Mr Ntinginya
Member
- Apr 26, 2024
- 24
- 29
There is one thing in universities especially for engineering takers called PROJECT, it usually pops up at the last year. Taking one’s idea into real practice is how I can shortly describe a project. An engineering student owed a project presentation before calling himself/herself a graduate. These projects are highly recommended but they just appear out of the blue as an exam which is my big concern in this article. It is the only exam without a lecture.
This is What happens; More than 90% of the projects submitted by the students at the final examination are not done by them and 100% of the lecturers know that but they have nothing to do about it. A student comes with a project that deserves an A or B and a lecturer will give it to him or her despite knowing the fact, and a new engineer walks away like Newton. If you ever attended university’s exhibitions, you might have seen wonderful projects presented for you to appreciate, and probably wondered how they did it. Well, come back, it is mostly likely that it is not theirs.
I neither blame the students nor the lecturers for good reasons. Down here is why students are blameless and why exactly they opt to employ the third part.
First hand experience; Projects are brought on the table in the last year. No student has done it before. Therefore, students have to face lots of new stuff for the time being. As it said, practice makes perfect! Nothing is going to be perfect here if one tries to do a project by themselves. In this manner in-experience makes one lose confidence and end up employing a third part. It is very frustrating when you are looking for a good pass mark from something that you have just met first hand.
Lack of knowledge; this type of knowledge is one different from theory. It is knowledge learned by experiencing the action. Like what input current should I have to have a desired output? How do I get a circuit board printed?
Of course it is legal to seek help from outside for some questions. But when you need help of more than 90%, it is no longer help but the work of the helper. This is where it started for students to pay those helpers. Because helpers won't stand a chance to do a whole project for free to get someone promoted instead of them.
Time; This comes to be a big hindrance to finishing a project. First you are asked to form groups and select the title of a project to be undertaken. This is doing analysis and it means going through a lot of stuff to find a single idea which is not already done. Before you have settled it, time for submitting hits up. You just have to pick any necessary.
Most of the project if not all involves more than one field, some parts are mechanical,some are computing, electrical etc. To grab a knowledge of everything costs a big amount of time.
The time given to the students to start a project to its completion is utterly insufficient. If one really wants to do it by themselves, time will assure them to score C or less than that.
Now, who is to blame? And what should be done to make students do their projects instead of none students doing their projects for them? Project is a very small unit for a student to at least be able to formulate ideas into reality. If they let someone do for them how could one in real life entrust their project money to such people?
The system is to be blamed; finally I have to disclose the cause of the flaw. In my perspective neither the students nor the lecturers have to be blamed for this flaw but the acting system is. The students are held by three things to do projects by themselves and the lecturers can not decide on them. So here it is the government who is responsible, it’s up to the government to change its policy in order to remove the hindrances. And I want to suggest how it should be.
Project should be made as a subject; Why do I recommend this to be a subject instead of just an exam? Engineering is built on designing, constructing and solving problems. This means if a student is not built on these three things; he is no different from a literature graduate in english.
Making it an official subject instead of popping it up near end exams will be a key to everything else. This will have an impact on the three things that cause students to look for a third part. This is how;
Buying time; The subject should be introduced to first year students to begin with. Teaching to handle small technical methodologies. Bringing up students in such a manner for three or four years is sufficient to make competent engineers.
Buying knowledge; This is time to perform tentative projects. If an electrical student has to perform a successful mini project on how to change AC to DC and other mini projects, they will encounter new stuff and it won't be difficult anymore during the final project. Having an idea how things are going to be gives a student confidence to face reality.
Buying experience;This is a time when students must know how to print circuit boards, construct reasonable circuits, puting algorithms into action and see why it doesn't work. To be able to write their own reports on their projects. To have experience it needs time and knowledge. But this experience should not be treated as only for the best score of the final project but a foundation to be able to engineer.
Of course there must be provision of materials for practice from the university. Or, university can limit a significant amount to be mandatory paid in a student fee.
This is What happens; More than 90% of the projects submitted by the students at the final examination are not done by them and 100% of the lecturers know that but they have nothing to do about it. A student comes with a project that deserves an A or B and a lecturer will give it to him or her despite knowing the fact, and a new engineer walks away like Newton. If you ever attended university’s exhibitions, you might have seen wonderful projects presented for you to appreciate, and probably wondered how they did it. Well, come back, it is mostly likely that it is not theirs.
I neither blame the students nor the lecturers for good reasons. Down here is why students are blameless and why exactly they opt to employ the third part.
First hand experience; Projects are brought on the table in the last year. No student has done it before. Therefore, students have to face lots of new stuff for the time being. As it said, practice makes perfect! Nothing is going to be perfect here if one tries to do a project by themselves. In this manner in-experience makes one lose confidence and end up employing a third part. It is very frustrating when you are looking for a good pass mark from something that you have just met first hand.
Lack of knowledge; this type of knowledge is one different from theory. It is knowledge learned by experiencing the action. Like what input current should I have to have a desired output? How do I get a circuit board printed?
Of course it is legal to seek help from outside for some questions. But when you need help of more than 90%, it is no longer help but the work of the helper. This is where it started for students to pay those helpers. Because helpers won't stand a chance to do a whole project for free to get someone promoted instead of them.
Time; This comes to be a big hindrance to finishing a project. First you are asked to form groups and select the title of a project to be undertaken. This is doing analysis and it means going through a lot of stuff to find a single idea which is not already done. Before you have settled it, time for submitting hits up. You just have to pick any necessary.
Most of the project if not all involves more than one field, some parts are mechanical,some are computing, electrical etc. To grab a knowledge of everything costs a big amount of time.
The time given to the students to start a project to its completion is utterly insufficient. If one really wants to do it by themselves, time will assure them to score C or less than that.
Now, who is to blame? And what should be done to make students do their projects instead of none students doing their projects for them? Project is a very small unit for a student to at least be able to formulate ideas into reality. If they let someone do for them how could one in real life entrust their project money to such people?
The system is to be blamed; finally I have to disclose the cause of the flaw. In my perspective neither the students nor the lecturers have to be blamed for this flaw but the acting system is. The students are held by three things to do projects by themselves and the lecturers can not decide on them. So here it is the government who is responsible, it’s up to the government to change its policy in order to remove the hindrances. And I want to suggest how it should be.
Project should be made as a subject; Why do I recommend this to be a subject instead of just an exam? Engineering is built on designing, constructing and solving problems. This means if a student is not built on these three things; he is no different from a literature graduate in english.
Making it an official subject instead of popping it up near end exams will be a key to everything else. This will have an impact on the three things that cause students to look for a third part. This is how;
Buying time; The subject should be introduced to first year students to begin with. Teaching to handle small technical methodologies. Bringing up students in such a manner for three or four years is sufficient to make competent engineers.
Buying knowledge; This is time to perform tentative projects. If an electrical student has to perform a successful mini project on how to change AC to DC and other mini projects, they will encounter new stuff and it won't be difficult anymore during the final project. Having an idea how things are going to be gives a student confidence to face reality.
Buying experience;This is a time when students must know how to print circuit boards, construct reasonable circuits, puting algorithms into action and see why it doesn't work. To be able to write their own reports on their projects. To have experience it needs time and knowledge. But this experience should not be treated as only for the best score of the final project but a foundation to be able to engineer.
Of course there must be provision of materials for practice from the university. Or, university can limit a significant amount to be mandatory paid in a student fee.
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