Engaging with Industry to Improve Student Learning on Undergraduate Engineering Programmes

It is widely accepted that students' learning is closely linked to their levels of engagement. Whilst there is no single, universally accepted definition of 'a fully engaged student' there is a general consensus that active participation by the student leads to higher levels of student learning. Engineering programmes typically provide many opportunities for their students' active participation, yet many students simply drop-out or discontinue their studies before graduation. This paper describes how staff in the School of Engineering at Ulster University have used an active participation approach in a second year module in industrial engineering using a series of industrial student visits. Students' participation during the visits and their perceptions of industry before and after the visits are described. Practical suggestions on how site visits to manufacturing companies might be incorporated into the undergraduate engineering curriculum are provided.