Engineering curricula must expose students to creative synthesis and open-ended problem solving experiences, teaching process in addition to content. Synthesis curricula will emphasize inter- and multidisciplinary areas of engineering that are critical to national competitiveness. Because concurrent application of multiple disciplines through the design cycle often requires team design experience, team building and group experiences will be included. Industry must be brought into the classroom through involvement in Synthesis projects and multimedia case studies of engineering design. The computer should be central in the laboratory experience in controlling experiments and providing data acquisition, system modeling, and data analysis capabilities.
Engineering is a social activity.
The engineer as a decision maker must be able to evaluate and communicate the social implications of technology. The engineer as a driver of product realization must work with multidisciplinary teams, customers, and vendors. Synthesis curricula must provide opportunities for students to develop their written, verbal, and graphical communication skills. We must design opportunities for students to participate in teamwork with people of different levels of experience and diverse backgrounds. Societal factors and sensitivity to ethnic and cultural diversity will be an important element in synthesis curricula.