To grow interdisciplinary studies at Washington State University (WSU) Everett, three faculty members launched merged coursework this spring. Seniors in electrical engineering have spent the academic year designing and building a project, sponsored by, overseen and delivered to local industry. During the second semester, Edward R. Murrow College of Communication students will develop communication plans for their assigned project while Carson College of Business students will create business strategies.
“In the real world, engineers and business people and communicators work together,” said Dr. Jacob Murray, program coordinator for electrical engineering at WSU Everett. “These projects have real-life output and the business and communication students can support these teams – not as subordinates, but as peers.”
The seven engineering projects range from developing a new battery system for the OceanGate submersible, developing metrology instrumentation for Fluke, to using coral to take carbon out of the atmosphere for Boeing, or creating an interactive museum exhibit to inspire children to pursue STEM careers.
Lucrezia Cuen Paxson teaches COM400, communicating science and technology. “As we continue into the fourth industrial revolution in the midst of a digital explosion, we’re discovering that in the workplace, more people who were not in subfields related to science and technology are being forced into them,” she told students. “Those relationships and interactions are no longer optional, they are mandatory.”
The process for students will expose them to peers in other fields, helping them understand how they think and work and advancing their ability to be successful, according to Cuen Paxson. Each team member will bring a perspective couched in their experience within their unique field.
Students of Dr. Soobin Seo, an assistant professor in the Carson College of Business, will plan specific business strategies for the teams to ensure the project, instrument or client is both viable and sustainable when reaching the marketplace. Seo teaches MRKT360, introduction to marketing.
The students will still operate and be graded within their separate courses, but will meet a minimum number of times as a team to learn about the skillset each brings, develop strategies related to their project and complete their respective assignments.
Student reactions were strong, including anticipation about learning from an expanded form teamwork, to anxiety about shared responsibilities. Murray noted the experience will embrace a growth mindset in which challenges, and even failure, are part of the learning process.
“This interdisciplinary process exemplifies the innovative faculty at WSU Everett and how nimble our campus is in preparing students to meet the demands of the modern workforce,” Chancellor Paul Pitre said. “This level of scientific inquiry and entrepreneurship is nurtured in every one of our programs to provide our students a transformative experience.”
As an ice-breaker, each interdisciplinary team will visit Everett Escape, where participants play a game involving trapping them in a room and solving puzzles in order to complete the challenge and escape.
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Kickoff meeting photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/h1iznsasam65vok/AACgmnRywRqyWp45xPBfjLgGa?dl=0
