ABSTRACT
Mechanical engineering programmes, like other professional fields of study, have long been expected to be relevant to the needs of their related industries. In a context like South Africa, university programmes are also expected to contribute to the country’s development needs. In an effort to address these new requirements, the coordinator of a mechanical engineering programme invited community-based clients and organisations to set briefs for final (fourth) year engineering students’ projects. The community-based clients consulted with students during the process of project development, and were part of an assessment panel that awarded marks for the students’ work. The data for this study were obtained from observations of interactions between students, engineering faculty, tutors and clients, as well as pre-programme, mid-programme and post-programme interviews with all participants. The findings of this study indicate that academic–community engagement in an engineering context required the engineering faculty and students to develop new forms of knowledge, adapt existing practices, and build new professional and academic identities. The chapter offers an analysis of the difficulties and possibilities when new requirements are accommodated within existing ways of knowing, doing and being in a mechanical engineering department.
