Multidisciplinary Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) Teams at the University of Hawaii: Challenges and Synergy

The Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program is characterized by large, multidisciplinary teams of undergraduate and graduate students focused on long-term research problems aligned with the faculty mentor’s field of interest. In terms of methodology, it follows a project-based cohort approach to education where students can potentially work on the same project over multiple years and with a familiar group of students. One of the challenges in running a VIP team is the multidisciplinary aspect. This paper discusses the challenges associated with transitioning traditionally discipline-siloed projects to multidisciplinary projects using VIP as the catalyst. Said another way, we describe the ongoing lessons learned of changing the mindset of students (and faculty) from “you’re electrical engineering, I’m mechanical engineering” to “we’re engineering”. In Fall 2015, the VIP Program at the University of Hawai‘i consisted of six VIP teams: three composed primarily of EE students, one composed of ME students, and two with a mix of engineering students. The latter two teams are used as case studies to test our theories for incorporating multidisciplinary VIP teams into existing curricula. A desired outcome of this investigation will be elucidating a best-practices approach for VIP teams across disciplines including electrical, computer, mechanical, and civil engineering. This includes how to initiate formation of such groups, how to handle curriculum challenges between the programs, and how to handle the needs of the students within this educational program. Ultimately, we hope to develop learning in a multidisciplinary design environment that also fulfills the requirements of a degree in engineering, to the benefit of all the students involved, regardless of major. Introduction and Motivation Project-oriented learning is already well established as an invaluable part of an engineering education,1,2,3 Furthermore, industry professionals report improved results from students who participate in multidisciplinary projects.4,5,6,7,8 In fact, the engineering departments in this institution have a history of multidisciplinary projects. One of the largest multidisciplinary projects began 15 years ago, and involved 60 electrical and mechanical engineering students, and seven advisors from those departments.9,10 However, in this project and others, it became obvious that challenges existed because of the multidisciplinary nature of the teams. Analyzing these challenges is a key step to ensuring the long-term survival of multidisciplinary project teams. Why should students participate in multidisciplinary projects? First, students often view hands-on projects as fun and exciting, allowing them to work on something they want to (the “hey, this is why I thought I wanted to be an engineer” factor). Second, it helps them apply the knowledge gained from lecture courses to a hands-on project. Third, working on multidisciplinary projects helps bolster their resumé, and provides them with a team-based experience that approximates the working environment in many engineering companies.6,5 Finally, working on multidisciplinary projects gives engineering students the opportunity to socialize in a relaxed, out-of-classroom setting. Based on the evidence of the virtues of multidisciplinary projects in engineering education, several different pedagogies have emerged.11,12,13,14,15,16 One example that incorporates all the previously mentioned advantages to students is the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program. The VIP Program seeks to foster long-term, in-depth, project-based learning to engage students and better prepare them for future careers.17,13 True to its name, each VIP team is vertically integrated, consisting of one or more faculty mentors, graduate student researchers, and undergraduates from the freshman to senior levels. The teams are large (10 to 20 undergraduates per semester) and the long-term projects (at least 5 years) are based on an externally funded research topic that is aligned with the faculty mentor’s field of interest. In terms of methodology, each VIP team follows a project-based cohort approach to education where students can work on the same project over multiple years with a familiar group of students. Indeed, the only disadvantage to students participating in a multidisciplinary VIP project is the additional workload in an already overwhelming curriculum. But if this is the only disadvantage, then it seems obvious that departments should want to provide appropriate credit toward a degree. This paper discusses the challenges associated with transitioning traditionally discipline-siloed projects to multidisciplinary projects using VIP as the catalyst. Said another way, we describe the ongoing lessons learned, from two slightly different perspectives, of changing the mindset of students (and faculty) from “you’re electrical engineering, I’m mechanical engineering” to “we’re engineering.” Primarily, two parallel case studies are presented for comparison: 1 – Hyperboreans; A multidisciplinary team which has an accepted entry into the Hyperloop Challenge, and consists of students from civil (1), computer (1), electrical (2), and mechanical (3) engineering. The majority of the students are participating because they are passionate about the project and only expect academic compensation in the form of additional credits that show up as invaluable experience on a transcript and resume, but do not count directly toward a degree. 2 – University of Hawai‘i Drone Technology (UHDT); A VIP project involving 23 students: computer (3), electrical (6), mechanical (11), and pre-engineering (3) students, spanning the freshman (3), sophomore (9), junior (4), and senior (7) levels. This VIP team tackled a naturally multidisciplinary project: design, build, and fly a drone for a national competition. The majority of the students participating in this team are receiving credit toward their respective degrees. Challenges with multidisciplinary teams Based on our experience, the challenges in mentoring multidisciplinary projects are not primarily (or even secondarily) pedagogical. In our experience, the true challenge for multidisciplinary projects is logistical. In a nutshell, the ultimate challenge is this: How do faculty break down the rigid, traditional, discipline-siloed curricular programs and transition them to a more multidisciplinary approach? From the 10,000-foot view, the fact that our grand challenge is logistical rather than pedagogical is fortunate, since logistical challenges can often be overcome – well, in theory anyway. However, the devil is indeed in the details and these very logistical details are what causes frustration among students and faculty alike. This paper focuses on two categories of challenges important when transitioning traditional discipline-siloed programs to a multidisciplinary environment: how to form and manage multidisciplinary groups, and how to handle curriculum issues between programs. Forming and managing multidisciplinary groups Hyperboreans Largely the problem of project formation and spreading the idea of the project to groups from across departments falls to the individual faculty members and students that are already a part of the team. To facilitate coordination, the faculty advisor implemented an open-source tool, MatchMaker, for connecting faculty and students to projects as well as creating new projects. While other tools exist for funding existing projects [experiment.com, kickstarter], few tools exist for creating optimal project teams in an academic setting. In such settings, we asked the question: “what are students really looking for?” Typically they are looking for other students with complementary or synergistic skill sets. The tool therefore allows students to write what skills they are looking to acquire as well as what skills they already have. The tool can then automatically suggest teams of students with which to connect together. By implementing a simple chat feature, students can then see if they are a good match and come up with project ideas for their newly formed teams. By scraping the school webpages for course data, students need only add a list of course registration numbers to their profile to obtain scheduling information. This additional information aids in project formation by eliminating logistical issues of forming a time for everyone to meet. While it was found that the tool helped, initial formation was more greatly aided by students bringing in their friends/colleagues from other departments or students they connected with during the semester. This process revealed the following keys to initiating a solid foundation in the formation of multidisciplinary groups: • Students who join multidisciplinary groups have a weaker tie to the group and its successful outcome given the siloed nature of the undergraduate curriculum. • Students have a stronger tie to the group if there is a non-scholastic attribute that connects them: they already socialize and hang out together outside of class or they have other common interests. • While familiarity between students in the same discipline may breed contempt (perhaps due to competition), familiarity across disciplines appears to breed camaraderie and trust. • Leadership is tricky in a multidisciplinary group because students of multiple disciplines know that the leader from another discipline does not have the domain expertise. As such, a committee leadership structure is required where each discipline has a leader. Among those discipline leaders a higher-level leader will generally arise simply to maintain the coordination and progress of the group. It still appears challenging how the advisor (typically from one discipline) can inject suggestions and guide the group. UHDT The initial formation of UHDT was entirely student-initiated. A couple of EE students approached the team’s advisor during the summer betwe