IAB Notes from discussion

Nov 12, 2010

Should globalization be included in curriculum

• Not specifically at the undergrad level• Things that come to mind about globalization:– 3rd world countries & technologies– ITAR and can we export– Intellectual property– Terrorism: cyber, hardware, tampering, port

protection– Social media– Economics

Do we offer engineering to non-engineers?

• Yes. • Lots of types of people that might benefit– Managers of engineers– A medical researcher who needs the tools– Undergrads who want to have a broader view for

their own future careers– This ties into an interdisciplinary curriculum.

Could address the two needs of offering engineers a better exposure to other fields as well as others an intro to engineering.

Should we teach innovation and entrepreneurship in our curriculum?

• We think that there is a good course: Prof Shafai• We think it’s a senior course at best• This is an opportunity to link to industry ?• Entrepreneur is different than innovation• Entrepreneur – need some appreciation for business issues, are you solving

the right problems? How to sell your idea. How to develop a whole strategy.– Could be guest speakers– Could tie into Capstone: maybe even just a last lecture now that the design is

done• Innovation – you can’t teach it? Can you inspire it with competitions? Can

you tie it to Capstone and even link this to the strategic global themes? – Multidisciplinary studies breed innovation. Foster this in curriculum. – There are many ways to solve a given problem (example a homework

problem): can we offer different ways to get at the same answer as part of the way we teach?

How do we best relate the engineering challenges to the 21st century?

• Energy, sustainability, cyber and physical security, affordable and effective healthcare

• Our answers:– The core engineering has not changed. – These topics capture people’s imagination– We think that the homework problems and design problems

that are used in ECE should be updated examples that address these areas• More specifically, challenge professors to address 2-3 issues within

their syllabus as a problem set or something, for all courses• Capstone can also be themed along these lines – with choices that

have strategic focus areas and challenge problems. – Offer the “example menu” to help people understand what

courses could support their interests in these areas.