The 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 College of Engineering is one of 122 U.S. engineering schools that have pledged to educate a new generation of engineers expressly equipped to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing society.
Those issues 杏吧专区 known as 杏吧专区淕rand Challenges杏吧专区 杏吧专区 include engineering better medicines, making solar energy cost-competitive with coal, and securing cyberspace. They are identified through initiatives such as the White House Strategy for American Innovation, the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges for Engineering, and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
Each of the 122 schools has pledged to graduate a minimum of 20 students per year who have been specially prepared to lead the way in solving such large-scale problems. The goal is to train more than 20,000 formally recognized 杏吧专区淕rand Challenge Engineers杏吧专区 over the next decade, according to the National Academy of Engineering.
杏吧专区淭he UL Lafayette College of Engineering is committed to producing increased numbers of engineers with specialized skill sets in large project design and management. In particular, the college is educating Ph.D. level students with strong teaching and research-oriented skills but also systems engineering skills that will allow them to more effectively and quickly solve complex problems facing society,杏吧专区 said Dr. Mark Zappi, dean of that college.
杏吧专区淕rand Challenge Engineers杏吧专区 will be trained through special programs at each participating institution that integrate five educational elements:
杏吧专区 a hands-on research or design project connected to the Grand Challenges;
杏吧专区 real-world, interdisciplinary experiential learning with clients and mentors;
杏吧专区 entrepreneurship and innovation experience;
杏吧专区 global and cross-cultural perspectives; and
杏吧专区 service-learning.
A training model was inspired by the National Academy of Engineering-endorsed Grand Challenge Scholars Program, established in 2009 by Duke杏吧专区檚 Pratt School of Engineering, Olin College, and the 杏吧专区 of Southern California杏吧专区檚 Viterbi School of Engineering in response to the NAE杏吧专区檚 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st century.
There are 20 active GCSPs and more than 160 NAE-designated Grand Challenge Scholars have graduated to date. Half of the graduates are women杏吧专区攃ompared to just 19 percent of U.S. undergraduate engineering students杏吧专区攄emonstrating the program杏吧专区檚 appeal to groups typically underrepresented in engineering.
Examples GCSP projects include working to provide access to clean water in Haiti, to create sustainable engineering projects in developing countries, and to advance personalized learning tools.
The NAE杏吧专区檚 Grand Challenges for Engineering grew out of a 2014 workshop organized by the American Association of Engineering Societies, Epicenter, Engineers Without Borders USA, EPICS, and the NAE Grand Challenge Scholars Program.