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Experiential Learning

Innovate, Educate, Impact.

Person holding a small robotic vehicle with wires and sensors, wearing a KEEN Engineering Unleashed and University of Michigan t-shirt.Person holding a small robotic vehicle with wires and sensors, wearing a KEEN Engineering Unleashed and University of Michigan t-shirt.

At the College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS), we collaborate with industry to provide you with opportunities that involve learning through direct experience, reflection, and application. 

By focusing on addressing important societal problems, fostering curiosity, exploring connections, and creating values, CECS graduates are equipped with professional skills and cutting-edge technical acumen. You will apply state-of-the-art tools and methods to a wide range of global challenges through hands-on classroom and work-based experiences.

Faculty Leading the Way

Our faculty are continuously exploring and developing innovative ways to engage students in learning. UM-Dearborn is part of the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN). A partnership CECS leadership, faculty and staff value as both missions are aligned, focusing on graduating engineers that are prepared to create personal, economic and societal value. 

Within CECS, we transform the lives of our students and their families by fostering long-term career success. As a KEEN partner, we systematically integrate experiential learning into our curriculum, enhancing our mission. Access to KEEN's faculty development resources and network helps our world-renowned faculty support the success of our engineering and computer science undergraduates.

Dr. Caymen Novak

KEEN helps us develop engineering students who approach problems with curiosity, build meaningful connections, and focus on creating real value beyond the technical solution. Through project-based, real-world learning, we’re guiding students to think more holistically about their designs and their role within the larger systems they impact.

Caymen Novak, Assistant Professor

2025 KEEN Campus Rising Star

Highlights

A group of three students engaging with a professor at a science fair. The display includes various electronic devices and a poster.
Promotional event setup for the University of Michigan College of Engineering, featuring banners with "Go Blue" slogan, a display stand highlighting a "KEEN Rising Star" award recipient, and a table with promotional t-shirts.
A group of individuals stands next to a blue and black Formula race car inside a workshop or lab environment. The car has the number 50 and a University of Michigan logo on it. Shelves, tables, and a whiteboard are visible in the room.
A person sitting in a UM-Dearborn College of Engineering race car, holding a white helmet. In the background, people are gathered near a building.
A group of people wearing University of Michigan-Dearborn shirts stand in a M formation on a paved path. Below them, a University of Michigan-Dearborn flag is spread out on the ground. The scene is outdoors with grass on either side of the path.
People are gathered at a science fair, engaging in conversation. One individual is showing a smartphone screen to someone else. A poster in the background outlines a project. Attendees are wearing name tags and appear to be discussing the presentation.
Five students from the University of Michigan's College of Engineering, wearing KEEN and college logo t-shirts, pose with a small robotic project.
A person is examining a small, red and black toy car with large wheels in a room equipped with various robotic arms and machinery. A pink toy car is visible in the background. The setting appears to be a tech or engineering lab.
Group of students and faculty from the University of Michigan holding certificates at the KEEN Engineering Award Ceremony.
Two people are working in a laboratory. Both are wearing white lab coats and safety goggles. They are handling lab equipment and conducting experiments under a fume hood with various colored tubes and containers.