The fundamentals are important… but what are they?

CONTEXT The development of an engineering practice degree in which students learn entirely through industry projects has decoupled the curriculum, where curriculum is considered to be the comprehensive list of skills, content and achievement standards that students must achieve as they progress through their degree, from the unit-based structure of the course. This means that rather than taking a series of units such as ‘calculus’ and ‘thermodynamics’, students learn the fundamental maths, physics and engineering concepts when they become relevant in the context of a project. However there are still certain bodies of knowledge and skills that all students must master if they are to work as engineers and it is crucial that ‘the fundamentals’ are learnt by all students regardless of the specific projects that they work on. A hierarchical learning structure is also still essential, as students must master certain basic concepts before progressing to more complex ideas, but the paths through this new structure will be more fluid, and different for each student depending on the projects they undertake, their particular roles in each group project, and their personal learning goals. PURPOSE To identify what the key fundamental knowledge is that all graduate engineers must have mastered to become engineers capable to contribute in 21st century practice. APPROACH Several approaches are being used to identify the fundamentals. The first is to consult the industry partners who are co-designing and co-delivering the practice-based course. They have been very clear about the broad skills they require from graduates and can provide insight into what knowledge is essential and assumed for students entering their practice. The second is to map current engineering curricula, looking at the core knowledge blocks and with an emphasis on the flow through the topics. If a particular topic is required for a project, the previous mastered knowledge must be identified and student attainment tracked to ensure students have sufficient grounding to access the content and apply it in the project context. This mapping process will also identify which areas currently taught do not lead into any other topics are not required for projects or used in industry. RESULTS Digital disruption and a rapidly changing world have rendered many traditional techniques unnecessary while necessitating the development of many other skill and knowledge sets by engineering students, and it is not yet clear exactly what these will be. It is anticipated that while some knowledge is perpetually fundamental, much of what is traditionally taught may no longer be relevant to modern and future practices of engineering. CONCLUSIONS Early consultation with industry partners indicates a greater focus on budgeting and financial maths is important, along with a greater emphasis on mathematical modelling and programming skills. ‘Basic’ maths and physics are considered fundamental but more detailed research is needed to identify specific key topics areas.