Learning Factory: Industry-Partnered Active Learning, The

Journal of Engineering Education, Jan 2008 by Lamancusa, John S, Zayas, Jose L, Soyster, Allen L, Morell, Lueny, Jorgensen, Jens

The Learning Factory began in 1994 with support from a three-year grant from the ARPA/NSF Technology Reinvestment Program in Manufacturing Engineering Education as a partnership of Penn State, the University of Puerto Rico-Mayag�ez (UPRM), the University of Washington (UW), Sandia National Laboratories and 24 corporate partners. On-going operations are now fully supported by university and industry funds.

A. The Partners

The universities in this partnership represent a broad geographical, cultural, and philosophical spectrum. Penn State (PSU) is a large land grant university, 2nd in the US. in granting engineering baccalaureate degrees (1,319 in 2006) and 14th in research expenditures (US$118M) (American Society for Engineering Education, 2007). The major mission of the University of Puerto Rico-Mayag�ez (UPRM) is undergraduate education and it is the largest Hispanic-serving university in the U.S. (606 engineering graduates in 2006). The University of Washington (UW) is a major research institution, 21st in the U.S. in research expenditures and 17th in engineering B.S. degrees granted with 731 graduates. With different strengths and expertise, this group was well positioned to demonstrate the merits of experiential learning in a variety of institutions.

The most important element of a successful enterprise is people. Allen Soyster, then head of Industrial Engineering at Penn State, was the administrative leader. His job was to keep the team on task, on schedule, and to assure that each of the universities delivered on its commitments. Jose Zayas (UPRM), Jens Jorgensen (UW), and John Lamancusa (PSU) were in charge of operations at their institutions, as well as being task leaders for the partnership. Lueny Morell from UPRM led the assessment and outreach efforts. The voice of industry was an integral component in the development and continued operations of the Learning Factory. Our initial group of 24 industry partners spanned a wide range, from small companies to Fortune 500 corporations, such as IBM, Boeing and Hewlett Packard. Over the years, this list has expanded to over 200 corporations who have validated the Learning Factory concept by contributing projects, resources, feedback, and jobs for our graduates.

B. Mission and Tasks

The team began by assessing the current status, best practices, and opportunities to improve engineering education. The voices of all major stakeholders were considered (i.e., industry, faculty, students). Tempered by a realistic assessment of the partners' collective and individual strengths, achievable goals were set, and the pathway to achieve those goals was formulated. Ultimately, the partners were united by a mission: to integrate design, manufacturing, and business realities into the engineering curriculum. This mission was accomplished through four major tasks.

1) Active Learning Facilities: Over 19,000 square feet of facilities were developed and dedicated to hands-on instruction of undergraduates across the partner universities. Each university established hands-on learning environments appropriate to their circumstances. Penn State's and UW's facilities evolved around machining and rapid prototyping, whereas UPRM developed highly specialized facilities for pharmaceutical and electronic manufacture. UPRM's Learning Factory is now operated by the Industrial Engineering Department and offers a "for-profit" printed-circuit assembly line doing contract work UW's facilities provide extensive prototyping, machining and design capabilities for the Mechanical Engineering Department. Penn State's Learning Factory is now self-sustaining and expanding, with support from industry and the College of Engineering.