Chairholders
Profile
Peter Wild
Faculty of Engineering
University of Victoria
Chair title
NSERC Chair in Design Engineering
Chair program
Chairs in Design Engineering Program
Role
Chairholder since 2008
Summary
The vision of the NSERC Chair in Design Engineering at the University of Victoria (UVic) is a curriculum that integrates progressively more advanced design experiences into the engineering undergraduate programs. The second term of the Chair will focus on four goals:
- To design and implement a sequence of design learning outcomes throughout our engineering programs;
- To expand our design instruction capacity;
- To develop a dedicated design, prototype and test studio;
- To develop long-term design-centric interactions with local industry.
To achieve Goal 1 (a sequence of learning outcomes), we will introduce client-based design projects into our first-year design courses; develop and implement new design learning outcomes in our existing second- through fourth-year engineering curriculum; develop and implement a new design course for our third-year Electrical Engineering program; apply a common design process to our capstone courses and expand our industry-based multidisciplinary capstone design course; and adopt common design process assessment methods for our student evaluations. To achieve Goal 2 (design-instruction capacity), we will create a mentorship program to explicitly train graduate teaching assistants to mentor student design project teams and increase the number of faculty members who teach design courses. To achieve Goal 3 (design studio), we will survey existing design instruction facilities at other institutions and design and implement the studio. To achieve Goal 4 (industrial design-centric interactions), we will seek out companies with a strong culture of design and establish relationships with sustainable benefits.
The goals of the second term of the Chair build on the achievements of the first term. The implementation of the first-year design courses, a cornerstone of the design experience common to all our engineering programs, is a crucial first step toward achieving Goal 1. Expanding the industry-based capstone design experience will be another significant stage. Goals 1 and 2 depend on the success of these design courses and the increasing commitment of instructors to teaching design. Finally, our continued commitment to industrial capstone projects and co-op work-term design projects will strengthen our relationships with local industry and help to achieve Goal 4.
The NSERC Chair in Design Engineering will significantly enhance the design competencies of engineering undergraduate and graduate students at UVic. In turn, this will improve Canada's capacity in design engineering. Our students trained in design engineering will go on to develop innovative products, processes, systems and technologies as employees or as entrepreneurs in Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and Canada.
Partners
- Wighton Fund
- Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions
- Stuart Olson Dominion
- BC Hydro
- Schneider Electric
- Alexandra Cowie
Contact information
Faculty of Engineering
University of Victoria
PO Box 3055, EOW 206
3800 Finnerty Road
Victoria, British Columbia
V8W 3P6
Tel.: 250-721-8901
Fax: 250-721-6051
Email: pwild@uvic.ca
Website:
http://www.uvic.ca/engineering/
