Report on the Meeting to Review Specialized Classes in Mechanical Engineering

(Mechanical Design Education)

Abstract

Faculty development has become an increasingly important component of higher education. However, universities do not always provide adequate resources towards supporting their faculty professional development. Although many universities provide programs to improve faculty teaching skills and student learning skills, there are still few opportunities to discuss the issues specific to specialized subjects. The authors have held a meeting to review specialized classes in mechanical engineering with the aim of discussing the issues specific to specialized subjects. After the history and trends of mechanical design education were introduced, two current university professors shaired the contents of their mechanical design classes. In the second half of the meeting, three speakers above and a guest panelist with both experiences as an engineer and a professor discussed the preferable design education of undergraduates with the audience under the lead of the moderator. The results of a participant survey show that the contents of the meeting are meaningful for them, and they are interested in participating in future meetings. The original goal of "Actively discussing topics related to the issues specific to specialized subjects." seems to have been largely achieved.