ECE 495U - Junior Participation in Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Course Details
Variable Credit
Counts as:
Experimental Course Offered:
Fall 2005, Spring 2006
Catalog Description:
This course provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to explore and develop comprehensive applications of electrical and computer engineering technologies, especially as they relate to active research areas of Purdue faculty members. Students will learn about the underlying research, and will work on teams to formulate applications of the research that addresses real-world needs. Students will attend a weekly lecture that provides an introduction to a broad range of applicable technologies and development tools - some associated with the activities of specific teams, and some addressing topics of more general value to students enrolled in the course. These lectures will be drawn from a pool of 36 different lectures; so students can register for VIP courses as many as three times and still see new lecture material each semester.
Together the VIP courses ECE 295V, ECE 395V, and ECE 495V in ECE create a vertical project track under which students work in multidisciplinary teams on long-term engineering projects. Each team consists of a mix of sophomores, juniors and seniors. Projects of at least one year in duration are intended to solve real problems that are defined in consultation with advisors who are Purdue faculty members, graduate students, or representatives of industry of the end-user population. Students are encouraged to participate in a VIP team for two or more semesters via enrollment in ECE 295V while a sophomore, ECE 395V while a junior, and ECE 495V while a senior. Projects that serve customers from community service or educational organizations will be conducted within the EPICS framework rather than VIP.
Required Text(s):
None.
Recommended Text(s):
None.
Learning Outcomes:
- an ability to apply knowledge of electrical and computer engineering to the design of applications solutions. [a,b,c,i,k]
- an understanding of design as a start-to-finish process. [b,c,e,k]
- an awareness of the customer in engineering design. [c,f,g,h,j]
- an ability to function as part of a team and an appreciation for the contributions of other individuals on the team. [d,f,g,h]
- an ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences. [d,g]
Lecture Outline:
| Weeks | Lectures |
|---|---|
| 1-15 | All students in VIP have one common lecture hour each week. During this hour, students will attend lectures that address a broad range of electrical and computer engineering technologies including topics that are relevant to the team projects and the development of applications based on these technologies. Lectures also address good design principles, project management, and project communications. |
Lab Outline:
| Week | Major course milestones |
|---|---|
| 2 | Team Organization and Semester Planning |
| 3 | Personal Semester Goals |
| 4 | Project Proposal (new projects); Project Demonstration (continuing projects) |
| 5 | Review of Design Notebooks |
| 8 | Peer Evaluation and Self Assessment |
| 9 | Progress report |
| 11 | Midterm Project Review |
| 15 | Final Project Presentation, Team Report; Review of Design Notebooks; Peer Evaluation and Self Assessment |
Assessment Method:
Each student will be required to keep his or her own design notebook. Students will be evaluated individually and as part of their team on the basis of their design notebooks, midterm and final design presentations, homework assignments that will be collected and graded, and final oral examinations conducted by faculty team advisors.