Design Boot Camp: Getting In Shape For A Capstone Experience

Boot camp is a training ground for military recruits. The rigors of this experience prepare soldiers for futures in the military. During boot camp, recruits with varied backgrounds are immersed in an environment where they get a “crash course” in strategies that will lead them to success. Similar to a military career, a capstone design experience can be quite stressful to students. However, most engineering programs lack a solid training ground, or boot camp, to indoctrinate students to the world of design. It should come as no surprise that students tend to dread, or even fear, senior design courses. Their fear of the unknown is compounded by the things that they do know, e.g. they know they must (1) select (and solve) an open-ended design problem, (2) work productively as a team, (3) document the design process (which they do not understand), and (4) present (and defend) the results of their efforts to a large audience. Even the most daring of students may be intimidated by this! Our “Design Boot Camp” is called Principles of Biomedical Design. In this required two credit course, junior biomedical engineering majors are introduced to engineering design methodology. This paper will discuss the layout of the course, the perceived benefits for both students and instructors, and the lessons learned during the first iteration of the course.