The Phumelela Project: Improving the Success of Engineering Students

This paper addresses what has been done in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of Cape Town over the past twenty years to improve students success and hence the quality of our graduates, culminating in the current Phumelela project, which is the major focus of the paper. The paper notes the uneven school education received by incoming students in South Africa and the pressure to produce increasing numbers of quality engineering graduates. Three key initiatives undertaken in the past are discussed: improving teaching, curriculum reform, and research into student learning. The paper also presents the Centre for Research in Engineering Education argument that success is shown by entering into the discourse of engineering and taking on the identity of engineering communities. The Phumelela project involves a number of interventions, including the appointment of an Academic Development Lecturer in each department in the faculty, the appointment of a Faculty Counseling Officer, a mentoring programme for first year students, and improved tutoring at all levels. An important feature is a data analysis project which will evaluate the impact of the interventions being undertaken.