Design thinking in engineering education: Fab Lab as a transversal space

Claudia  Alquezar Facca; Marcos Mortensen Steagall

doi:10.24135/link2024.v5i1.234

Claudia Alquezar Facca Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia of Technology
Marcos Mortensen Steagall Auckland University of Technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24135/link2024.v5i1.234

Keywords: Design, Education, Engineering, Fab Lab, Transdisciplinarity

Abstract

This study investigates the interactions between Design and Engineering, two areas that, in addition to going beyond their traditional boundaries, dialogue with other disciplines in search of innovative solutions to contemporary challenges. Focussing on the inclusion of Design teaching in Engineering courses, it uses the Design Thinking methodology as a strategic tool and the Fab Lab as a space for collaborative creation. Design is approached as a multidisciplinary element that can integrate and transcend disciplines, especially when applied to design practice, contributing to the training of engineers capable of developing innovative products and services. The exploratory research, based on a bibliographic and documentary review, built a theoretical framework that relates the ideas of great educators - such as Dewey, Montessori, Piaget, Papert and Perrenoud - to current trends in higher education. These trends include the teaching of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and STEAM (with the inclusion of the Arts), active learning strategies based on projects and maker education, which encourages creative practice. Two case studies were carried out to analyse the integration of design in engineering education. The first study took place at the Mauá Institute of Technology in São Paulo and analysed the application of Design Thinking in introductory engineering subjects. The second was conducted at the University of Porto, in Portugal, and examined the interaction between Environmental Engineering and Product Design students. In both cases, a great potential for collaboration between the areas was observed, as well as the students' positive receptiveness to the new model.

Author Biographies

Claudia Alquezar Facca, Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia of Technology

Designer, educator and researcher. PhD in Design (Universidade Anhembi Morumbi, 2020), with a Sandwich Doctorate (Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto/Portugal, 2019), Master in Design (Universidade Anhembi Morumbi, 2008), Specialist in Communication and Arts and Didactics of Higher Education (Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, 1992/1993), Bachelor of Industrial Design - Product Design (Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, 1991). She has over 30 years of academic and professional experience. She is a researcher in the LabDesign (CEUN-IMT) and Inovasign (UFSM) research groups. She is a full professor on the Design and Engineering programmes at the Mauá Institute of Technology and a guest professor at the University of Beira Interior in Portugal.

Marcos Mortensen Steagall, Auckland University of Technology

Marcos Mortensen Steagall is an Associate Professor in the Communication Design department at the Auckland University of Technology - AUT since 2016. He is the Communication Design Postgraduate Strand Leader and Programme Leader for Communication Design and Interaction Design for Year 3. He holds a Master's (2000) and PhD (2006) in Communication & Semiotics acquired from The Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and a PhD in Art & Design from Auckland University of Technology in 2019. Research interest focus on Practice-oriented research in Design through a Global South perspective.