Cultural Anthropology And Engineering Design Do They Mix

This presentation relates the cultural of St. Kitts to the engineering design projects implemented by second-year students as part of their Design (EPICS) experience. Imagine an opportunity to practice engineering skills on a culturally diverse island as part of your undergraduate experience. St Kitts/Nevis is a Caribbean island inhabited mostly by descendants of Africans brought to the island to work on the plantations. Teams have mapped boundaries of the Wingfield wilderness area, have examined water and wastewater issue, and have studied soil stability and water erosion. The experience exposes students to a diverse and different culture. The combination of engineering and a culturally diverse setting challenges our second year students and broadens the scope of their engineering skills. Imagine an opportunity to practice engineering skills on a culturally diverse island as part of your undergraduate experience. The Design-Engineering Practices Introductory Course Sequence (EPICS) program at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) offers students a three-week excursion to the Caribbean Island of St Kitts/Nevis complete with a challenge to map boundaries and trails for the National Park, to reduce erosion, or to improve water quality; all critical issues to the infrastructure of the Island. Contracting by the Department of Environment and Tourism, teams from the International (EPICS) course practice engineering design in a culturally diverse environment. The Design (EPICS) program at CSM introduces multi-disciplinary teams of first and second year engineering students to design, technical communications, and teamwork through an open-ended, clientbased project. The program emphasizes an authentic engineering environment in which students explore a complex suite of skills, depicted in Figure 1, through coaching and mentoring from an experienced staff. Students learn through practice how to use a variety of processes critical to decision making associated with engineering design. We take our international course to the island of St. Kitts/Nevis to add a cultural dimension to the program. Communication Skills Design Product