By John Gilligan
PUBLIC ENGINEERING SCHOOLS PROVIDE
ALL SORTS OF ECONOMIC BENEFITS FOR THEIR STATES
State universities are often asked to demonstrate
their relevance to economic development. The bottom-line question
from state legislators is "How many new jobs have you
created for us lately?" Engineering schools have plenty
to say in response.
Engineering schools offer many well-educated
and trained graduates and that attracts industry to nearby
locations. What works on the education side also works for
businesses. Many of our students participate directly in industry
as co-ops, interns, or part-time employees, greatly enhancing
the applied aspects of their education. Commonly, up to half
of all graduates have this kind of experience, and some schools
require undergraduate engineering students to participate
in cooperative education. These students perform many tasks
that allow full-time employees to increase productivity. Perhaps
just as important is the chance to try out potential employees
before they graduate.
Equally important to industry is sponsored
faculty research, which often has direct relevance to new-product
development. As much as 20 to 25 percent of engineering faculty
research is sponsored directly by industry—usually leading
to new products and new jobs for the sponsoring company. Colleges
of engineering like to point out that for every $1 million
in industry-sponsored research, one patented invention will
result. When the patent rights are licensed to businesses,
new products and jobs are the result.
On the consulting side, engineering faculty
members frequently bring their cutting-edge expertise to industry
in the areas of product improvement, manufacturing efficiency,
and productivity enhancement. Engineering colleges provide
direct services to industry through extension operations,
manufacturing extension partnerships, and training on safety
and environmental issues, ISO 9000, GMP, Six-Sigma, and lean
manufacturing. All these services can improve industrial competitiveness,
carrying the state's economic development along with
it. As an example, the Industrial Extension Service (IES)
at North Carolina State has a budget of about $8 million—$2
million from state appropriations and the rest from contracts
and fees. As measured in an independent federal survey, IES
provided $85 million in direct annual gain to the state in
2002-03. This was accomplished by helping 367 companies become
more productive and expand their markets.
In addition to creating new products, inventions
by engineering faculty members frequently become the basis
of spin-off companies—the major source of job creation
for the future. Engineers are inventing new entrepreneurial
ventures based on software, electronic devices, medical devices,
manufacturing processes, chemical processes, and new materials
and coatings. Three of the largest spin-offs from North Carolina
State—SAS Inc. (software and statistical analysis),
Cree Inc. (solid state devices), and Embrex Inc. (in-shell
immunization of chicks)—have generated over 11,000 jobs
in North Carolina.
Every university with an engineering school
should have a good economic development story to tell. The
contribution of university engineers and scientists ought
to be near the top of the list of economic drivers that state
legislators seek to secure.
John Gilligan is chair of ASEE's Engineering Research
Council and vice chancellor for research and graduate studies
at North Carolina State University.
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