Page 118 - Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century

Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11338.html

DESIGNING FROM A BLANK SLATE 101

new course or curriculum developments, innovative engineer-
ing pedagogy, etc.
• evidence of integration of creativity (as identified above) into
the classroom
• a willingness to work as part of a team, to accept others’ ideas,
to “partner,” to lead, or to follow
• a desire to stay current and to reflect current developments in
teaching and in creative endeavors
• the potential for “nationally visible achievements” through any
of the creativity channels above
• a willingness to take reasonable risks to make a significant
impact

INVENTION 2000

Invention 2000 was proposed by President Miller as a blueprint for
developing all of the academic and operational aspects of the Franklin
W. Olin College of Engineering. Starting with a clean slate, the plan
includes an outline of an intensive two-year project of unprecedented
scope to produce (1) innovative educational processes for preparing the
next generation of leaders in a technological society and (2) institu-
tional policies establishing a commitment to continuous improvement
and innovation. The document includes plans for intense efforts on all
aspects of the college. However, only the section dealing with the devel-
opment of the academic curriculum will be discussed here. Because the
project was funded by the F.W. Olin Foundation as part of the founding
gift, the faculty and staff were able to devote two full years of effort to
the project without the distractions of teaching responsibilities. The fol-
lowing excerpt is from Invention 2000, which is available on the Olin
website:

This project will involve the founding faculty, educational con-
sultants, and students in the creation of innovative engineering cur-
ricula, which simultaneously address all major challenges identified
by the National Science Foundation. These, together with several ad-
ditional features, will distinguish Olin College from other engineer-
ing colleges. These anticipated distinctive features of the curricula
include the combination of a rigorous science and mathematics core,
an integrated project-based design component, a firm grounding in

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