Models In Engineering is a four-week online course that will teach you how to select appropriate approaches to modeling, how to evaluate models, and how to use models to make better engineering decisions in your projects.
The course teaches learners to navigate the unique flaws inherent in every model. The correct choice of model demands careful consideration and evaluation of environment and context, as well as understanding verification and validation requirements. Models allow us to forecast the behavior of complex systems before they are built and tested, providing stakeholders with answers to the questions necessary to move projects forward.
The course is well-suited for engineers and other professionals in the aerospace, automotive, defense, consumer appliances, manufacturing, and related industries; as well as systems engineering professionals, directors, or senior managers looking to innovate and optimize their operational, manufacturing, and design systems.
The courseware features video lectures, real-world case studies, interactive projects, and optional group work, and includes ungraded practice activities throughout to provide opportunities for learners to check their understanding. Forward-thinking Action Plans provide a framework for learners to apply course concepts to their specific fields.
Learners will explore different approaches to modeling, techniques for designing simple and robust physical simulation models, and approaches for joining models together. Instructor- and TA-lead webinars provide a forum both for learners to pose course-related questions to experts and for the experts to draw upon their own experience of today’s systems engineering challenges and solutions.
The first weeks of the course will focus on defining and constructing models. You will learn how to characterize models and make decisions using them, and explore fidelity and credibility, optimization, and sensitivity considerations. You will examine the Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report and critically and compassionately analyze the model’s credibility, fidelity, and the decision-making process used in the mission.
In the middle weeks of the course, you will investigate how models can be combined to improve their scope or decision-making capability, along with the challenges of doing so. You will apply the concepts to example models from your own industry.
The course’s final weeks will focus specifically on verification and validation of models to ensure fitness of purpose. You will develop a verification and validation framework and determine the techniques best suited for testing your models.
The course will equip you with an understanding of different modeling approaches, their strengths and challenges, which you can use to tackle a multitude of problems. You will be able to assess verification and validation methods for models to ensure credibility and suitability for their purpose.
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