Redesigning the Common Engineering First-Year (Part 1): Designing for 21st Century Students

The engineering common core, including first-year and a thread of upper-year courses, at York University has been a cornerstone of undergraduate education, providing foundational knowledge and skills. Recognizing the need for a transformative shift, a curriculum redesign was initiated to address these issues comprehensively. The primary purpose of the curriculum redesign is to create a student-centric, effective, and innovative educational experience for aspiring engineers. The project employed the following approach to redesign the engineering common core: (1) understanding the current state, (2) an idealized student journey, (3) the transition to the future. The curriculum redesign project has led to the pilot of the first-year block model in fall 2023 and fall 2024 that allows for an assessment of new delivery model’s impact on student retention and success. Redesigned first-year courses are envisioned for 2025-2026.