Beyond the Classroom

Innovation in Education
New center highlights leadership, entrepreneurship and interdisciplinary experiences for students

By Emily Burkhart

David Bradway graduated from Ohio State's College of Engineering in 2005, summa cum laude with honors.

A second-year doctoral student in biomedical engineering at Duke University, he looks back on the opportunities he had as an undergraduate and appreciates the strong foundation they gave him.

Bradway's success is an example of what the College of Engineering wants for all of its graduates. To that end, the college is establishing the Engineering Education Innovation Center, which will provide academic as well as personal and professional activities designed to enrich the undergraduate student experience both inside and outside the classroom.

"The importance of a center like this is that it provides the intellectual glue and stimulus to do engineering education," says Robert Gustafson, associate dean of undergraduate education and student services. "Furthermore, the innovation aspect gives real attention to engineering leadership."

Bradway supplemented his courses and teaching experiences by taking advantage of other programs at the college, including international travel to China, research opportunities, internships and an ethics class.

"The College of Engineering at Ohio State has incredible depth and breadth of courses, student activities, social functions, honor societies and service groups," he says. "In managing a lot of different types of activities, I prepared myself to succeed in all aspects of life, which is always tugging in many directions."

The new Engineering Education Innovation Center will enable the College of Engineering to strengthen those programs for students and to find new ways to prepare students for an ever expanding range of career and entrepreneurial opportunities in a changing employment environment.

While a national search for a director of the center is under way, its seven key programs include:

1. The First-Year Engineering Program, which teaches basic engineering skills to prepare students for future courses and careers and exposes them to different engineering disciplines
2. Multidisciplinary capstone programs with industry involvement to give students experience within their discipline
3. Core and multidisciplinary engineering programs, including engineering entrepreneurship; a Technical Communications Resource Center to offer consultation on writing; and engineering-based multidisciplinary minors
4. Technology literacy courses and minors for non-engineers
5. Professional development and enhancement experiences such as service learning, international study abroad programs and leadership development
6. Opportunities for faculty professional development and scholarship for teaching and learning
7. Further development of technologically enhanced and enabled instruction

"This center is a way for our college to differentiate itself from other engineering schools," says Gustafson, "in the way it prepares future graduates to be leaders in the field of engineering."

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