Interdisciplinary Research for Engineering Skills Development

Resumen

This work reports the results of an ad hoc interdisciplinary research experience for undergraduate engineering students at the Plasma Engineering Laboratory (PEL) of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico (PUPR). The strong features of this experience and their relationship with Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) outcomes are pointed out, and a qualitative description of the results is discussed, in terms of the performance of the students during the experience and after it. An example of the different activities performed by a team of undergraduate students, and their relationship with the ABET outcomes is presented. The undergraduate research at the PEL provides the students with a unique opportunity to practice engineering before graduation through real life problems, innovation, collaboration with other institutions, and presentation of their work for engineering and scientific audiences.