[Hans Tilstra]

One of the more prominent themes in this year’s HERDSA conference was the ‘students as partners’ idea. And in that context it occurred to me that our program designs rarely create the kind of collaborative spaces and buddy systems we need more of. One example I’d like to promote is a strand such as this one: http://edps.engineering.queensu.ca/About-the-EDPS.html . Here, trust and goodwill are enabled as students know that their first year experience is but the beginning of a relationship they will have with industry and one another. This is in sharp contrast to the prevalent program design in which each course seems to be an island. One of the ways to make the stranding work is to draw on the CDIO’s levels:
1st year: To have experienced or been exposed to, to be able to participate in and contribute to
2nd year: To be able to understand and explain
final year: To be skilled in the practice or implementation of, to be able to lead or innovate in

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