Abstract:
Engineering and architecture is aimed at improving the life of humans by designing and building products and services to the needs of civilizations. In real life settings, designing and building a product/service is a multidisciplinary event that involves the collaboration of a variety of specialists from different backgrounds. Accordingly, students need to acquire multidisciplinary skills and a holistic view of the world to be more successful in their future jobs. A committee of faculty from various disciplines in engineering and architecture at the American University of Beirut (AUB) was entrusted to design and introduce a new course that inspires creativity in engineering and design, engages first-year students from architecture and various engineering disciplines, and above all provides a multi-disciplinary experience to engineering education. This paper presents the theory, pedagogy, and background of introducing such a course to engineering and architecture students at AUB.
