Electrizarte: Using Arts to Improve Engineering Education

Abstract

“ElectrizArte” (spanish words combinedfrom “electrify” and “art”) consists of an extracurricular activity where students design, implement and operate electronic projects in which they combine arts with engineering. The students develop both engineering and artistic components of the event. The objectives of ElectrizArte are: use engineering to magnify the perception of the arts and conversely, use arts to show the capabilities of engineering. Another motivation for the students: they usually suffered from misunderstandings ofwhat they do at school, among family and friends. This certainly undermines their motivation can affect their academic performance. With ElectrizArte, they can show off their abilities and demonstrate what they are capable of, and along the way, spark interest in engineering among the general public. The projects were conceived, designed and developed by 30 undergraduate students during the Winter quarter in 2011, and included fields such as: photonics, computer vision, power electronics, and digital electronics. Students have their own motivation and had to learn in those topics by themselves.All projects were shown to the general public at acampus-wide event, and as a result, students had a real world design experience, a hands-on project and new knowledge complementing their academic courses. ElectrizArte proved to be an attractive way to engage students in extracurricular activities including engineering and art, for the benefit and satisfaction of the participants. This activity is now likely to become an annual tradition.