"The mission of an ERC is to produce globally competitive engineers with the depth and breadth of education needed for success in technological innovation and for effective leadership of interdisciplinary teams throughout their careers

Education is one of the three primary foci of the ERC Program's mission, along with research and technology transfer. The goal of ERC education programs is to develop a team-based, research-inspired, and industrial practice-oriented culture for the education of graduate and undergraduate students that will produce engineering leaders for the future. ERC graduates make up a new generation of engineers who are adept at the cross-disciplinary team approach to problem solving; who understand and share industrial perspectives on research, design, and manufacturing; and who are well-prepared to contribute readily and productively to industry as a result of their experience with engineering systems and testbeds. An important feature of all successful ERCs is active outreach to involve faculty and students from other institutions in ERC research and education programs. This includes outreach to precollege students and teachers aimed at introducing engineering concepts in precollege education, in order to stimulate interest in engineering careers. It is also vital to increase the involvement in engineering of underrepresented populations, including minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. Finally, ERCs are charged with enriching engineering education at all levels by integrating their research findings into new curricula for students and practitioners.

This chapter reviews ERCs' education activities. It is aimed at a diverse audience, centering on those operating or planning to operate ERC education programs, but also extending to faculty and staff of all university-industry research centers and engineering educators generally. It addresses issues of program planning and direction, including management roles, strategic planning for the education program (including "life after NSF"), funding, and the role of NSF in developing and enhancing education programs. It describes the broad spectrum of ERC education programs for graduate, undergraduate, precollege, and community college students, including ways to increase the involvement of underrepresented populations. It discusses curriculum development in all its aspects. It reviews outreach techniques for making contact with sectors outside the university. Since interaction with industry is particularly important for ERCs, it points out ways to increase industrial involvement and interaction. Educational outreach to other institutions is explored, reviewing both domestic and international activities and their benefits to the centers. The chapter describes educational delivery systems, including the internet, with a review of effective applications of hardware and software systems designed to affect the curriculum. Finally, it summarizes some of the lessons learned in developing ERC education programs.

4.1.1 ERCs and Their Role in Education

Since the mid-1980s, when concerns about U.S. industrial competitiveness were widespread, it has been widely believed that baccalaureate programs in the Nation's engineering schools have tended to produce engineers who, while well prepared in engineering science, need more experience with technological advancement and interdisciplinary teamwork before…who need more training before they can meet the basic needs of industry. Many large corporations find that they must provide significant training beyond on-the-job experience. Traditional engineering students obtain little practical experience in their educations. Furthermore, although industrial employers place high value on teamwork, most graduating engineers traditionally have had limited experience in working in teams.

ERCs are designed to produce graduates who excel in these areas, where traditional graduates fall short. (Attachment 4-1, at the end of this chapter, summarizes the results of a study of the job performance of ERC graduates.) The centers try to bring to engineering education a new culture based on goal-oriented values, complementing the theoretical science-based education long predominant in academic engineering. Those involved in the ERCs have come to recognize that education may actually be the centers' most important means of contributing to the Nation's global competitiveness. ERCs devote much energy and resources to "spreading the culture" through education, and to creating an environment conducive to this new kind of education.

ERC education programs are a primary means of achieving the overall goal of culture change in engineering education, and in academic engineering generally. They encourage that change by articulating the ERC ideals, making opportunities available to implement the ideals, and facilitating the use of those opportunities. Faculty buy-in is essential; only if the faculty believe in the ERC educational/cultural model and act accordingly will ERCs succeed in their mission to change the overall culture of academic engineering.

4.1.2 Unique Features of ERC Education Programs

Certain characteristics are common to nearly all ERC education programs, reflecting NSF's education goals for the ERCs: a strongly cross-disciplinary approach, an emphasis on the involvement of industry, innovative use of educational technology, and a dedication to reaching far beyond the host universities to include a diverse group of students of all ages who might be inspired to become engineers or scientists.

ERCs encourage students to work in teams by focusing them on engineered systems that require input from various disciplines, such as manufacturing, materials processing, biomedical systems, multimedia technologies, or earthquake engineering, with an awareness of technology and product development issues. Direct interaction with industrial researchers, both on campus and at industrial sites, is a vital feature of ERC education. ERCs emphasize engineering design and synthesis, with a strong coupling between research and education programs. In addition, they devise innovative undergraduate and graduate degree programs and courses and update curricula and course materials as new research discoveries occur. Because of this approach to education, employers in industry often note that ERC graduates are more effective and productive than their traditionally trained counterparts. For more than a decade, these graduates also have provided a new dimension to education as they have joined the faculties of engineering schools across the country.

Each ERC has a Student Leadership Council (SLC), which students involved in ERC research and education are encouraged to join. Not only do SLCs give students a forum for social interaction with other students with similar interests; even more importantly they provide a focus for developing many of the leadership skills for which ERC students are known. SLCs conduct outreach projects to precollege students and other groups. They host research seminars and poster sessions. They even participate in the strategic planning and direction of the centers through a Student SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis they conduct in conjunction with NSF site visits to the centers. (See Chapter 8, Student Leadership Councils.)

Collaborating with other ERCs and other universities and extending the ERC experience to precollege students and teachers as well as businesses are responsibilities that all centers have taken on as part of their education mission. In addition, the ERCs are expanding outreach to involve women, underrepresented minorities, and disabled persons from other institutions in research and education projects relevant to the goals and objectives of the ERCs. While NSF gives ERCs flexibility in the type of educational outreach they employ, the Foundation views such outreach as essential if the Nation is to tap into a broader pool of potential engineering talent that traditionally has been underutilized.

The primary role of the education programs in the centers is the education and training of students, fostering their professional growth in a multidisciplinary environment with team research, industrial interaction, and an integrated engineering systems approach. The education should include practical approaches to engineering as well as theory in order to better serve the needs of industry. As part of the ERC education plan, strategies should include the active involvement of undergraduate and graduate students in all facets of the center programs, particularly the team-related research activities. Participation in university-industry collaborative research teams, mentoring of students by industrial researchers, industrial internships, and participation in research seminars are all mechanisms that deepen students' understanding of real-world engineering practices and requirements.

Each center has a person on the staff or faculty who is responsible for developing and shaping its education programs. The job is referred to by various titles and may occupy various places on the organization chart, depending on the center. In this chapter we use the title "education coordinator /director."

The following traits/characteristics have been observed in students who have been actively involved in the education programs of an ERC, compared to those who received a non-ERC education (see Attachment 4-1). ERC students:

• have a broad cross?disciplinary education and awareness
• have a broader outlook, integrate knowledge more readily
• work better in a collaborative mode
• have a more global perspective
• have more effective communication skills, both oral and written
• benefit from professional conferences and participation in the NSF review process
• have training in systems-level engineering research
• are more flexible in resolving research problems by using other disciplines in to help resolve problems
• have experience in interactions with industry
• pursue active involvement in team activities
• tend to seek more research-oriented jobs than non?ERC graduates
• have a more interdisciplinary perspective on responsibilities
• need less on-the-job training and are able to contribute to real work earlier in their employment than most other graduates
• have hands-on experience and are willing to apply hands-on-skills
• are more sought after by industry, take responsibility and contribute earlier in their careers, and rise to positions of leadership more often.

These are significant differences. The authors hope that the specific suggestions, examples, and experiences related in this chapter will clarify the ways that these educational distinctions are achieved.

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