Abstract
Evidence suggests that the nationwide production of Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics graduates qualified for employment in the aerospace enterprise is insufficient to meet current and future demand. A unique program at the Space Science and Engineering Laboratory (SSEL) at Montana State University (MSU) has been training a new generation of engineers and scientists through direct hands-on immersion in small satellite design and development. This program jump-starts the college to workplace transition by intimately involving undergraduate (and graduate) students in the hands-on design, development, test, and flight and operations of space flight systems. The extracurricular program is based upon the formal academic curriculum of the University, yet furthers that traditional pedagogical goal by focusing on project-based workgroup learning to develop the specific individual and collaborative skills required to successfully develop space flight systems. Students progress through several tiers of a hands-on training pyramid, spiraling through the project development cycle multiple times with progressively more challenging projects. Project management, systems engineering, interdisciplinary project-based workgroup interactivity, along with configuration management, formal design reviews, peer reviews, and the full design, build, test, rebuild, retest, and fly cycle are the cornerstones on which individual space flight hardware projects build the required skills.
Presentation Slides
Today’s Students – Tomorrow’s Engineers: Jump-Starting the Transition from University to Industry
Evidence suggests that the nationwide production of Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics graduates qualified for employment in the aerospace enterprise is insufficient to meet current and future demand. A unique program at the Space Science and Engineering Laboratory (SSEL) at Montana State University (MSU) has been training a new generation of engineers and scientists through direct hands-on immersion in small satellite design and development. This program jump-starts the college to workplace transition by intimately involving undergraduate (and graduate) students in the hands-on design, development, test, and flight and operations of space flight systems. The extracurricular program is based upon the formal academic curriculum of the University, yet furthers that traditional pedagogical goal by focusing on project-based workgroup learning to develop the specific individual and collaborative skills required to successfully develop space flight systems. Students progress through several tiers of a hands-on training pyramid, spiraling through the project development cycle multiple times with progressively more challenging projects. Project management, systems engineering, interdisciplinary project-based workgroup interactivity, along with configuration management, formal design reviews, peer reviews, and the full design, build, test, rebuild, retest, and fly cycle are the cornerstones on which individual space flight hardware projects build the required skills.
