Leveraging summer immersive experiences into ABET curricula

Summer immersive experiences for undergraduate students in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering programs come in varied forms and can represent a substantial effort by staff and faculty, as well as considerable financial resources to coordinate. Experiences range from work in governmental laboratories and research centers to collaboration with industry partners, and may include graduate research at distant academic locations. This study seeks to evaluate the utility of these work experiences, measuring their effectiveness across ABET program outcomes and assessing their contribution to student learning and motivation to continue to learn. A survey of 53 students who conducted immersive experiences related to Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering disciplines from the United States Air Force Academy and the United States Military Academy has been conducted. Survey results are analyzed to determine the overall value provided by the experience as measured across program outcomes outlined in ABET criteria 3 (a-k). The unique contributions available from the experience are balanced with the administrative requirements to suggest a best practice in leveraging the most from these experiences and to assist programs that might consider initiating or refining their own participation in similar programs.