Biosystems Engineering Design Trilogy: An Overview

In the fall of 1998, the Department of Biosystems Engineering at the University of Manitoba introduced a package of three courses to enhance the teaching of engineering design. The objective was to teach undergraduate engineers how to design by exposing them to the type of design environment they will encounter in industry. Fundamental to this environment is a real design problem provided by an industry collaborator. Consequently, our undergraduate students are now required to complete three, four-credit courses in consecutive years. In each course, the students work on an industry-based design problem in a team environment. For second-year students, the solution is conceptual. For third-year students, a detailed design must be produced. For fourth-year students, the detailed design must also include an economic analysis and an indepth engineering analysis. Interaction between classes is achieved by requiring each student to contract his or her services to a design team from another year. Engineering communication skills (i.e., oral, written, and drawings) and practical fabrication skills are emphasized throughout all three courses. A high level of coordination between the three courses has been achieved, culminating in a joint presentation of the design projects at a formal technical meeting of the Canadian Society of Agricultural Engineering. This paper will discuss the details of this “Design Trilogy” including some of the modifications that have taken place over the past four years.