Workshops

Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Systems Dynamics and Engineering

Convener: Barrett S. Caldwell PhD (Purdue University)

Abstract:

After several prior cycles of optimism and rejection, there is a resurgent growth in the education, practice, and theory of systems engineering. However, there are multiple perspectives on the nature of systems engineering, and the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities of the systems engineer or theorist. Noticing this diversity of perspectives, the author developed (originally as an educational module for the U.S. space agency NASA) an overview of multiple perspectives, historical threads, and applications domains of systems dynamics and systems engineering, specifically emphasizing a human factors and human-systems integration application context. This overview has evolved into a full-semester course, “Perspectives on Systems,” which highlights five distinct traditions of systems engineering and how they can be compared and integrated to define, describe, and solving local, regional, and global systems challenges. This workshop provides an overview and background materials on all five theoretical traditions, and the disciplines in which these traditions are most often associated. Examples of course design and development include experiences of distributed on-campus and online students working together in teams to create research plans and “systems case studies” (based on the Harvard Business School approach to case study development and facilitation). Additional considerations and challenges of developing and managing a course with academically, geographically, and professionally distributed students (including undergraduate and graduate students, technical engineers, and engineering managers) are discussed in the context of creating a global systems collaboratory.

A win-win game: Students learn, Researchers gain

Convener: Sara Shafiee, Martin Løkkegaard, Niels Henrik Mortensen, Christian Alexander Bertram (Technical University of Denmark, Department of Mechanical Engineering)

Abstract:

A successful implementation of personalized products requires effective use of modular product design. Modularity has also positive impacts on profitability, new product development flexibility, and the number of compatible suppliers. Developing families of products, based on shared and standardized platforms assets is an approach utilized by industrial companies to offer product variance to heterogeneous markets while limiting internal complexity, cost and time-to-market. The significance of modularity has encouraged the educational practitioners at universities to include it in both curriculums and research projects.

At Technical University of Denmark, we set up a game in which engineering student competed in manufacturing cars made from LEGO bricks and with minimum defects over three rounds of 22 minutes. The experiment showed a great engagement from the students and a better understanding of the concept in the report and examination evaluations compared to the last years. Moreover, the experiment reports that increasing the Product Line Commonality Index allowed the teams to more than double the output of their “factories” (rom 47,8% to 88,4%). Compared to productivity and quality, results show an increased output of 118% and a decrease in product defects by 31% when applying a platform-based approach.

In this workshop we answer the following questions:

1. How can gamification improve teaching and learning experience for engineering students?

2. How can we use the outcome of that experience to investigate about a certain research domain?

What World Is IoT Leading Us to?

Convener: Shuichi Fukuda (Keio University)

Abstract:

Until now, materials and living things are apart. Their worlds were separate. Materials have been living in a world of material science and living things have been living in a world of life science. But IoT is leading us to the new world where there is no distinction between materials and living things. In short, life is infused into materials and their behaviors will be not at all different from humans. IoT forms a team of humans and machines playing together. Thus, “Things” do not discriminate machines from humans. They are working together for the same team. “Internet” enables communication among them. Until now machines received instructions from humans, and they responded. It is not communication at all. It is nothing other than just message passing. In this workshop, Shuichi FUKUDA explains the aim of the workshop first, followed by discussions among the participants. It is expected that the discussion will reveal this New World.