In a competitive job market, the broader your skill set, the more likely you are to succeed. This diversity isn’t just related technical skills such as having both electrical and mechanical competencies. Having business and entrepreneurial training is valuable too.
That type of interdisciplinary model is what earned John Collier, Robert Graves, Joseph Helble, and Charles Hutchinson the Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology
The winning formula includes comprehensive, cross-disciplinary training starting as an undergraduate and continuing through a Ph.D. The program is part of Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering where the DEEP program is offered. DEEP stands for Dartmouth Engineering Entrepreneurship Program and “integrates entrepreneurship and leadership training into all levels of the engineering curriculum at Thayer School.”
The specialized track starts with an undergraduate engineering curriculum where interdisciplinary team-based projects are emphasized. The graduate work extends competencies through a Master of Engineering Management program in collaboration with the Tuck School of Business and is then capped with the Ph.D. Innovation Program.
The Gordon Prize was introduced in 2001 with the intention of bringing recognition to innovative developments in the training of engineers. Areas of accomplishment can include novel approaches to curriculum, teaching and use of technology to improve learning and encourage leadership.
The DEEP program is highly interactive. The majority of introductory undergraduate courses and a third of electives after the sophomore level involve team projects. The group work dynamic is highlighted in the two-term senior project, an interdisciplinary design course in which students tackle problems presented by industrial sponsors.
The Master’s degree adds to this base by introducing more concepts in business management and entrepreneurship. The Ph.D. program instills technical prowess and innovative thinking. Students can also apply for funding to develop their own ideas.
The winners of this year’s Gordon Prize will receive a cash award of $500,000, half of which goes to the institution to support future program development. Given the progress so far, I can imagine the funds will be put to good use.
More on the program, including a variety of videos can be found here.
Image courtesy of NAE.