Implementation of an Integrated Product Development (IPD) Competition in a Rural Dominican Community: Lessons Learned

This paper describes the challenges in the development and execution of a product design and development competition for a rural community by a small engineering student team. The service-learning project was conducted by a four-person team, relying on the collaboration of a community partner organization in the Dominican Republic, and a small group of graduate student advisors. The goals of the project were to a) identify critical needs in the community to use as a theme in the competition, b) encourage team-building within the community, c) develop modules for product design and development, and d) host a competition for the entire community. Preparation for the field project occurred over the span of 3 months, and was implemented within one month over the summer break. After undergoing a process of need identification, the community elected to pursue solutions to the poor road conditions as the theme for the competition. Enthusiastic community leaders were identified to aid with the recruitment of participants. However, leading up to the competition, the workshops intended for disseminating information were largely unattended. The competition culminated in the presentation of eight teams, and presented a valuable learning experience in the development of a business in a rural community for the student facilitators. When implementing such a program, an educator should consider the collaboration of a local educational institution to provide a source of mentors and project leaders for community members. The collaboration from a local institution might provide the field project team with an invaluable resource in disseminating information to community members. Additionally, the inclusion of the entire community in a competition is very challenging. In future efforts, we suggest that a distinct demographic (i.e., women or children) is targeted for inclusion in educational workshops and modules. We conclude that the implementation of an integrated product development competition by a group of engineering students can provide a challenging and rewarding service-learning experience. Additionally, care must be taken to provide sufficient resources for their success under highly constrained conditions, in addition to a through review of literature and/or case studies involving similar efforts to avoid the shortfalls committed by other groups in the past.