Introducing students to engineering using a case study approach

A case study was developed to give students an idea of what engineers' tasks would be in the design of a large, complex system that is currently under development- the Intelligent Transportation System. The case introduces the students to the idea that engineering projects are multi-disciplinary in nature. Firstly, students are presented with a short description of the Intelligent transportation system and are asked to list at least five parts of the ITS. Secondly, the groups of students decide how engineers from different disciplines could countribute to the desighn of the system, after reading descriptions of the roles of engineers. Finally, students are asked to read a synopsis of a recent, high-profile communications satellite failure.