“Systemic Design Engineering – Curriculum and Instructional Results”

Abstract: This paper describes a methodology, Systemic Design Engineering, that integrates systems thinking for sustainability, design thinking for human centricity, and systems and software engineering for implementation efficiency. Based on these operating principles, an integrated set of learning objectives for this approach are described. A supporting syllabus is presented which is suitable to a semester-long undergraduate or graduate design course. A pilot of this curriculum in a graduate level systems and software engineering design course has been conducted. The learning results from this pilot are presented. These results are compared and contrasted with the results from a similar, traditional systems engineering design course and a dedicated systems thinking course. Finally, conclusions and areas for further refinement and developments are described.