LEAP into the Future of Engineering Program

LEAP Life is a 2-week program designed to provide first-year LEAP students with general hands-on engineering methods, skills and techniques as well as discipline-specific ones. By the end of the program, participants will be ready for more sophisticated courses and projects involving engineering design and analysis, including those leading to corporate internships.

Hands-on

LEAP Life will take place in January, between the Fall and Spring semesters and will leverage state-of-the-art engineering facilities, including the Engineering Product Innovation Center (EPIC) and the Bioengineering Technology & Entrepreneurship Center (BTEC).

Jumpstart Fundamental Skills

Students will begin LEAP Life with a week long common program designed for LEAP students of all disciplines and will have the opportunity to gain technical skills that prepare them for one of three specialized tracks in week two.

In the first part of the common program, students will focus on computer literacy and generative AI. This unit covers modern methods and tools used in the engineering enterprise for successful project delivery relating to project management, collaboration, computing, and issues of scale. We also introduce the use of generative AI as an emerging tool to accelerate design and analysis as a baseline and in each program discipline.

In the second part of the common program, students will focus on electronics manufacturing, PCB design, and soldering. Electronics are an essential component to the physical embodiment of most engineering product designs. This unit focuses on practical aspects of incorporating electronic components in mechanical, biomedical, and computer systems.

Career Development

LEAP Life will conclude with a technical communication workshop, hosted by the College of Engineering’s Career Development Office. The workshop will serve to help students capture, document, and promote their work and practice technical project communication in presentations, portfolios, and short videos.

Engineering Skills by Discipline

LEAP Life students will break out to learn discipline-specific skills

EPIC-machine-and-student-scaled-e1628609354271

Approach

First-year LEAP students will be invited to register in the Fall term.

Hands-on components will be run by BU ENG Instructors and Graduate Teaching Assistants.

All students will be asked to complete in advance a 12-hour on-line Computer Aided Design (CAD) course run by PTC, Inc. which includes self-paced tutorials and online office hours.