Lab sessions get a makeover at EPFL

Tucked away in EPFL’s Mechanical Engineering building, which was designed by French architect Dominique Perrault, lies a room unlike any other. In addition to standard classroom equipment – chairs, tables and computers – it also contains tiny machines that activate on their own. With these machines, students in Christophe Salzmann’s automatic controls course are performing experiments remotely via the internet. Salzmann, a research associate at EPFL, runs the course using the concept of a flipped classroom. “The course is tied to a MOOC that includes several lessons as well as exercises where students conduct their own experiments. They can decide whether to perform the lab sessions themselves or come to class and ask questions,” he says.

This “remote access” lab session is just one of the novel methods employed at EPFL’s Discovery Learning Labs (DLL). These labs are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment that students can use to carry out a host of different kinds of measurements and analyses – and that professors can use to test out new techniques for hands-on learning. “These next-generation lab sessions expose students to a project-oriented approach early on in their academic careers. The sessions also give them a chance to become familiar with the DLL equipment and staff, which will help them as they carry out cross-disciplinary projects later in their degree programs,” says Pascal Vuilliomenet, who heads the DLL.

Getting students involved from start to finish

The DLL are part of EPFL’s Discovery Learning Program – an initiative to encourage students to learn by doing, whether through lab sessions with direct ties to research and industry or by leveraging synergies with other disciplines. “We are fortunate to have excellent professors at EPFL, and with the DLL they can supplement their lectures while giving students the support and equipment they need,” says Pierre-Etienne Bourban, DLL coordinator for engineering, materials science and bioengineering.

Maartje Bastings, a tenure track assistant professor in materials science, and John Martin Kolinski, a tenure track assistant professor in mechanical engineering, are two professors who have taken advantage of the DLL’s facilities. In the 2018–2019 school year, they began offering lab sessions where students take on the role of researchers. Bastings asked her Master’s students to develop biological micro-fabrics using polymers they studied in class. “They had to select the materials they wanted use, test the cellular interactions and conduct experiments without knowing ahead of time what the results would be. But in this kind of approach, there are no ‘wrong’ results,” she says. Meanwhile, Kolinski’s Master’s students were given three hours a week to run experiments based on recent research findings, bringing together methods from electrical engineering, image processing and chemistry. “I wanted to get students involved in every step of the lab work. They had to develop the devices they used to take measurements, and then corroborate the measurements they took. When students have to do everything themselves from start to finish, they tend to be more motivated and committed – and they learn better,” he says.

A conclusion shared by Rajasundar Chandran, a post-doc at EPFL’s Laboratory of Photonic Materials and Fibre Devices (FIMAP), and Céline Wyss and Alexandre Mordasini, PhD students at EPFL’s Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites (LPAC). As both designers and supervisors of lab sessions, they have seen first-hand the benefits of calling on students to think out of the box. “Lab sessions where students have to solve open problems not only give them a better understanding of the subject matter, but also foster collaboration. And the students’ comments and feedback are always interesting,” says Wyss, who oversees lab sessions in polymer science and biomechanics. In her lab sessions, students draw on recent discoveries to test and improve hydrogels developed at EPFL.

“In conventional lab sessions, students are given a procedure to follow and don’t necessarily have to learn the concepts. They can perform an experiment correctly without being particularly motivated or actively involved – and I’m speaking from experience,” says Mordasini. He is currently revamping his lab sessions on composites to incorporate a do-it-yourself approach. Chandran is doing the same for his lab sessions on 3D printing, where students have to make miniature bridges that meet a series of specifications. “They have to program the machines themselves and select the right materials. That forces them to learn all the steps involved in additive manufacturing,” he says.

What’s more, students can use the systems and components that they make in their DLL lab sessions later on in their degree programs, in cross-disciplinary projects for other courses. “If they are to really learn a subject, students have to face problems on their own and even get things wrong, practice makes perfect” says Bourban. More proof that trial and error is still one of the best teachers out there.