The benefits of a ‘teaching hospital’ approach to education

When Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) opened its doors at the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) in 1998, specializing in small satellite technology, we took a decidedly different approach to educating our cohorts of graduate students. We call it the “teaching hospital” model, a concept commonly used in preparing medical students for the rigors of practicing medicine using experiential learning with real patients in the clinical environment.

The ultimate goal of this hands-on approach is to produce well-rounded professionals who can problem solve, diagnose and take appropriate actions in real-world scenarios. This methodology has proven very successful for SFL, the U of T, and the 130 graduate students who have completed the program over the past 25 years. Many have gone on to work at prestigious aerospace organizations around the world.

Three key aspects of a teaching hospital model

Similar to the medical profession, SFL has adopted three key aspects for teaching spacecraft engineering at the graduate level: formal instruction, research and real-world practice.

Formal (classroom) instruction is where the students are taught engineering fundamentals, theory and analytical techniques along with satellite design principles and approaches. This aspect is intended to widen their knowledge base.

The second aspect is innovative research into the latest cutting-edge engineering technologies that may be applied, or more likely modified, to address a satellite development challenge. This is intended to push the frontiers of knowledge.

The third aspect is where SFL has broken the mold of typical engineering education. Our graduate students work in small integrated multidisciplinary teams, side-by-side with and under the guidance of seasoned spacecraft engineers and mentors to design, build, launch, and operate mission critical small satellites. These spacecraft present real-world development challenges because they are actual missions contracted by paying customers and not simply academic or volunteer student satellite projects. The real-world “must work” pressures of cost, schedule, quality and performance make the experience unlike any other. This aspect is intended to cultivate critical thinking in complex scenarios and the ability to find solutions even in seemingly “no win” scenarios. It is intended to cultivate the most difficult human characteristic of all: judgement.

Many projects from the small satellite program in which our students engage are first-of-its-kind missions that have specific operational objectives and require innovative solutions to guarantee mission success for the customer in academia, government, or commercial sector. This means the students are working under the real constraints of spacecraft size, budget and launch schedule. They learn the critical professional skill of devising and applying solutions to complete the project on time and within budget.

Engineering graduate students typically have a specific satellite system that is the focus of their studies, such as propulsion, power, or attitude control. But by the time they leave SFL, usually after two years, they have engaged in direct hands-on experience developing each of the major systems and subsystems of small satellites in a “must succeed” environment. And they have worked on multiple types of spacecraft, gaining a wide breadth of experience with different end users and mission applications.

The result is a well-rounded engineer with experience in, and appreciation of, overall satellite system development.

For this entire experience at SFL, these students work side by side with established space systems engineering professionals – in the same way a resident or intern learns medical practice under the tutelage of an experienced doctor as they tend to a patient.

In the medical profession, the bridge between classroom and caring for a patient in a critical condition is impossible to cross without immersive learning under an experienced mentor. Similarly, classroom fundamentals in engineering and paper-based spacecraft engineering projects are a far cry from successfully completing a space mission demand on a short schedule.

Apart from medicine, universities tend to be very traditional in their delivery of education. They often view real-world practice as being the domain of industry alone and having no place on campus. While students may enlist in co-op programs and professional experience in between academic terms, these opportunities are disjointed and only take them so far. They are no match for fully integrated experiential education like a resident would find in a teaching hospital.

SFL has proven that the teaching hospital approach can be successfully applied outside of medicine for the benefit of time-critical and performance-critical space missions needing a highly competent workforce. It can deliver a superior educational experience in almost any discipline where skills mature quickly to support a critical application. Other disciplines may want to consider the teaching hospital approach where rapid competency in complex problem solving is needed to ensure sufficient human resources are available to meet the demands of society in the future.

Robert E. Zee is the director of the Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) at University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies.