Engineering education at a new public university in Brazil: first students’ contact with engineering methods

Abstract

Abstract This paper describes the experience of an introductory discipline to the engineering curricula at the Brazilian Federal University of ABC (UFABC). The university offers a common basic curriculum that must be accomplished by every student and can be followed by professionalising courses. The discipline ‘Introduction to Engineering’ presents the basis of the engineering career, methods and thinking together with professional commitments and regulations. The objective is to help students to consciously choose their careers, minimising the precocity problem in deciding a professional future. The discipline methodology includes activities proposed by the TryEngineering website and from Brazilian engineering councils. Lectures with invited professors introduce UFABC engineering specialities: Aerospace, Bioengineering, Energy, Environmental & Urban, Information, Instrumentation & Automation & Robotics, Management, Materials. This paper reports the proposed activities, results obtained by the students, a methodology critical analysis and the impacts on the following steps of students embracing an engineering career. Keywords: engineering educationengineering methodologyCDIO methodTryEngineering activities Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the support of the Federal University of ABC, and the Brazilian Projects and Studies Founding for the project ‘MCT/FINEP/FNDCT–PROMOVE—Engineering in High Schools’.