Talk #102, 3/9/16

Revolutionizing Engineering Education

Chell Roberts
Dean of the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering
University of San Diego

HS or College

This past year the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced an anticipated $100 Million investment to “revolutionize engineering departments”. This called for change that would not merely be incremental, but instead radical or suddenly new; producing fundamental, structural change; going outside of or beyond existing norms and principles.

Why would the NSF think there is a need to revolutionize engineering education?  Why such a significant investment?

To understand this call to action, we need to examine the changing landscape of education in the US, what is the nature of engineering, how engineering has become a discipline and the values that underlie US educational practice and culture. We must examine reports that question the cost of education and accreditation, along with studies that question the ability of engineering to attract and retain a diverse population of future engineers. We must also identify disconnects between educational practice and professional practice.

Finally, we will peer into the future of one possible revolutionized engineering education that is currently being constructed by the only US private university and only university in California to receive the prestigious NSF grant, the 15th ranked Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering at the University of San Diego.

Dean Roberts’ presentation can be found at the following link:

Revolutionizing Engineering Education