Improvement of student learning experience via an interdisciplinary undergraduate research project with top-down design and bottom-up implementation

In this paper, we present an interdisciplinary undergraduate research project administered in an extracurricular setting as a means to complement student's learning in design-oriented courses and laboratory exercises in electrical engineering. We also examine its effectiveness in improving student learning experience and technical competency. Our design project is conceived in a top-down approach, but comprehensive bottom-up implementation is integrated into the project activities to better facilitate student's acquisition of hands-on engineering skills. Our recent survey results show that students benefit substantially from the project, formulated using top-down design and combined with substantial bottom-up implementation activities.