American Electric Power's Project ProbeSM -: Enhancing power engineering education through industrial-academic cooperation

Numerous concerns confronting engineering education in the next century necessitate a greater level of cooperation between academia and industry. A model of such cooperation id Project Probe(SM) - an annual summer inter program offered by American Electric Power (AEP) to provide meaningful education and work experiences in power generation engineering for qualified engineering students. Project Probe supplements traditional engineering education that often lack focus in areas of critical need for the power industry. Project Probe aims to foster communication and cooperation between academia and the power industry, support and educate engineering faculty with regard to the power industry, as well as enhance the education of future engineers. This paper presents the objectives, methodology, and results of Project Probe since 1995, including student development, faculty enrichment, and benefits to the host power plants and American Electric Power. Project Probe is shown to offer education advantages over traditional student intern or cooperative educational programs. Information is also cooperative educational programs. Information is also presented to encourage implementation of aspects of Project Probe into university classroom work and to encourage educators and industry to seek suitable partners for sponsorship and development of similar programs. Recommendations are also presented to facilitate implementation of a program similar to Project Probe.