Follow-up Survey: The Effect of Undergraduate Sounding Rocket Project on Student’s Academic and Career Development
- Paper number
IAC-14,E1,3,1,x26859
- Author
Dr. Dajun Xu, Beihang University, China
- Coauthor
Prof. Guobiao Cai, Beihang University, China
- Coauthor
Dr. Zhu Hao, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China
- Year
2014
- Abstract
Beihang University is the top one academic and education institution in the field of China aerospace. Nearly a quarter of aerospace engineers in China graduated from Beihang University and many famous chief aerospace craft designers and scientists are alumnus of the University. In order to training undergraduate students in the practical process of the aerospace project, the sounding rocket project started in 2005. Fourteen excellent undergraduates were selected from several disciplines in School of Astronautics, Beihang Unversity, including spacecraft design, rocket propulsion, and control. The first sounding rocket was successfully launched at November 2006 in the western desert of China. The second sounding rocket was also successfully launched at December 2008. Participants of the second launching include part members of the first time and new blood was supplied in. Eight years have passed since the first student sounding rocket launching. Those fourteen students were all enter the graduate school for further education and four ones got masters and ten obtains doctorates. The paper is a follow-up survey about those students who participated in the first sounding rocket project. The survey were conducted in the way of questionnaire and feedbacks were collected and analyzed. Contents of questionnaire included achievements in academic and their first career after getting degree, and the future possible development of them were also asked to describe in words. As compared, questionnaires were distributed to those student who didn’t participate the project and also got degrees at almost same time. Results showed the academic achievements of those fourteen students were much better than non-members. Most of them got better job with bright future career development and there are great possibilities for them to become important core technical staff and the lead of research team. Results were satisfied for the original intention of the sounding rocket project. Learned lessons of the project will be presented in the paper. Now other undergraduate aerospace design projects are undertaken based on these learned lessons. It is believed projects will benefit students in aspect of practical engineering experiences.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)