into real-time, problem-based scenarios at companies over the period of a semester to allow them to act as consultants in a work environment different to their own; and nurturing their engineering design capabilities for new product development, with the intention that any such design produced will eventually be commercialised. In light of these outcomes, both programmes share common features in the courses that are covered. Such courses focus on management, entrepreneurship, business development and industry immersion. This paper will highlight the successes of this approach in both programmes.