An approach for the effective utilisation of engineering design tools by multidisciplinary student teams

Abstract

Collaborative design practice is becoming more popular as technology makes it easier to communicate ideas with others that are geographically distant. However, there is a challenge as different engineers use design tools which are familiar to them. These design tools usually differ from each other, and that is where the problem arises. With different design tools, engineers may find it much more difficult to share their ideas as well as making the whole process longer, which is highly undesirable. Each year the University of Malta, City University of London and University of Strathclyde organize a joint collaborative design project, in which engineering with different background and cultures participate. In this paper, the patterns in the use of design tools by students to collaborate with each other are investigated. The main aim will be to suggest an approach, which can easily be utilised by engineering students during collaborative work. The final approach proposed aids in facilitating the collaboration work of the engineering students as well as in promoting collaboration between engineering students.