Contributions of competition based complex engineering design experience to leadership development in engineering students

Abstract

Engineering design activities provide students an opportunity to develop a number of skills. Engineering design experiences not only help students to acquire practical or technical skills, but also may enhance a number of soft (non-technical) attributes and competencies, little is investigated on the impact of engineering design on leadership development. Shell Eco Marathon (SEM) competition is a venue whereby engineering students compete on designing an energy-efficient car that is able to travel furthest given distance within a given time using the least amount of energy. The competition is composed of two categories: First one is a prototype oriented, which focuses on maximum efficiency while passenger comfort takes a back seat. The second category is Urban Concept class that encourages more practical designs. In this paper, analysis of contribution of a complex engineering design experience such as SEM on leadership attributes development is provided. This paper starts with a review on leadership attributes, as well as, recent developments and efforts of incorporating leadership themes in engineering education. Then an overview of the Shell Eco-Marathon competition is provided, with some details on historical background and global organizational structure. Methodology of the impact of SEM on leadership development is then highlighted, and detailed analysis is provided. Impact analysis of the SEM Design Competition incorporates evaluation of data collected through questionnaire with participating students. The paper then discusses students own opinions on leadership skills enhancement spanned over 3 main categories; personality traits, motives, and cognitive factors. The paper concludes with recommendations emerging from the investigation for engineering education academics and engineering curriculum developers.