Student Chapter Development and Engagement in Engineering Majors: The NECA Student Chapter Case

Student chapters provide an opportunity for students to develop additional knowledge and skills to those acquired during their college life as well to work in multidisciplinary teams and participate in projects and competitions outside of their school's setting.Large professional and trade organizations have encouraged the creation of student chapters to promote their profession and interests and to have students experience how work is developed in their fields.Students are invited to interact with professionals in different settings and occasions that promote networking, learning about technical topics, and improving their presentation and interpersonal skills.The basis of student chapters' work is "tell me, and I will forget.Show me, and I may remember.Involve me, and I will understand".They basically help students to put into practice knowledge acquired in coursework and interactions with industry practitioners.Within this context, this paper discusses a research project funded by ELECTRI International about promoting careers in the electrical contracting business through student chapter engagement and research on energy efficient projects.The paper discusses the result of a survey about NECA student chapters across the nation, gives examples of activities developed by the students and how they relate to ABET outcomes, and suggests the main tasks to successfully start and manage a student chapter using San Diego State University NECA student chapter as an example.Results indicated that students value the networking opportunities promoted by student chapters, revealed that NECA student chapters enjoy good support from their local chapters and faculty advisors, and regularly promote activities such as general meetings with members and/or guest speakers, participate in student competitions, field visits, and networking events.Finally, the discussion about how to start and manage a student chapter, and how its activities relate to ABET outcomes, uses the NECA student chapter at San Diego State University to illustrate how students have been working on activities that have helped them earn course-related credits in regular and capstone courses, as well as how they improved their performance in competitions throughout the years.