LEARNING BY DOING.

From the very beginning of your time at Lipscomb, you will acquire practical knowledge and immediately learn how to apply it in realistic scenarios. Perhaps no course at Lipscomb demonstrates this distinctive learning experience better than Introduction to Engineering.

Every section of the course includes a service-oriented, real-world project designed to teach students about the engineering process. Even the dean of the Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering, Dr. David Elrod, rolls up his sleeves to work alongside students each semester, taking a project from concept to completion and helping them use their new knowledge to improve the world around them.

In 2020 and 2021, new engineering students collaborated with Sanctuary, a tiny home village near downtown Nashville operated by Green Street Church of Christ to serve people experiencing homelessness, to provide solar power to their 15 units.

Working with faculty, teams of mechanical engineering students designed and installed solar panels and an electrical system that would provide enough wattage to power a fan, lighting and a cell-phone charger, making the homes more comfortable and meeting the necessity of reliable phone access. As an additional project, they also built a covered, open-air pavilion with solar power to allow residents access to small kitchen appliances and an increased number of cell phone chargers.

When Second Chance Ministries in Waverly, Tennessee, heard about this project, their founder reached out to Lipscomb about building a microhome to temporarily house displaced people or those in short-term crisis. Intro to Engineering students answered the call and spent their weekly lab time throughout the semester constructing the tiny home that can be powered by either the utility grid or by solar power. The completed home was delivered in January.

With application built into your learning, you’ll leave Lipscomb prepared to use your knowledge on the job and make a profound impact.

To read more about the College of Engineering, visit lipscomb.edu/engineering