Too little attention is paid to educating an innovative engineering
workforce, putting U.S. competitiveness at risk.
Today, as never before, America’s competitiveness depends
on continuous innovation by engineers working in industry. Their
ideas are the creative well-spring of U.S. technological development.
The need for innovation has been stressed by the Council on Competitiveness,
which calls it “the single most important factor in determining
America’s success through the 21st century,” and in
the National Academies’ report, Rising Above the Gathering
Storm, which recommends that we “ensure that the United States
is the premier place in the world to innovate.”
This imperative points up a disturbing imbalance in education funding
and emphasis that must be corrected. Over the last several decades,
the United States has become pre-eminent in basic university research
that benefits the scientific workforce. Yet the country has not
made a parallel investment in professionally oriented graduate education
to support the development of an advanced engineering workforce
in industry.
One-size graduate education doesn’t fit all. Excellence in
basic research and in engineering practice for world-class technology
development and innovation are two very different pursuits. Lack
of a system of coherent professional graduate education, relevant
to the creative practice of engineering, has been a contributing
factor to long-term underdevelopment of our nation’s engineering
potential, threatening competitiveness. Whereas undergraduate engineering
education prepares the young graduate for entry into the practice
of engineering, there are nine levels of progressive growth and
responsibility beyond the entry level. Each deserves attention and
investment to more fully develop the creativity, innovativeness
and leadership abilities of the nation’s engineers, qualities
that can last throughout their careers in industry.
The National Collaborative on Engineering Graduate Education Reform
was deliberately created in 2000 by the ASEE-Graduate Studies Division,
Corporate Members Council, and the College Industry Partnership
Division to meet this challenge. Composed of leaders from industry
and universities across the nation, the National Collaborative has
a goal of developing a new model of professional graduate education
for engineers that furthers career-long professional growth. This
model will be centered on engineering innovation and leadership.
 Regional
graduate centers around the country will enable the engineering
workforce in the surrounding areas to further develop the professional
abilities required of engineers for responsible leadership of technology
development and innovation, and, simultaneously, develop innovative
new technology in industry. These skill requirements-from entry
level through the chief engineer level-will serve as the framework
for new curricula for professional master’s, doctoral, and
engineer fellow programs.
The National Collaborative has gained widespread support, based
on the impact that will be felt in every state from enhancing the
innovative capacity of the regional industrial workforce. Partnering
professionally oriented graduate education with the practicing engineering
profession in America’s industry will stimulate significant
regional innovation, new technology developments and economic growth
across the country.
Donald A. Keating is an associate professor of mechanical engineering
at the University of South Carolina. He is also chair of the National
Collaborative Task Force and past chair of the ASEE Graduate Studies
Division. Eugene M. DeLoatch is dean of engineering at Morgan State
University and past President of ASEE. Many other task force members
contributed to this article.
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