STEM educationExemplary engineering programs at U.S. colleges and universities

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has released Infusing Real World Experiences into Engineering Education, which showcases twenty-nine engineering programs at colleges and universities across the United States which effectively incorporate such activities into their curriculum, and highlights best practices for schools seeking to create new programs. The publication was sponsored by Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) in support of the AMD NextGen Engineer initiative.

“This nation’s prosperity, security, and quality of life are direct results of leadership in the engineering achievements that drive society forward,” said Dr. Charles M. Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering. “These programs are strategically preparing students to become the engineers who will tackle the technical and social complexities that lie ahead in the 21st century.”

“Simply mastering technical engineering is no longer enough to successfully compete and lead in today’s marketplace,” said Mark Papermaster, AMD’s senior vice president and chief technology officer. “We see first-hand at AMD that our engineers must also be able to solve complex problems, communicate clearly, and collaborate globally. The innovative approaches taken by these leading engineering schools will help prepare our future engineers.”

An National Research Council release reports that the best practices outlined in the report include incorporating multidisciplinary team-based projects into curricula to help students develop skills in decision-making, leadership, written and oral communication, organization/time management, cultural awareness, and problem-solving. The report identifies frequent impediments to infusing real-world experiences into engineering programs and suggests ideas for overcoming these barriers to program implementation. The most frequent obstacles cited include lack of funding and financial support, faculty workload concerns, and challenges encountered with partners.

The best practice case studies included in the NAE report compare anticipated versus actual program outcomes to demonstrate how each institution is improving the level of preparedness of its engineering students. Programs at the following schools are recognized in the report:

• Arizona State University
• Auburn University
• Boise State University
• Cornell University
• Duke University
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• Grand Valley State University
• Harvey Mudd College
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Lehigh University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Michigan Technological University
• Northwestern University
• Purdue University
• Rice University
• Santa Clara University
• The Pennsylvania State University
• University of Arkansas
• University of California San Diego
• University of Idaho
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• University of Rhode Island
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of Utah
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• West Virginia University
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

The NAE’s Real World Engineering Education committee received ninety-five5 nominations for inclusion in the report from accredited four-year undergraduate schools with engineering or engineering technology programs. Submissions were reviewed by the committee and judged based on seven factors: program creativity, innovation, attention to diversity (including geographic, institution, racial/ethnic and gender), sustainability plan, assessment of student learning, level of real-world experience, and anticipated versus actual outcomes.

— Read more in Infusing Real World Experiences into Engineering Education (National Research Council, 2012)