The Engineering Leadership Development Minor At Penn State

Abstract

Penn State's College of Engineering has begun anew, interdisciplinary minor to help engineering undergraduates develop the practical leadership skills they' 11 need throughout their careers. The Engineering Leadership Development Minor is sponsored by the Department of Electrical Engineering and the Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education, requires a minimum of 18 credits, and is open to students from all engineering majors. The focus of the Minor is to help students develop essential leadership skills, including ability to deal effectively with other people, to work in teams and to interact with customers on both national and international levels. Several new courses are being developed for the Minor, which began fall 1995. BACKGROUND The idea for the Leadership Minor originated from discussions by the members of the Leonhard Center Advisory Board. The Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education was established at Penn State through an endowment by William and Wyllis Leonhard to catalyze changes in the engineering curriculum that reflect the educational needs of students who will practice engineering in the twenty-first century. The Advisory Board is composed of twenty distinguished Penn State engineering alumni. The Advisory Board, in conjunction with College of Engineering faculty and administrators, developed the concept of a "World Class Engineer" who has, in addition to solid grounding in technical and scientific principles, the following attributes: q International outlook q Highly ethical orientation q Innovative leadership skills q Business savvy q Strong communication ability Would it be possible for students to be introduced to these attributes, given that engineering curricula in the departments are already full, on top of pressure to reduce credit hours? The discussion led to the possibility of a minor in leadership development that engineering students could take along with their majors. Historically, engineering majors emphasized depth, examples being

Inform Track: Integrated Teaching and Leadership Development Program for Graduate Teaching Assistants

“…The inception of engineering leadership programs in the United States was prompted by the industry's need for technical leaders and managers. The first wave of programs was created in the 1990s at universities with strong connections to industries 1,2,3 . These programs were degree programs that aimed to train engineering leaders who already possessed technical skills but needed development in managerial and business skills.…”