Capstone Design Courses, Part II

The biomedical engineering senior capstone design course is probably the most important course taken by undergraduate biomedical engineering students. It provides them with the opportunity to apply what they have learned in previous years, develop their communication, teamwork, project management, and design skills, and learn about the product development process. It prepares students for professional practice and serves as a preview of what it will be like to work as a biomedical engineer. The capstone design experience can change the way engineering students think about technology, themselves, society, and the world around them. It can make them aware of their potential to make a positive contribution to healthcare throughout the world and generate excitement for, and pride in, the engineering profession. Ideas for how to organize, structure, and manage a senior capstone design course for biomedical and other engineering students are presented here. These ideas will be helpful to faculty who are creating a new design course, expanding a current design program, or just looking for some ideas for improving an existing course. The better we can make these courses, the more 'industry ready' our students will be, and the better prepared they will be for meaningful, successful careers in biomedical engineering. This book is the second part of a series covering Capstone Design Courses for biomedical engineers. Part I is available online here and in print (ISBN 9781598292923) and covers the following topics: Purpose, Goals, and Benefits; Designing a Course to Meet Student Needs; Enhancing the Capstone Design Courses; Meeting the Changing Needs of Future Engineers. Table of Contents: The Myth of the 'Industry-Ready' Engineer / Recent Trends and the Current State of Capstone Design / Preparing Students for Capstone Design / Helping Students Recognize the Value of Capstone Design Courses / Developing Teamwork Skills / Incorporating Design Controls / Learning to Identify Problems, Unmet Needs, and New Product Opportunities / Design Verification and Validation / Liability Issues with Assistive Technology Projects / Standards in Capstone Design Courses and the Engineering Curriculum / Design Transfer and Design for Manufacturability / Learning from other Engineering Disciplines: Capstone Design Conferences / Maintaining a Relevant, Up-to-Date Capstone Design Course / Active Learning in Capstone Design Courses / Showcasing Student Projects: National Student Design Competitions / Managing Student Expectations of the 'Real World' / Career Management and Professional Development / Conclusion