COVID-19 Response

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, EDAB collected feedback from Penn Engineering undergraduates regarding their concerns about remote learning, the restructuring of examinations, taking courses Pass/Fail, wellness during the pandemic, etc. With this feedback, EDAB has been able to successfully recommend academic policies that would optimize remote learning and serve in the best interest of Penn Engineering undergraduates. As remote learning continues into the Fall of 2020, EDAB is continuing to collect feedback to suggest improvements to the execution of remote courses.  

First-Year Experience

EDAB worked closely with Penn Engineering administrators to create the new cohort system for incoming Penn Engineers. The goal of this system is to help students meet peers from different majors and open up programming opportunities to create a truly cohesive class. To welcome new first-years, EDAB also created the NSO Tie-Dye event. As part of this (new) tradition, students gather for an afternoon of fun where they can tie-dye their Penn Engineering shirts in their cohort colors and socialize with their fellow classmates.

Crash Courses

In order to encourage learning outside the classroom setting, EDAB has introduced its Crash Course series. This series is designed to expose students to skills and knowledge they may not come across in their courses or otherwise. EDAB recently hosted Venture Captial 101 virtually with an industry professional. We’re excited to continue developing the EDAB Crash Course Program to become a series of insightful meetings that focus on industries, professions, and skills that are essential to the post-collegiate world.

Syllabus and Grading Clarity

Students have remarked that when adding a course on PennInTouch, syllabi are often not included. This makes it more difficult to choose suitable courses or to prepare for them. Similarly, students also remark that course grading takes them by surprise, leaving them with a grade that they did not expect. EDAB is working to improve the availability of syllabi and the transparency of grading.

Sustainability in Penn Engineering

It has been observed that generally students are detached from environmental projects and initiatives at Penn. Fall 2019’s Data for Donuts hosted by EDAB revealed that most Engineering students believe that Penn is not doing enough to promote environmental sustainability. To foster more environmental sustainability at Penn, EDAB is working with Penn Engineering administrators and faculty to launch a sustainability challenge to prompt Penn students to come up with an initiative to reduce day to day environmental damage.

Student Spaces Initiative

There is a distinct lack of social spaces in engineering, which can reduce engineering pride or curtail interaction between engineering students. To solve this problem, EDAB has encouraged the administration to use Levine Lobby as a social space - adding tables and chairs that students can study at. We are working with the administration on more ways to make Engineering a homelike space for students. Our suggestions include: improving the E-Cafe ambiance, introducing nap pods in Engineering, and suggesting improvements for our new space at 3401 Walnut Street.

Professional Opportunities

The purpose of this project is to help Penn Engineers build their careers during their time at Penn. EDAB is looking into pop-up shops in Engineering by Career Services Staff so that engineers can conveniently ask any questions. In addition, EDAB is auditing career fairs to determine whether engineering companies are adequately represented.

Engineering and Public Policy

There are currently few, if any, classes within engineering that are concerned with the intersection of technology and policy. Tech policy is becoming increasingly relevant in global and domestic affairs. Many Penn Engineering students are interested in combining their technical background with other fields, and public policy is another topic that has not been integrated thoroughly. EDAB is working to improve the availability of courses, either as for-credit classes or as external crash courses, that would further explore the intersection of technology and policy.

Printing Resources

EDAB worked with CETS to address printing-related problems, like the lack of facilities for color printing in Engineering, the inability to print in Engineering through personal laptops, and the fact that printing credit did not roll over for engineers. Thus far, CETS has agreed to allow printing credit to roll over and they have introduced a method for students to print directly from their laptops.

SEAS White Paper

Every three years, EDAB writes a comprehensive Penn Engineering White Paper which surveys the current state of Penn Engineering. All Board members contributed to this multi-hundred-hour effort by working with other student leaders, administrators, and faculty to analyze Penn Engineering’s policies, programs, and strategic goals. We then combined student opinions with faculty insight to generate realistic and efficient initiatives while helping the SEAS administration best focus their efforts.

Our assessment divided our focus into three overarching themes that define undergraduate life and the school’s identity. The first of these was the central role of academics, research, and professional development in Penn Engineering. The second theme focused on the critical function of community experiences and social interaction in undergraduate life. The final theme related to Penn Engineering’s big-picture goals and 5+ year strategic positioning.

The final Spring 2018 White Paper was a dense 57-page document that provided a pulse of Penn Engineering to the administration. It is still referred to by Dean Kumar and Dean Composto.

Improving the Efficiency of the Rapid Prototyping Laboratory

The RPL often operates at peak capacity. The lines, which are worse when MEAM design classes assign due dates, force some students into laser cutting their projects well past midnight. This creates unnecessary annoyance and stress. To help ameliorate this issue, RPL has agreed to implement a queue system so that students can better plan their laser-cutting time.

Rachleff Scholars Program

Designed to promote research among the top 5-10% of SEAS undergraduate students, the Rachleff Scholars Program is committed to getting its scholars hooked on research early and enmeshed in a vibrant network of faculty and student researchers that will keep them moving forward. EDAB provided the impetus for the creation of this SEAS-specific honors program and worked with the Undergraduate Affairs Committee for two years to make it a reality: The Rachleff Scholars Homepage.

Room Reservation System

The Room Reservation System project was rooted in the fact that there are several different administrators that must be contacted in order to reserve a room in the Engineering school depending on their location. More importantly, there was no centralized list of the appropriate contact for each conference space. In addition, it was not clear which rooms may be reserved for student use. To facilitate the process students must follow in order to reserve a conference room for group study or other meetings and to clarify in particular which rooms may be reserved, EDAB sought to help establish an on-line Room Reservation System. The anticipated users of such a system included student groups, students, and faculty.

This system was implemented in the fall of 2010 and has been a fantastic resource for clubs and students searching for space: Room Reservation System

Cloud Computing Initiative

EDAB wanted to make it easier for engineers to have greater access to the treasure trove of programs provided by our school. Working with talented technical staff, EDAB expanded the CETS Virtual Lab, providing more fully-loaded computers to students in their dorm rooms. We also worked with College House Computing to provide Matlab, a powerful programming utility, to all of the computers in the College Houses.

TA Audit

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of undergraduate TAs and improve upon it. As a result of this project, semesterly workshops providing all undergraduate TAs with the proper training and skills to teach, guide, and mentor fellow students have started.

Study Abroad Audit

The purpose of this project was to make studying abroad easier and more feasible for Penn Engineers. The project identified a lack of information as an obstacle to students intending to study abroad: regular and well-publicized info sessions have now been implemented each semester to inform students of their options. In addition, EDAB worked with study abroad staff to audit the options available and suggest more where possible, in addition to reducing the XCAT credit approval process which sometimes took up to 10 months.

Engineering Classroom Audit

The purpose of this project was to explore how more rooms in Penn Engineering can be opened up for students use in ways of silent study, group study, group projects, and extracurricular activities. As a result of this project, many classrooms are now left unlocked in the evenings to allow students to freely make use of open spaces around Engineering.

Penn Engineering Branding Initiative

EDAB looked into trademarking the school more in the Engineering students’ eyes by identifying frequented areas and pursuing image branding there. We were able to successfully recommend the school perform an entire redesign of the seas.upenn.edu website.

SEAS Alumni Engagement

While Penn Engineering has produced many accomplished alumni, SEAS students often do not have access to this wealth of knowledge and experience. Our first networking event drew 50+ SEAS student leaders and 10+ alumni. With future events like these, the SEAS Alumni project hopes to encourage more alumnus-student interactions by integrating events and fostering connections between the two groups.

Academic Advising

Every year, EDAB has sought to improve the advising process. The unfortunate reality that we have realized is that the bulk of this relationship is dependent on the advisor/advisee. To help address this variability, EDAB created academic advising quick tips and integrated “cheat sheets” into the Undergraduate Handbook on the Engineering website.

OPA! and 7 SEAS Survival Guide

This project is aimed at helping the typical engineering freshman assimilate better in the SEAS and Penn community. EDAB worked with the New Student Orientation programming in Engineering to develop an improved OPA! peer advising program. Academic and social survival guides are also in development-with eventual distribution to all the SEAS freshmen.

SEAS Green Initiative

Originally, EDAB’s Green Initiative was an initiative to install approximately six to twelve urban-scale wind turbines on or around SEAS buildings. These turbines would serve as a highly visible symbol of the role engineering plays in the long-term sustainability of our planet and as a reminder of Penn’s commitment to sustainable practices.

Though this project didn’t produce wind turbines, it did give rise to the creation of an undergraduate group dedicated to making SEAS more environmentally friendly. The group, SEAS Green, aims to raise environmental awareness in the engineering school.

Engineering Food Options

EDAB’s Dining Options project aimed to improve the dining experience in the engineering school. Often, engineering students find themselves working late nights in the engineering buildings, using tools and software that they cannot access elsewhere. Unfortunately, at this time there are few late night dining options in and around the engineering school. The Accenture Cafe now hosts a hot drinks vending machine that SEAS students can use 24/7, as well as new decor and improved seating. There’s still work to be done though, which is why this project was reformed into the Social Spaces initiative.