This document discusses incorporating social design into multidisciplinary engineering courses. It notes that engineering design can both solve problems but also create new ones. Some universities are re-engineering their teaching process using techniques like collaborative learning and problem-based learning. However, these approaches may be missing a focus on ethics, citizenship, and humanizing the engineering design process. The author proposes using collaborative, multidisciplinary social-based product design instead of just uni-disciplinary product design. This would involve designing products and services to shape social outcomes and develop both human and social capital.

1. SOCIAL DESIGN IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY
ENGINEERING DESIGN COURSES
César Cárdenas
Mechatronics Department
Tecnológico de Monterrey, Querétaro Campus
México

2. Global Situation

3. Global Situation
• The society is facing many challenges.
• Engineering Design Process (EDP) is the way
engineers solve engineering/social problems.
• EDP may also create other engineering/social
problems.

4. The EDP

5. What some Universities are doing?
Re-
Re-engineering the teaching-
teaching-learning Combinations
(RTLP):
process (RTLP): – CL + PBL
– Basic + – CL + POL
– Collaborative Learning (CL) – POL-S
– Problem-Based Learning (PBL) – PBL-S
– Project-Oriented Learning (POL) – RBL-S
– Methodology of Cases (MoC)
– Service-Learning (SL)
– Research-Based Learning (RBL)
– More to come to stay competitive…
•In 2007, the whole Monterrey Tech educational system, there were around
14,000 re-engineered courses under these techniques (70%).
•A strong effort with good numbers but not symmetric results up to now.
•We update our academic programs every 5 years

6. Is there something missing?
1. To match the RTLP and the EDP?
2. A new pedagogical technique?
– i.e. Entrepreneurship-Based Learning (EBL).
– EBL is one of the main focus for all Tec de Monterrey
educational system (33 campuses around México).
3. More focus on Ethics and Citizenship?
– One of the most important projects for all Tec de Monterrey
educational system (SACS engagement).
4. A paradigm shifts in the EDP
– Humanization of the EDP (social-based EDP)
(social-

7. 1st Paradigm Shift:
Develop a Systemic View by means of Creative Interventions

8. 2nd Paradigm Shift:
Create Social Capital
• At Tec de Monterrey students must spend 480
hours before graduation in:
– Social Service
– Social Incubators
– Courses designed under the Service-Learning
technique.

9. Proposal: Collaborative/Multidisciplinary Social-based Product
Social-
Design instead of Uni-disciplinary Product Design
Uni-
• Social Design
– Shaping of social products and social services;
– Creation of social reality;
– Design of the social world.
• Social Design Thinking
– Joins developing human and social capital with new products and
processes.
• Social Intelligence Design
– Attempts to understand the link between Design and Social
Intelligence: Some WEB 2.0 applications are a subset of SID

10. Social Intelligence Design (SID)~1998
SID Granularities (from Toyoaki Nishida)

11. Stages of the Process
0. Teambuilding and theme choice.
3. Prototype building: Arduino
1. Social problem identification (glocalisation)
– Functional
– Mindmap
– Ideal
– Questioning technique
4. Final Delivery
– User-Centered Design (IDEO): ethnography
– Engineering division fair
2. SID-based Idea generation
– Online journal
– Storyboard
– Scientific paper
– Use-case diagram
– Scientific and publicity posters
– Morphological analysis
– Video-prorotipe
– Flow diagram
– Prototype

12. Themes: The Systemic Start
1. Including design, workspaces, education e-commerce,
workspaces education,
entertainment,
entertainment digital democracy, digital cities policy and
cities,
business.
2. Employability, Security, Health, Social emotion,
Transport.
Sustainability, Education and Transport.

13. Multidisciplinary Engineering Design Process

14. Match among several processes
RO RO RO RO RO

15. Results
• JM08: 44 students (24 IDs, 20 EEs), 10 teams, 6 international
undergraduate student papers (Puerto Rico), 1 team
interested in patent their idea, 1 team interested to
entrepreneur their idea.
• JM09: 46 students (22 IDs, 24 EEs), 11 teams, 6 international
undergraduate student papers (Japan), 1 team interested in
patent their idea, 1 team interested to entrepreneur their
idea.
• IDs 5th of 7th Workshops, EEs 2nd of 5th Workshops

16. Some Statistics (Self Perception)

17. Some Statistics (Self Perception)

18. Some Statistics (External Evaluators)

19. Experiences
• Teambuilding
• Listening students’ emotions.
• Social design theme keeps students highly motivated.
• Engineers become anxious in the first stages
– Generations of products
• Industrial Designers are systematically creative
– Engineers help them to keep realist
• When social design is a goal, projects with social impact emerge naturally.
• Professors from different schools participate
• External evaluators (entrepreneurs and academic leaders participate: MIT Mobile
Experience Lab, Lorraine Justice).
• We are two professors from different backgrounds teaching at the same time.

20. Projects
1. URBAN REFLECTOR: Social Integration of Homeless 1. TAI: A Social-Aided Transport System for the Blind and
Children. Visually Disabled.
2. MaCaCo: social intelligence for children. 2. A Social Approach to Increasing Energy Consumption
3. We.Share: Give a Ride against Global Warming. Awareness in Families.
4. RUEDAS: Social-based Energy Transformation System for 3. YUNIT: Family Emotional Communication Wireless
the Daily Shopping. System.
5. JIT-Eat: Social and Technological Approach to Reduce 4. Plug-It: A Social-based Health Monitoring System for
Waiting Time Perception in Malls. Sports.
6. Wireless solution for pedestrian education and social 5. The Shopping Game: A Social Interactive Ecological
dynamics. Experience.
7. RAUSID: Social-based Radio Frequency Assistant in Urban 6. Energy Container: A Social-based Energy Generation
Zones. System.
8. eco: Conociendo el gasto de recursos en tu hogar. 7. PETRO: A Community Based Recycling System.
9. Pulsera Don’t Solución E*E* para problemas alimenticios. 8. Safe Access: protecting your kids.
10. ICNELIA: EL DESARROLLO DE LA INTELIGENCIA 9. Joby: Social- based employability module for workers who
SOCIAL EN EL TURISMO. don’t have access to technology.
10. LIVING CITIES: NATURAL INTEGRATION IN URBAN
SPACES.
11. RIC: Recycle Intelligent Contaminant.

21. The proposal helps to cope with
Limited resources Entrepreneur Training
• Under-developed countries have
Teach Research
many challenges.
• Intervention time in engineering RTLP-B QEP
education is limited for such big S-L
Consult
challenges
– from 4 to 4.5 years. RBL
ABET
• Professors capacity is limited SACS Academics
– 5 courses is normal charge, 4 Promoting Self-mngmt
(-1) if you belong to a
research chair.

22. Future Work
• Assessment (CDL, CDTL, Systemic Thinking)
– CDL at two levels: students and professors, SID-based product
evaluation.
• Focus on:
– Patent the concepts
– Research-oriented Service-Learning
– Social entrepreneurship (e.g. mHealth, mWork)
• Invite Computer Science students
– Currently testing in a SID-based PAN/BAN multidisciplinary course.
• Match the process with the entrepreneurial initiatives on campus

23. One semester course, one year project

24. References
1. Cárdenas, Sosa, Moysen, Martínez, “Sustaining Sustainable Design Through Systemic Thinking,” International Journal of Engineering
Education. Special Issue on MUDD Design Workshop. (Accepted – In Press)..
2. Cárdenas, C.; Moysen, R., Palma, D., Loya, E.,; Signoret, C., “A Multidisciplinary Course based on Social Intelligence Design and
Collaborative Learning,” International Journal AI & Society, Special Issue on SID 2008, Springer Verlag. (Accepted – In Press).
3. Cárdenas, C., “Social-based Games Development to Promote Creativity in Multidisciplinary Engineering Design Courses,” International
Journal of Engineering Education. Special Issue on Learning through Play. (Submitted – In Progress).
4. Cárdenas, C., “Social Design Based Service Learning in Computing related Multidisciplinary Courses,” International Journal of
Engineering Education. Special Issue on Methods and Cases in Computing Education. (Submitted – In Progress).
5. C. Cárdenas, R. Moysen “ABI2-S: El Diseño Social como Experiencia Académica para Innovar, Investigar y Practicar la Ciudadanía
Activa en Programas de Ingeniería,” 7º Congreso de Formación Social: Hacia una Ciudadanía Solidaria. Monterrey, Septiembre 2009.
(Published).
6. C. Cárdenas, R. Moysen, R. Sosa, “Promoting Creativity in Engineering Design through Multidisciplinary Courses and Social-based
Product Design,” Creativity and Cognition in Engineering Design Workshop 2009, Berkeley Art Museum & UC Berkeley (Accepted).
7. Moysen, Cárdenas, Ruchter, “Cross Disciplinary Learning as a tool for students’ evaluation on a Multidisciplinary Course based on
Social Intelligence Design and Collaborative Learning,” 8th International Workshop in Social Intelligence Design, Kyoto, Japan,
November, 2009 (Accepted).
8. Cárdenas, C.; Moysen, R., Palma, D., Loya, E.,; Signoret, C., “SID-based Education in Multidisciplinary Courses with Collaborative
Learning,” 7th International Workshop on Social Intelligence Design. Internacional. Puerto Rico. Diciembre. 2008.(Publicado).

25. Thanks!!!