A novel approach to the use of spreadsheets in structural design

This case study has been developed as part of the Engineering Subject Centre Teaching Awards 2010, from data gathered through observations of the teaching component; interviews with the tutor and a student focus group. The Software for Engineering Module in the second year of the Civil Engineering BEng and MEng courses at Dundee University invites students to tackle a real-world, open-ended structural modelling problem in the design of complex, non-standard structures. The aim is to enhance students' problem solving, team work, planning and IT skills, including introducing them to a novel approach for the parametric generation of data sets for use in structural modelling packages using Excel spreadsheets.