A learning collaboration between Engineering and Journalism undergraduate students prompts interdisciplinary behavior

Final-year university engineering and journalism undergraduate students collaborate in a multimedia design and communication project to test the hypothesis that design and communication emphasis by engineering students can be enhanced by interdisciplinary collaboration with media-equipped journalism students. Research was conducted by environmental manipulation, observation, administration of a survey, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of media products. Participants reported increased media communication skills, an awareness of the necessity of communicating with other disciplines, and some change in their intended strategies for future projects. Evaluative instruments recorded a high level of student satisfaction with the collaboration. Evidence was obtained of a close relationship between engineering education and journalism education, leading to a level of interdisciplinarity among student participants.