I'm very much interested in alternative models of engineering education that cede greater autonomy in the learning process to the student, and give them experiences that boost their self-confidence in their ability to learn and do.
I recently found out about a small engineering program in Minnesota has set out to do just this. It's called Iron Range Engineering. The students in this program develop essential skills in a self-driven manner while working on real-world projects.
Here's a video of a talk by the founder, Ron Ulseth, describing the aims of this program when it started just a little over a year ago:
I'm hoping to visit this unique program sometime next year, and see for myself how it works.
