A framework for building undergraduate student research skills through an independent engineering study course

Abstract

This paper presents a framework for the undergraduate research experience that Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Senior Undergraduate students at Khalifa University, UAE pursue through a fourth-year technical elective course entitled Independent Study that is one-semester long. This course is an excellent example of self-directed learning as one of the most influential educational experiences that students might get involved in. Through this Independent Study course, the student has the opportunity to work individually and independently on an engineering research project, at an undergraduate level, under the supervision of an ECE faculty member. The faculty member acts as the research project academic supervisor. He provides guidance, gives technical advice, helps in setting milestone, defines a road-map, agrees on deliverables, verifies the objectives are met and outcomes are achieved, and finally evaluates the student performance upon the completion of the Independent Study project, by the end of the semester. The successful delivery of the Independent Engineering Study course at the undergraduate level is demonstrated through two real case studies, which involved state-of-the-art research on two prominent topics: "In Vivo Wireless Body Communication" and "Novel Localization Methods in Wireless Sensor Networks".