The College of Science and Engineering is currently in the process of selecting a new dean — a critical future-planning moment for the school and a unique opportunity for CSE to make integral structural changes to its undergraduate programs.
Engineering students are always looking for internships and research opportunities. However, innovation often gets left behind.
Many lab positions in CSE provide students with a great opportunity to learn from post-doctoral researchers and graduate students. Nevertheless, there are currently not enough college-driven opportunities for students to flex their creativity and problem-solving ability. Instead, CSE seems to rely on student groups to promote innovation.
It seems as though the institution emphasizes creating people who can work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. after graduation. Students can pursue marketing minors and design minors, but there is no integrated path for practicing ingenuity in engineering students’ curriculum.
More CSE classes must introduce and promote the concepts of leadership, innovative thinking and multidisciplinary teamwork.
Many CSE majors require a senior design project. By encouraging students to complete projects like this earlier in their academic careers, the college would foster the skills students will need to make an impact in their chosen fields.
If the new dean — whoever that person may be — facilitates changes like this, he or she will help students become more successful in the workforce and inspire engineers to remember the sociological side of their research.
