INITIATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION AMONG THE FUTURE SPACE WORKFORCE VIA THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A STEM TOOL

摘要

Over the past 20 years, exploration of the "final frontier" has transformed from an endeavour often pursued bycompeting and rival nations to one of cooperation; primarily due to the end of the Cold War, economic feasibilityand promotion of international relations. The development of the International Space Station (ISS) provided theoptimal scenario of the resulting success achieved by the conglomeration of skills and talents of individuals from theUnited States (US), Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe. In order to continue to foster an internationally cooperativeworkforce that will have the desire and skillset necessary to achieve future spacefaring goals, a collaborative efforthas been initiated between the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in Cape Town, South Africa andthe University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) in Huntsville, Alabama (AL). This joint effort - referred to as theALLiance for International Excellence among the future Space workforce, or ALLIES - commenced with an initialemphasis upon the cross-integration of design methods and tools utilized at the respective universities withincapstone engineering design classes. The second phase of the ALLIES program focused upon the design anddevelopment of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) tool to be delivered to a primary orsecondary education school in South Africa. Past STEM tool designs developed at UAH include a fluid flow circuit,interactive solar system, trebuchet, ballistic pendulum, and a pulley system – to name a few. Interactive, hands-onSTEM tools motivate younger students to pursue a STEM education as interacting with hardware reinforcestheoretical concepts presented in the classroom. The goal of the ALLIES program is to foster internationalunderstanding and cooperation among the CPUT and UAH students – the future space workforce that will continueto achieve lofty spacefaring goals. Additionally, as a result of the ALLIES effort – a STEM tool designed, analyzed,fabricated and tested by CPUT and UAH students – will inspire and motivate the youth of South Africa to seek aSTEM education and career that will further accelerate the development of future space professionals. The currentpaper provides an overview of the ALLIES program, a detailed description of the means of integrating variousshared design methods and tools at CPUT and UAH, a description of the resulting STEM tool design anddevelopment, and data conveying the learning outcome and impact that the ALLIES program had upon theengineering students at CPUT and UAH.