Spurring innovation and equity in engineering education

It takes more than just meeting standard requirements to help solve human problems and elevate all people.

At Michigan Engineering, our goal is to strengthen our academic capabilities through innovative teaching methods and tools, and by helping students optimize their beyond-the-classroom experiences. This applies to all students and professional learners—on campus or online. 

This includes our experiential framework that helps students find opportunities to participate in and grow the leadership skills they pick up along the way, as well as helping faculty bolster experiential learning as part of for-credit classes.  

We also know there’s work to be done to bring greater equity to our engineering curriculum. It starts with the environment, which is why all new instructors at Michigan Engineering are trained in inclusive teaching practices, contributing to an environment of success for students from all backgrounds. Our introductory engineering courses incorporate concepts of social justice, equity and ethics in engineering – and that is being expanded to more classes through NSF-funded research. Some degree programs have already revised curricula to create better onboarding for students, while still preserving the academic rigor one expects from engineering education. For example our new robotics undergraduate program features an inclusively-designed curriculum and exposure to technologies that were inaccessible for most undergraduate students a decade ago.

With more than 58 graduate degree programs, 18 academic departments and 14 undergraduate majors, our courses integrate digital technologies, such as augmented and virtual reality — further enhancing the learning experience.