Opportunity at the Bottom of the Pyramid: A Faculty Development Program to Prepare the Global Engineer

National Collegiate Inventors And Innovators Alliance, Hadley MA

Investigators

Abstract

Engineering-Other (59) A growing number of engineering programs have developed innovative educational programs to prepare students to create and deploy low-cost, environmentally and socially beneficial solutions. Often, these programs use experiential approaches to provide students with opportunities to develop technologies that will meet the needs of geographically, culturally and economically diverse customers. This project will provide training and support to faculty who are committed to doing work in this area, but need access to additional resources and a network of people who share a similar vision. The project will develop and offer a workshop to provide faculty with key information and resources to develop, implement, and enhance programs that focus on designing and commercializing breakthrough technologies that address basic human needs and alleviate environmental problems in an economically and environmentally sustainable way. The project addresses several significant needs in this emerging area of engineering education: 1) a mechanism for faculty to share and learn about best practices in educational innovations; 2) a hands-on opportunity to develop curricula and strategies for implementation based on information and feedback from experienced colleagues; and 3) an evaluation of the impact these activities have on teaching and curriculum, including the successes and challenges of implementing educational innovations in the university and in the field.