Curricular Hackathons for Engineering Design Learning: The Case of Engineering Design Days

Contribution: This article defines "curricular hackathons" and describes the features, challenges, and opportunities of adopting the hackathon format into engineering curricula. It is based on experience implementing a series of curricular hackathons which provide students with formative design experiences as they address ill-structured and integrative design problems.Background: Design is an essential part of engineering practice. However, undergraduate engineering students are provided few opportunities to develop the skills necessary for solving ill-structured and complex design problems prior to their final year capstone projects. Cornerstone projects and other summative activities are common attempts to introduce students to design, but often carry significant academic weight in the host course. Adapting the hackathon format into curricular elements could provide a useful pedagogy for formative design practice.Research Question: How can the hackathon format be effectively adapted into curricular activities? Methodology: The study uses a multiple case study research design to extract insight from 12 implementations of curricular hackathons in engineering at the University of Waterloo. The twelve cases were analyzed through two methods: 1) a synthesis of eight previous publications and 2) an interview study of 12 instructors involved in their design and implementation.Findings: Adapting the popular hackathon format to a curricular setting requires several adaptations to maximize the impact on students. Curricular hackathons: are a short, high intensity social experience; that guide students through the design-build-test cycle of a design problem, include opportunities for reflection; and achieve some level of integration and/or embedding in a program's curriculum.