Developing a Framework for Hands-On Collaborations between Engineering and Medical Students on Open-Ended Projects

Developing a Framework for Hands-On Collaborations between Engineering and Medical Students on Open-Ended Projects

Grant:
Gilbert Whitaker Fund for the Improvement of Teaching
Academic Year:
2011 - 2012 (June 1, 2011 through May 31, 2012)
Funding Requested:
$9,700.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
amycohn
mlmacy
Overview of the Project:
We propose to develop and test-pilot a program in which small teams of engineering and medical students, an engineering faculty member, and a clinical member of the medical faculty will work together on hands-on projects within the clinician's practice. The educational goals are to: A) Provide students with improved skills for solving open-ended problems; B) Engage students in learning about the application of engineering tools to improve healthcare delivery; and C) Develop interdisciplinary communication skills between students, with a particular focus on functioning in new environments, reducing barriers caused by technical jargon, and collaborating across fields to identify relevant problems and collectively formulate solution approaches.
Final Report Fields
Project Objectives:
A) Provide students with improved skills for solving open-ended problems; B) Engage students in learning about the application of engineering tools to improve healthcare delivery; and C) Develop interdisciplinary communication skills between students, with a particular focus on functioning in new environments, reducing barriers caused by technical jargon, and collaborating across fields to identify relevant problems and collectively formulate solution approaches.
Project Achievements:
We have run several overlapping student teams comprised of CoE undergrads, CoE masters students, public health students, and medical students (along with faculty across multiple units). These projects ran over the summer of 2012; all students eligible to do so chose to continue with their projects into the academic year. We are currently preparing our first paper from these projects for publication, submitting grant proposals based on this work, and preparing to have an even larger group of students next summer. Here are a few quotes from the students: “Working on the projects this summer was the highlight of my five year education at the University of Michigan as an engineering master’s student in Biomedical Engineering.” “I had an invaluable experience being involved with a joint engineering and healthcare project this past summer. “ “I had the opportunity to meet with doctors and learn about the hospital from an administrative standpoint and medicine from a clinical perspective. This was incredibly valuable to me because I got to see how engineering could be applied to other disciplines and systems.”
Continuation:
We have continued to work with last summer’s students and have added new students. We are pursuing many avenues of funding to ensure that we can have an even larger group of students next year, and that we can increase the faculty involvement as well.
Dissemination:
We have been presenting our projects at conferences in both engineering and medicine. In addition, PI Cohn has been serving on education panels in engineering conferences and is coordinating a program in which sessions are being organized for undergraduates to present their research at the upcoming INFORMS Healthcare conference. A reception will also be held to enable the students to not only network with each other, but also with faculty from many different schools, with the aim of facilitating graduate studies.
Advice to your Colleagues:
Find good collaborators with whom you enjoy working, find enthusiastic students who are eager to learn, find topics that will have impact on the world, and the rest will fall into place!
PRINTER VERSION
SEND BY EMAIL