Integrating industry projects into a manufacturing systems course

In order to fill the existing skills gap in U.S. manufacturing, effective teaching techniques of manufacturing courses should be considered by academic institutions. Hands-on experiments and real life projects can be incorporated into the curriculums in order to produce new graduates with adequate knowledge of manufacturing skills. In this paper, we discuss project-based learning in an undergraduate manufacturing systems course. The course includes lectures, labs and industry projects. The lectures provide students with theoretical and technical content on manufacturing systems. The labs provide students with hands-on experience on design, analysis, and improvement of manufacturing systems. The industry projects enhance students understanding of manufacturing systems and provide them with real life experience. Students were divided into groups and a manufacturing project was assigned to each group. Moreover, an industry advisor was assigned to each group. Students, supervised by the course instructor, worked with local industry to identify project ideas, define problems, and set the goals for the projects. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed to assess the learning outcomes and the impact of the industry projects. Course assessment is based on exams, quizzes, lab reports, and successful completion of the industry projects.