Author(s):
Impact of Engineers Without Borders USA Experiences onProfessional Preparation Need, Experiential education is becoming a more important part of STEM education. Experiences range from within the classroom to extra-curricular activities. Within experiential education, community engagement is particularly promising, given its alignment with diversity research and the leveraging of university resources to address needs within our society. One of the largest engineering engagement organizations is Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA), which recently celebrated 20 years of student and community engagement. This poster presents the results of a sequential mixed-methods study consisting of surveys followed by interviews for each of alumni of EWB-USA as well as individuals who have interacted professionally with the EWB-USA alumni.Guiding Questions, Research Questions (RQs)1.What is the nature of how student participation in EWB-USA may bridge the experiences of formal post-secondary engineering education and professional practice?2.What specific professional mindsets and skills do students develop through EWB-USA participation, relative to other educational activities? 3.How do variations in the nature of involvement with and/or the structure of EWB-USA programs impact student learning and preparation for professional practice? 4.How are CEAs of EWB-USA perceived by other members of industry, relative to their peers? 5.How do the above elements relate to and impact on gender?Outcomes:EWB-USA was shown to support the transition between schooling and work through authentic experiential learning, which incorporated inherently-complex projects truly intended for implementation to meaningfully benefit end-users and engaging with a wide range of diverse stakeholders. It especially bolstered the development of competencies in project management, design and project processes, communication, diverse teaming, contextualization, addressing challenges and new situations, and functioning as a connected element of larger complex socio-technical systems. These gains were reflected in the alums’ perceived advantage in career outcomes, demonstrating their long-lasting transferability to professional practice. The results of this study also showed that while limited variations were found based on participant demographics, differences in personal experience within EWB-USA had a greater effect on outcomes. The differences found based on demographic groupings consisted of women reporting greater benefits to their confidence and sense of community. Impactful individual experience differences identified included length of time involved with EWB-USA, mentor engagement, leadership opportunities, repeating phases on different projects, seeing a project from start-to-finish, and number of trips taken to the community partner site. Across the competencies developed from the program, alums often reported perceiving greater benefits from their EWB-USA experiences once they had an opportunity to apply their learnings in professional practice.Broader Impacts. The findings have potential impact across a broad array of applications including within design courses, community-engagement programs, and extra-curricular experiences. The data captures impacts within the curriculum and informal undergraduate learning experiences offering insights how these can be leveraged to increase learning and professional preparation. Dissemination and integration into faculty development workshops will benefit teaching, provide training to faculty in how to leverage experiential learning, community engagement and prepare student for transition to professional practice.
Coauthors
Paul Leidig, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
