Wayang kulit: A multidisciplinary project for engineering education

In engineering education integrative methods help students to establish the link between various engineering topics as well as enable them to see the relevance of the material being taught in practice. Furthermore, a hands-on approach provides student with many avenues for experimentation, as they practice engineering design and application. Learning becomes more experiential hence enabling students to comprehend, retain and apply the knowledge better. In this paper, we present a project-based course, offered for the purpose of enrichment, to second-year electrical and mechanical engineering students at diploma level. This course aimed to stimulate students’ interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and illustrate how various engineering concepts interplay in application. It also helps developing skills that benefit project teams to function, such as communication, planning, and project management. The project objective is to build an automated Wayang kulit which is an ancient art of theatrical storytelling in South East Asia. We chose this showcase as a means to connect diverse set of project skills and knowledge in an enjoyable way. In addition to achieving our pedagogical objectives, we hope to widen each student’s horizon. The learning is not just technical; through story telling students explore social, environmental and economic issues as well. This paper will present the development and the implementation of this tailor-made course together with our preliminary evaluation results and observations.