RV College of Engineering Integrates MATLAB into Mathematics Curriculum to Equip Students with Industry Skills
“By combining experiential learning with MATLAB, we bridge the gap between mathematics education and engineering applications. As a result, our students acquire technical skills that make them more competitive and successful in the job market.”
Challenge
Build a foundation for experiential learning in mathematics to equip engineering students with marketable skills
Solution
Integrate MATLAB, Simulink, and MATLAB Grader into the mathematics curriculum and provide students with easy access to these tools via their personal computers
Results
- Students motivated to learn, collaborate, and innovate
- Grading and feedback automated
- Graduating students are industry-ready
The RVCE mathematics faculty, department heads, and principal launch MATLAB lab manuals for engineering mathematics courses.
In 2020, the Indian government launched a national education policy that emphasizes experiential learning as a way to close the gap between student skills and industry needs. By this time, the RV College of Engineering (RVCE) in Bangalore had already begun adding skills-based learning and modern computational tools to their programs and had become one of the first colleges in India to integrate MATLAB® into their undergraduate mathematics courses.
Today, RVCE mathematics programs combine MATLAB and Simulink® to help engineering students visualize complex mathematical concepts and apply them to real-world industry challenges. This approach encourages intuitive thinking as well as collaborative problem-solving and equips students with the skills most in demand by employers.
“With MATLAB as our foundation for experiential learning in mathematics, engineering students go beyond formulae and theory to solve problems using the same modern computational tools as today’s working engineers,” says Dr. K. Sridevi, former professor, and head of RVCE’s mathematics department.
Challenge
Many RVCE mathematics faculty have at least some MATLAB experience. However, they lacked the resources needed to grow their skills or incorporate these tools into their curriculum. RVCE also wanted to enable students to access these tools on and off campus. Providing online access to MATLAB and Simulink as part of a skills-based curriculum would enhance learning and collaboration for a greater diversity of students—from traditional students to working adults.
Solution
To build a foundation for experiential learning in mathematics, RVCE procured a campus-wide license for MATLAB and Simulink. MathWorks organized MATLAB training for faculty members and collaborated with them on identifying relevant examples to include in the mathematics curriculum.
RVCE began including MATLAB tools in its first-year foundation courses in engineering: Applied Mathematics I and II. The courses were structured so that the computational components of mathematical concepts are implemented in MATLAB and documented in the classroom lab material, “Manual for Experiential Learning Using MATLAB.”
Faculty and students download MATLAB and Simulink to their personal computers and use MATLAB Online™ to share live scripts and collaborate on projects. The license gives them browser-based access to MathWorks self-paced training courses, which they use as preparation or a refresher before RVCE classes begin. Faculty often integrate MathWorks online courses such as Introduction to Linear Algebra with MATLAB and Solving Nonlinear Equations in MATLAB into their teaching plans as an adjunct learning tool.
The campus-wide license also includes MATLAB Grader™. This browser-based assessment and course management tool automatically grades student exams and projects based on the instructor’s scoring rubric. It not only identifies coding errors but also gives students constructive feedback on their work. The grades are synced automatically with RVCE faculty grade books.
The feedback from students and faculty who used MATLAB in the two foundation math courses was very positive. As a result, RVCE management decided to integrate MATLAB into the entire mathematics curriculum in undergraduate engineering—a first for higher education institutions in India.
Furthermore, RVCE and MathWorks jointly organized faculty development programs to upskill faculty members from other regions to use MATLAB in mathematics.
MATLAB orientation for RV College of Engineering students and faculty members.
Results
- Students motivated to learn, collaborate, and innovate. “Experiential learning with MATLAB motivates students to form multidisciplinary groups and collaborate on math-based engineering projects,” says Dr. Sridevi.
- Grading and feedback automated. “We have more than 4,500 students enrolled in MATLAB Grader, which faculty members use to automatically correct students’ MATLAB code and provide immediate feedback,” says Dr. G. Jayalatha, associate professor, and the head in charge of RVCE’s mathematics department. “To date, more than 6,600 students and more than 200 faculty members have used MATLAB.”
- Graduating students are industry-ready. “By integrating MATLAB into our mathematics courses, we are closing India’s skills gap and making our students industry-ready,” says Dr. K.N. Subramanya. “Through experiential learning, graduates are now better prepared for engineering careers, entrepreneurship, and public service.”
