Improving intrinsic motivation among sophomore electrical engineering students by an introductory project

In 2011, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology decided to open a new elective course designed for sophomore electrical engineering students. The course was devised to expose students to the discipline of electrical engineering and improve their motivation. The core of the course was a team-based design project of a window cleaning robot. The present mixed-method study indicates a significant improvement in intrinsic motivation of the students who took the course.