Advancing engineering education: Lassonde hosts 2024 ASEE conference

From April 26 to 27, 2024, the Lassonde School of Engineering hosted the 2024 American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) Saint Lawrence Section conference. The event offered an engaging and inclusive environment to share ideas and innovations in engineering education.

Nearly 70 attendees from Canada and the United States, including engineering educators, researchers and students gathered to discuss the conference theme, Developing the Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow, through six technical sections: art-inspired pedagogy, photovoice, role playing escape room to work-integrated learning, collaborative learning, gender diverse populations and engineering design.

“The ASEE Saint Lawrence Section is a vibrant community of individuals who are passionate about engineering education and curriculum development,” says Mojgan Jadidi, associate professor in the Civil Engineering department and conference chair. “It was a great pleasure to chair this conference and host the event at Lassonde. Speaking with like-minded individuals and sharing the work we are doing with our peers from Canada and the United States was a wonderful opportunity.”

Left: Attendees viewing student posters. Right: Keynote speaker, Professor Franz Newland, presenting.

The conference featured presentations from two keynote speakers, Lisa Cole, Director of Lassonde’s k2i (kindergarten to industry) academy and Franz Newland, professor in the Earth & Space Science & Engineering department, who both spoke about various teaching and learning opportunities in STEM.

The event also featured an awards presentation, where students and educators were recognized for their efforts within the field of engineering education.

Shivaun Archer, senior lecturer in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University, was honoured as the ‘2024 Outstanding Teacher’ for her many contributions to engineering education, including the development of 28 research labs and biomedical engineering curriculum innovations.

Student attendees had an opportunity to submit research papers and present creative research posters focused on engineering education. Top performing students received awards for Best Diversity Paper, Best Research Paper, Best Student Design Poster and Best Research Poster.

“The main outcome of this conference was community building and collaboration,” says Professor Jadidi. “As educators, we often struggle to help our students thrive in learning environments and this conference allowed us to discuss innovative solutions for these challenges. For example, I connected with colleagues from Purdue University to learn about their reflection framework and how it can be used to enhance learning experiences with Augmented/Virtual Reality and gamification technologies we are developing here at Lassonde. This is just one example of many conference outcomes. Overall, I am grateful to those who helped make this conference a success, including the Lassonde community and ASEE Saint Lawrence Section.”

Learn more about the conference and keynote speakers.