Common elements of capstone projects in the world's top-ranked engineering universities

• Published in: European journal of engineering education Vol. 38; no. 2; pp. 211 - 218
• Main Author: Ward, Thomas A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis 01.05.2013; Taylor & Francis, Ltd; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Aerospace engineering; capstone; Case Studies; Curricula; Curriculum Design; Educational Assessment; Engineering; engineering design courses; Engineering Education; Engineering schools; Foreign Countries; Group Activities; Higher education; industry stakeholders; Interdisciplinary Approach; Job Skills; Pedagogy; Professional development; Program Design; Ratings & rankings; senior projects; Skill Development; Stakeholders; Undergraduate Students; Undergraduate Study
• ISSN: 0304-3797; 1469-5898
• DOI: 10.1080/03043797.2013.766676

'Capstone' is a metaphor used to describe a final achievement that builds upon previous works and encapsulates them. Capstone projects are included in engineering curricula to integrate multi-disciplinary subjects and teach professional skills that are difficult to impart in a traditional lectured course. Since these projects serve to transition students into professional engineers, they have a direct impact on a university's industry reputation and ranking. Therefore, it is worthwhile to study the capstone programmes implemented at the world's top-ranked engineering universities to discover common elements which characterise them. In this paper, common elements of the capstone programmes implemented in mechanical and aerospace engineering undergraduate programmes in the world's top-ranked engineering universities are identified and analysed to determine established best practices. These practices can be modelled and applied to the pedagogy of engineering programmes at universities around the world to improve the development of professional skills of future graduates.