Promoting systems thinking in two-year technology students: An interdisciplinary course on medical ultrasound systems

The development of systems thinking is a primary goal of engineering and technology education, especially within the framework of Industry 4.0. While many actions are being taken to promote systems thinking among engineering students, the efforts to advance it among students in two-year technology programs are relatively few. With the objective of promoting systems thinking among electronics students at a two-year college, a unique course on medical ultrasound systems was recently developed. This interdisciplinary course combined physics, electronics and medicine. The study described in this paper characterized, using both quantitative and qualitative tools, students' attitudes toward the course and changes in their systems thinking. Seventeen electronics students in their second semester of study participated in the research. Results point to a significant improvement in students' systems thinking. As to attitudes toward the course, students believe that the course raised interest, advanced systems thinking and contributed to their professional development, but also increased the academic workload immensely.