Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (FEBE) staff members pride themselves in their contribution to the 2020 World Engineering Education Forum (WEEF) and the Global Engineering Dean’s Council Virtual Conference (GEDC) held recently.
The conference is a prestigious annual event in furthering the mission of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) to bring together the global community to build excellence in engineering education. The CPUT staff members who participated in the conference in 2020 include; Cheryl Belford, Tafirenyika Madzimbamuto, Dr Bronwyn Swartz, Dr Sweta Patnaik and Prof Daniela Gachago from CIET.
The event was supposed to be the first one on the African continent at Cape Town International Convention Centre but because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was held virtually. The theme for this year’s conference was: Disruptive Engineering Education Amid Global Challenges.
Academics, industry leaders, researchers, students and governmental organisations were all invited to the conference. Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Prof Marshall Sheldon, says CPUT gave its support to this conference as part of the bid for it to be held in Cape Town. Sheldon was part of the initial local organising committee when the international organising committee visited Cape Town in 2019, with CPUT hosting the delegation for an evening event. FEBE is also a member of the GEDC and wants to congratulate Prof Sunil Maharaj, Dean of the University of Pretoria, who was the general conference chair on his appointment as the chair-elect for the GEDC.
Swartz wrote two papers for the conference: “Assessment as Learning” to prepare Engineering students to solve ill-defined problems in industry and Ethics in Engineering Education 4.0.
She says the conference was fantastic but that initially, she felt “out of sorts” because of not knowing what to do or was expected of her because of the lack of traditional chat rooms.
“But once I figured it out, it was pretty cool. I personally believe that our own learner management system, Blackboard, is really powerful and that the software would be the best software to use to host a virtual conference,” adds Swartz. “But my experience at this conference was really good.”
She felt virtuous after her research findings were well-received by other delegates. “I’m really grateful that I was given the opportunity to participate. It’s most rewarding when one gets the impression that one’s research adds value, and other people might get ideas or benefit from the research that one has done,” she raves.
Patnaik, who worked with Gachago, says the conference speaks about engineering education and it covers many aspects that are close to “my heart, e-learning, blended learning sustainability and curriculum development”. Through her two papers, Patnaik highlighted two things, that are very relevant to this year. The first paper is about the role of e-learning champions within FEBE and their roles and responsibilities within the department during COVID 19.
The second paper highlighted the need for sustainability within the Engineering curriculum and its need and relevance in the current world,” she explains.
Belford is very happy that she made the final cut (42 of 100 papers) and that people found her research relevant. “I took a lot of practical advice away from the experience and have a new idea around students, creating learning material for students for next year,” she remarks.
Her research was about designing integrated knowledge projects which was assessed solely by graduate attributes. “I communicated the journey as well as realisations of principles and pedagogies which really need to be in place to create the student experience where competencies can be measured.” Her research seemed very popular and resulted in quite a few discussions.
Madzimbamuto explains that his joint presentation with Prof Tunde Ojumu was titled: “An Innovation in the Teaching of Thermodynamics – A Constructivist Case Study using a Pilot Plant Facility”. The paper provided a version of a constructivist theory to the teaching of thermodynamics which is based on pilot plant operation experience for senior undergraduate students.
“Innovation in the teaching and learning of thermodynamics is evolving incrementally,” Madzimbamuto pronounces.
Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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