Collaborating with Industry to Improve the Role of Business in Engineering (original) (raw)
There are currently many pressures on the traditional four-year degree program and many educators and professional societies, including ASME, are starting to examine the viability of the fouryear degree. In the US today many, if not most, new jobs are in small to medium businesses. The engineers in these companies must not only be technically proficient but they must also possess the business sense to ensure the company's success. In addition, growing outsourcing of routine engineering overseas makes it imperative that our graduates be able to develop, coordinate and lead projects globally. It is apparent that we cannot cover all of the topics that are needed in the traditional four-year undergraduate degree. A compromise that covers the fundamentals and some of the advanced topics and integrates business concepts in the curriculum appears to be the best approach for the undergraduate degree. In depth technical knowledge within a discipline (or disciplines) should be achieved at the graduate level.