Online Session Locator

Session Description

Free ticketed event
Please note: This half-day workshop is aligned with the complementary half-day workshop “Integrating Systems Competencies into the Curriculum of Any Engineering Discipline.” One can attend either one or both of the half-day workshops with appropriate advanced registration to reserve snacks and a complimentary lunch. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is sponsoring this workshop, and the corresponding luncheon is being co-sponsored by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Engineering education is going through a transformation to meet the evolving needs of academia, industry, and government. This workshop is a report on, and extension of, the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Spring Academic Forum held on May 18-19, 2015 in Worcester, Massachusetts. The previous forum engaged academic, industry, and government leaders in engineering education efforts across the world to consider how to make substantive progress to expand the role of systems knowledge in the education of all engineers in the future, both to improve the practice of engineering and to create a market for advanced systems engineering skills and development. The forum considered the topic from three perspectives:

• How can we better describe the value of systems knowledge in engineering education for students, employers, and educators?
• What is the best way to build on existing successes to create useful materials, products, and recommendations to help deliver this value?
• Is the systems engineering knowledge base sufficient to support these outputs?

The forum provided recommendations to INCOSE, the SERC, and ASEE on collaborating and expanding their engagement with academic and professional communities to promote the integration of appropriate systems knowledge into the education of all engineers by:

• Creating draft learning outcomes and curriculum artifacts in support of systems engineering education for engineers.
• Providing guidance on best practices for teaching these ideas by leveraging industry involvement, case studies, and examples.
• Developing recommendations on how interested organizations can expand their engagement with the systems engineering academic and professional community to weave systems engineering into the education of engineers.
• Identifying ongoing topics for further work to create impactful products to support these recommendations.

In addition to presenting the forum outcomes, this workshop will address how these outcomes relate to the ASEE’s Transforming Undergraduate Education in Engineering (TUEE) project to develop a new strategy for undergraduate engineering education that meets the needs of industry in the 21st century. The goal of the both projects is to promote the necessary changes across institutions involved in engineering education, to instill the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of the next generation of engineers. In addition, the workshop will address ways that bringing systems education to all engineers can help with attraction and retention of engineers in support of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) initiatives.

Speakers

1. Dr. Alice F. Squires

   International Council on Systems Engineering

   Alice F. Squires, associate professor, Engineering and Technology Management, Washington State University. Dr. Squires earned a B.S.E.E. at University of Maryland, M.B.A. at George Mason, and Ph.D. in S.E. at Stevens Institute of Technology; she is also INCOSE CSEP-Acq and PMI PMP certified. Dr. Squires was instrumental in establishing the Systems Engineering Division (SED) from the S.E. Constituent Committee (SECC) and has been a member of the S.E. group's Executive Committee since 2009.

2. Dr. Fred J. Looft

   Worcester Polytechnic Institute

   Fred J. Looft, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Systems Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He is the Academic Director of the WPI Systems Engineering Program. Dr. Looft earned his B.S. ('73), M.S. ('75) and Ph.D. ('79) degrees in Electrical Engineering at the Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His S.E. program and research interests are in the area of S.E. education, in particular advising S.E. graduate capstone projects.

3. Dr. Shamsnaz Virani Bhada

   Worcester Polytechnic Institute

   Shamsnaz S. Virani, Teaching Assistant Professor of Systems Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, earned her Ph.D.in Industrial and Systems Engineering from The University of Alabama at Huntsville. She also holds an M.S. in Human Factors Engineering from Wright State University and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from The University of Pune, India.