Integrating the Charrette Process into Engineering Education: A Case Study on a Civil Engineering Design Capstone Course

As engineering educators rethink the structure and value of capstone courses, many have turned to practical applications. In order to reflect the recent approaches within engineering, capstone courses can be enhanced through the integration of charrettes. Charrettes are hands-on, collaborative sessions where stakeholders come to a design consensus. These sessions provide opportunities for students to improve communication, technical evaluation, teamwork, peer evaluation and professionalism skills. This research provides a framework for adapting the charrette process to an academic setting as well as evaluates the strengths and challenges associated with academic implementation. Implications such as time constraints, resources, and setting are explored and adapted for the needs of an academic design course. A case study application on a senior level civil engineering design course revealed that the design charrette framework can be successfully implemented within an academic setting. Through the charrette process, designs were integrated into one Master plan that incorporates the strengths of each team. Challenges faced throughout the process are provided as recommendations for future application.