Assessing the impact of university-industry collaborative lean six sigma capstone projects on engineering management students

Capstone design projects are meant to provide an invaluable learning experience to senior students. However, the project experience can be disappointing if students are not provided with challenging projects and lack the guidance of a rigorous problem-solving approach. To overcome this problem, we have developed a collaborative approach to enhancing the learning experience for engineering management (or industrial engineering) capstone design courses. The core of this approach is problem-based learning through the execution of lean six sigma (LSS) projects implemented via university-industry partnerships. The ultimate goal of this approach is to facilitate the integration and application of theoretical knowledge while promoting the development of professional skills in undergraduate students as demanded by business organizations. The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which our pedagogical infrastructure for a completely hands-on experience in capstone design courses has on students during their transition to the workforce and early careers. Student surveys were conducted to quantify the impact of semester-long projects. Student responses from the LSS and non-LSS capstone courses were analyzed. Our findings show that collaborative LSS capstone projects help students gain a better understanding of how to apply the theory to practical situations while preparing them to approach and solve problems in real-world settings confidently. We also found that the LSS green belt certification helped recent graduates to transition to the workforce more easily, gain more credibility among co-workers and supervisors and make contributions quicker than other new hires, get the job they wanted faster, and overall advance in their careers.