The dearth of fresh,
engaging engineers has American manufacturers sweating bullets. Two men believe
it is high time for a higher ed engineering revolution.
In their book, A Whole New Engineer: The Coming Revolution
in Engineering Education, David E. Goldberg and Mark Somerville say a lack
of creativity, imagination, and people skills are putting today’s engineering
grads at a huge disadvantage.
Elevated to rock
star status at some companies (Apple, anyone?) today’s engineers are seen as
mission critical to manufacturers across the spectrum.
Traditional
engineering schools, however, reward students with a fixed mind-set, emphasizing
logic and rote memorization, say Goldberg and Somerville.
This archaic
combination – in the Age of Ubiquitous Information – is completely useless in
today’s team-oriented culture of personality.
Combine a slate of
fear-inspiring “weed-out” courses with the traditional dry approach, and voila
… an uninspiring program is born.
Engineering, it
seemed, was ripe for a revolution.
In 2008, two
colleges – the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Massachusetts, and
the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign – partnered to inspire its
engineering students with positive emotions.
The authors write:
“Despite vast differences in
size, age, governance, location and mission, the two very different schools
found that the difference between a challenging education and an environment
that only fosters positive emotion rests on five pillars: joy, trust, courage,
openness and connection. To help change from an operating system of fear to one
of joy and trust, [there are] five technologies of trust: wholeness, intrinsic
motivation, coaching, culture and change management.
Has the new approach
worked? Indeed, say Goldberg and Somerville:
“Old-style engineering
education shut engineering practitioners and employers out of the education
process. This revolution demands a more active engagement between practitioners
and educators, both to help drive out the old style and bring in a new,
welcoming yet rigorous culture in engineering education.”
If ever there were a
student body that needed joy in their lives, engineering majors would be it.
Here’s to the next revolution … and may it come equipped with mechanical
pencils, hugs, and the next Great Idea.
Marketing the
Engineering Revolution
David E. Goldberg and Mark Somerville,
both with deep roots in the higher education system, wrote A Whole New Engineer to promote a holistic approach within
traditional engineering programs.
After resigning his tenure and
professorship at the University of Illinois to work full time for the
transformation of engineering education, Goldberg now works with individuals,
organizations, and networks around the world to collaboratively disrupt the
status quo.
Mark Somerville, PhD is the associate dean for Faculty Affairs and Research at Olin College and professor
of Electrical Engineering and Physics.
Somerville and Goldberg have used A Whole New Engineer to promote
conversation about the evolving engineer and how to change engineering
education.
Because its program is featured widely in the book, Olin
College uses the book to promote itself and to promote change in engineering
education.
A campaign is underway to send the book to thought
leaders, college deans, and engineering leaders around the world.
A Whole New Engineer is available on Amazon.
A Whole New Engineer is available on Amazon.
