Active Learning Project Sequence: Capstone experience for multi-disciplinary system design and management education

Whereas team project-based learning of engineering design has attracted wide acceptance, it is still rare to see a curriculum that addresses high level societal needs involving diverse students with technical and non-technical backgrounds and a wide range of practical experience. This paper describes collaborative curriculum development among one Japanese (Keio University) and two US universities (Stanford and MIT). The Active Learning Project Sequence (ALPS) is a capstone experience for Keio’s new Graduate School of System Design and Management (SDM). The faculty team combined their experience to use the System Development “V-Model” as a roadmap for the curriculum. ALPS set a high level “Voice of Society,” from which the project teams generated solution scenarios, identified requirements, and described the proposed system using appropriate prototypes of not only hardware, but other amorphous means. The theme for 2008 was “Enhancing Senior Life in Japan,” which led to project foci on more specific scenarios. This paper illustrates the design of the workshop sequence, in particular, two key learning modules: a) scenario development and prototyping and b) cross-team project evaluation.