Motivating students from non-computer science engineering disciplines to engage with programming remains a significant educational challenge. Many students in fields such as biotechnology, mechanical or chemical engineering struggle to perceive the value of programming in their professional trajectories, leading to a lack of engagement and enthusiasm. This preliminary work proposes a novel approach to address this challenge by integrating interdisciplinary collaborative projects into the programming curriculum, aiming to make programming relevant, engaging, and contextually meaningful.

The core idea centers on forming interdisciplinary teams of students tasked with collaborative projects that require programming as an essential component. These projects will be carefully designed to align with real-world applications, such as developing smart systems, creating process optimization tools, or conducting engineering simulations. By engaging with peers from diverse disciplines, students will gain first-hand experience of programming’s utility as a powerful tool for tackling complex, cross-disciplinary problems.

While this initiative is still in the conceptual phase, the possible benefits include enhanced programming competence, increased student motivation, and a broader appreciation for the role of programming in problem-solving. Collaborative environments facilitate peer learning, enhance critical thinking, and develop problem-solving skills by drawing on the diverse strengths of team members to effectively tackle project challenges. Initial studies and case examples will be developed to evaluate the efficacy of the approach, with a focus on identifying best practices, potential obstacles, and the conditions necessary for successful implementation.

This work-in-progress aims to outline the design principles and implementation framework for introducing interdisciplinary collaborative projects into non-computer science engineering curricula. Considerations for project structure, assessment strategies, and faculty support are discussed as key elements of the proposal. By contextualizing programming within authentic engineering scenarios and emphasizing collaborative real-world problem solving, this initiative seeks to transform programming from an isolated academic requirement into a motivating and valuable skill set for engineering students.

Keywords: Student Motivation, Interdisciplinary Collaborative Projects, Project-Based Learning (PBL).