Session S4D
Work in Progress: Developing a Curriculum that Teaches Engineering Leadership & Management Principles to High Performing Students Ana Ferreras1, Dr. Lesia Crumpton-Young2, Dr. Luis Rabelo3, Dr. Kent Williams4, Dr. Sandra Furterer5 Abstract - Report findings in Engineering Education developed by the National Academy of Engineering entitled “Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century”, identify the importance of integrating leadership and management studies within engineering curriculums to educate future engineering graduates. Currently, most engineering education curriculums do not include courses that adequately prepare students for leadership and management positions. Therefore, the education gap identified between engineering curriculums and industry management and leadership skills suggests the need for curriculum reform. In response to this need, faculty within the Department of Industrial Engineering & Management Systems at the University of Central Florida have developed a curriculum that supports the offering of a Minor in Engineering Leadership & Management for top performing undergraduate students majoring in various disciplines of engineering or computer science.
Index Terms - Curriculum Reform, Education, Leadership, and Management.
Engineering
INTRODUCTION Research has shown that many engineers and computer scientist within companies are placed in management positions or leadership roles such as team leader, project manager, and project coordinator. This minor has been designed to assist undergraduate engineering & computer science students in developing these highly needed skills. The National Academy of Engineering published “The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New __________________________________________________________
1 Ana Ferreras, IEMS PhD Candidate, University of Central Florida,
[email protected] 2 Dr. Lesia Crumpton-Young, IEMS Professor, University of Central Florida,
[email protected] 3 Dr. Luis Rabelo, IEMS Associate Professor, University of Central Florida,
[email protected] 4 Dr. Kent Williams, IEMS Associate Professor, University of Central Florida,
[email protected]
Century”1, which identifed the importance of having more practicing engineers knowledgeable of topics such as principles of leadership and management, ethical standards, cultural diversity, global/international impacts, and costbenefit constraints to ensure the future development of the professional engineering practice. LITERATURE REVIEW The development of academic programs that create leadership skills among engineering students is gaining increased interest in our country. There are a variety of “leadership” programs such as the Leadership Minor on Entrepreneurial Development administered by the Electrical Engineering department at Pennsylvania State University2. Also, Purdue University offers a certificate, an associate in science degree, and a bachelor degree in Leadership but not a minor3. The Industrial Engineering and Management Systems (IEMS) department at the University of Central Florida (UCF) has a National Science Foundation supported research and development program aimed at producing a model for curriculum enhancements and instructional strategies that will increase student learning and preparation for future careers in Industrial Engineering. As a part of this grant activity, the department has developed an Engineering Leadership & Management Minor available to students majoring in various disciplines of engineering and computer science. ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT CURRICULUM The curriculum emphasis of this academic program is structured to allow students to obtain a Minor Degree of Specialty in Engineering Leadership & Management. This option will be available to all engineering and computer science students as well majors with a minimum GPA of 3.0. This minor can be earned with 18 credit hours of coursework. This minor focuses on providing courses with the basic understanding of project engineering, engineering administrative, team effectiveness, and financial engineering coupled with a Leadership Development Institute experience to engineering and computer science students.
5 Dr. Sandra Furterer, IEMS Assistant Department Chair, University of Central Florida,
[email protected]
1-4244-0257-3/06/$20.00 © 2006 IEEE October 28 – 31, 2006, San Diego, CA 36th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference S4D-7
Session S4D Required Courses (18 hrs) ------------------------------------------EGN 3613 Engineering Economy 2 hrs EIN 3354 Principles of Cost Engineering 3 hrs EGN 4624 Engineering Administration 3 hrs EIN 4XXX Senior Design Experience I 3 hrs EIN 4XXX Senior Design Experience II 3 hrs EIN 4XXX Eng. Leadership & Mgt Lab 4 hrs EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING Experiential Laboratory - Capstone, focuses on understanding engineering management and leadership principles, practices, tools, and techniques as they pertain to engineering venues. It will initiate and facilitate the development of sound ethical engineering practices and will help develop a baseline for the study of engineering leadership and management principles, practices, and techniques. Also, focuses on the development of effective communications and negotiation skills, and the presence needed to succeed in a global environment. It will provide students the ability to influence others, avoid conflict, manage change, and bring win-win situations in a multicultural work environment is the truthful definition of a leader in the XXI century. Some of the topics covered in this lab-capstone include: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Definitions of leadership and management Nature of leadership and management Challenges of leadership and management in engineering History of leadership and management in engineering The relationship of leadership and management to engineering performance and effectiveness Leadership and management skills in project management Systems perspective of leadership and management Engineering ethic and practice of leadership and management Exploring the Constituent Elements of Presence Communication Challenges in Engineering Effective Communication Strategies Using Basic and Advanced Communication skills to enhance productive leadership and management Coaching and Mentoring Communication Skills Electronic Communications The Internationalization of Engineering Engineering Ethics in a Global Context Negotiation and Conflict Management Negotiations in the Employment Process Transactional Analysis Model Global trends and cultural considerations Understanding NAFTA/CAFTA Leading and managing diversity in organizations
LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE The goal of the Progress Energy Leadership & Management Institute at the University of Central Florida is to provide Central Florida with a highly skilled engineering workforce prepared to assume leadership roles within businesses and corporations. This institute provides scholarships for students pursuing an undergraduate degree in engineering and computer science with a minor in Engineering Leadership & Management at the University of Central Florida. Twenty five Progress Energy Scholarships of $1,500 for tuition, books and/or student fees are provided by this institute. The planned topic areas of concentration include: Leadership foundation concepts and theories, Communication, Negotiation, Conflict Management, and Global Awareness as well as other leadership principles. The benefits of the new minor in Engineering Leadership and Management are the following: • •
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Support UCF’s goal of offering the best undergraduate education programs. Students will benefit by being more fully prepared and capable to meet the demands for engineering leadership and management in the engineering profession. A landmark program will be created that will establish UCF’s leadership role in developing a new national model for preparing engineers, one that will support an important evolutionary step in providing fully capable engineers to tomorrow’s work place. This new Minor should assist in increasing recruiting efforts for students in IE and other departments in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. CONCLUSION
Considering the rapid advances in technology that are occurring in today’s marketplace it is dismal to see that engineering curriculums look similar to those of twenty years ago. Engineering curriculums should prepare future graduates with the skill sets needed to significatly advance America industry. Therefore, the necesity to develop and implement an Engineering Leadership and Management Minor is highly needed to adequately prepare future engineers. REFERENCES [1] National Academy of Engineering, “The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century.” (2004) (NAE) http://www.ijee.dit.ie/articles/Vol13-5/ijee996.pdf [2] Entrepreneurship at Penn State. Engineering Leadership Development Minor (ELDM). http://www.eldm.psu.edu [3] Purdue University. Leadership Certificate. http://www.calumet.purdue.edu/prospective/programs.html
1-4244-0257-3/06/$20.00 © 2006 IEEE October 28 – 31, 2006, San Diego, CA 36th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference S4D-8
