Education

INNOVATING IN EDUCATION

In an increasingly competitive career landscape, engineering graduates are finding that it takes more than just meeting the standard curriculum requirements to prepare for the future.

College leaders aim to ensure the preeminence of a Michigan Engineering education by empowering faculty to innovate teaching methods and tools, online and professional education, and experiential learning – and by helping students navigate the beyond-the-classroom experiences that are already available at Michigan.

“We want all students to find ways to become immersed in experiential learning,” said Joanna Millunchick, associate dean for undergraduate education, an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and a professor of materials science and engineering who is co-lead of the College’s Education Pillar. “But rather than falling into something serendipitously, we want them to be intentional as they practice their purpose – and to be able to articulate the story of their accomplishments to potential employers.”

As part of an initiative called Immersed, the process will make it easier for students to navigate the myriad options, and for faculty to bolster experiential learning as part of for-credit classes.

Another area of innovation includes new funding opportunities for faculty to propose novel approaches to teaching that could have broad impact across the College. Millunchick believes faculty could introduce ideas beyond the current imagination if given the support.

Grants for innovation in online graduate education are also available through the College, and have already funded new ideas, such as a MasterTrack Certificate in Construction Management and Engineering developed by civil and environmental engineering faculty. This type of innovation is what the College will expand upon through Nexus, a College-wide unit for online and professional education, newly formed to enable faculty innovation and serve a diverse, global community of students. Nexus is set to launch two new educational initiatives for the College in 2020: a 400-hour Cybersecurity Bootcamp and an online University-wide Mobility certificate, in collaboration with several units across campus such as the Ford School of Public Policy, the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and the Law School.

“We aim to support faculty innovation,” explained Mary-Ann Mycek, associate dean for graduate and professional education, a professor of biomedical engineering and co-lead of the Education Pillar. “Nexus will be ‘always on’ – on campus, online, and on location – and will provide faculty with instructional design support to develop new online programs and provide platforms for lifelong learning.”

With more than 65 graduate degree programs, including five online Master’s degree programs and 16 graduate certificates, the College of Engineering offers extensive top-ranked graduate educational opportunities. Recent interdisciplinary curricular innovations include a new Data Science Master’s degree program and Computational Neuroscience certificate program, among others. Courses that integrate digital technologies, such as augmented and virtual reality, will further enhance the learning experience.

The Education Pillar has also launched an initiative focused on enhancing the student experience. Engineering graduate students with financial need in pursuit of professional development experiences are now able to apply to the Graduate Student Co-curricular Experiences Fund. 

To Alec D. Gallimore, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, the Education Pillar is beginning to achieve results that will set the course of the College for years to come. But it is only the beginning. For example, the possibilities for delivery of the Michigan Engineering education around the globe are limitless.

“Michigan Engineering 2020 is just the start,” said Gallimore, who is also Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Professor of Engineering and an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor. “We’re already beginning to consider, ‘What will happen in the five years after that?’”