March 2020 - ECE Technology Program

March 2020

Featured Article

ECE Technology Program at ECEDHA 2020

By Sid Deliwala, University of Pennsylvania

Like many readers of this newsletter, I will be looking forward to  attending the upcoming ECEDHA in Orlando. I remember my first visit to ECEDHA with George Pappas, Chair of Electrical and Systems Engineering (ESE) who convinced me that I will truly enjoy the ECExpo..and it was an awesome first time experience.  It felt like I was at a home game! I immediately sensed the energy and the connectivity between the curriculum, experiential learning and the conference participants. During the consecutive visits, I  enjoyed working with the ECEDHA team  and attending the breakout sessions on makerspaces, multidisciplinary senior design, industry showcase and interacting with vendors who participate in ECExpo.

While connecting with department chairs and industry participants during ECEDHA conference, I soon realized that there was a great void in the representation of lab program directors. As the Director of ESE Lab Programs, I have been connecting curriculum with experiential learning for over 25 years and it has been a fascinating journey for me.  Like many peers in this profession we wear many hats; explainer-in-chief, as an educator and being  responsible for choosing the most appropriate space and  technology for delivering the best learning experience for students. In Penn’s ESE major, an overwhelming importance on cross-disciplinary learning puts huge emphasis on gateway courses in the sophomore year that allows students to choose concentrations AND all of those gateway core CLAB (Course+Lab) courses include a significant laboratory component.

The CLAB courses that are rooted in hands-on experience in Freshmen and Sophomore years are critical to school branding, high school outreach and quality of learning the principles of the ECE major. In Penn Engineering, with the support  of the department and assistance from my lab staff we have created an ecosystem of courses that serve the ECE and Systems Engineering student community and makes the Peter Detkin Laboratory  a hub of student activity and innovation.

The CLAB courses in grey are gateway courses for Concentrations in Electrical and Systems Engineering

Inspired by the enthusiasm and support of the ECEDHA team, we invited a select group of Lab Professionals last year for 4 roundtable sessions and the response from the industry and academia was absolutely awesome.

This year, the ECE Technology Program at ECEDHA co-led by  Andy Bell (NI) will host lab professionals from around the country and we  invite you to a splendid lineup of 5 roundtable sessions:

Session 1, Friday March 20, 2:00 PM-3:30 PM

Developing and Enhancing an Autonomous Robotics Curriculum within ECE

This session will focus on how the strengths of the electrical and computer engineering discipline can be leveraged to effectively develop future roboticists and autonomy engineers who are career ready upon graduation. It will feature presentations from academics involved in developing and deploying robotic curriculum as well as industry partners hiring those graduates. After the presentations, a roundtable discussion will encourage participants with a variety of experience to exchange and promote strategies, ask questions, and in general, have a conversation that enhances robotics and autonomous systems curriculum within electrical and computer engineering departments

Session 2, Friday March 20, 4:00 PM-5:30 PM

ECE Makers

How do you define  “ECE Maker” ? Multiple disciplines in ECE redefines “making” as IoT/SoC design, Nano Fabrication, RF, Autonomy and Robotics, and Cloud impacts career paths. This session will focus on the key industrial partner roles and how experiential learning enhances student engagement, innovation and design skills.

Friday March 20, 6:30 PM-8:30 PM ECExpo Opening Reception 

Session 3, Saturday March 21, 10:30 AM - 12 PM

Improving Student Outcomes Through Industry Collaboration

The engineering profession students need to be prepared for is rapidly changing due to the great acceleration of technology. Are they ready to hit the ground running? This session will focus on the key role that industrial partnerships can play in driving improved student outcomes and helping prepare the student for the transition to the workplace. Examples of industry partnership and their possible impact on project based learning will be highlighted.

Session 4, Saturday March 21,

Maker Design Studios and Best Practices in Teaching Labs

This discussion will focus primarily on the logistical aspects of the Lab Director or Manager role and how it affects the  innovation culture in the student community, facilities management including supply chain, and student engagement in laboratories. We will also look at the need for rebranding of the Lab Director position within the ECE department, and this role as a single point in a varied career path. 

Session 5, Saturday March 21

Curriculum Reform in ECE (Capstone Session!)

This session will begin with short presentations of current ECE curriculum reforms that have been implemented. The panel participants from academia, industry participants and the audience will then break into smaller groups and discuss the challenges, outcomes and results from the curriculum changes that may have been implemented and its short and long term impact on student experience. The panel will regroup and discuss the outcomes from the group discussion and will exchange ideas on various strategies and action plans for making an agile and engaging ECE curriculum. 

As technology and experience officers, ECE Lab Managers and ECE Lab Program Directors play a vital role in connecting the student community to  the department, the industry and fast changing landscape of ECE. It is vital for the lab programs to stay current and breathe new life into the experiential teaching process by being agile and adaptable (e.g, include autonomy and data in curriculum) and yet provide community building opportunities by making laboratory spaces welcome to students. As many students use online education and hybrid learning methods to teach themselves, ECE programs are fortunate to have infrastructure of lab spaces and lab based curriculum to blend principles and skills, I invite you to our  lively roundtables in the Technology Program sessions at ECEDHA 2020 to listen first hand from folks most engaged in this process.

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Sid Deliwala is an Associate Faculty and Director of Lab programs in Electrical and Systems Engineering (ESE) at  University of Pennsylvania.

Sid has been responsible for ESE’s Laboratory Programs and Laboratory infrastructure since 1995.  As director of the ESE Lab programs, Sid oversees the Detkin, Ketterer and Dolph Simmons Labs and is responsible for management of lab courses for undergraduate and graduate program in ESE. Sid has also been involved in supporting and creating outreach programs like Girls in Engineering Math and Science (GEMS) Robotics, Prefreshmen Program for first generation students and Management and Technology Summer Institute.