When preparing students for industry, you must have the end goal in mind. You must prepare them for what the industry expects from them and what it takes to succeed and thrive beyond their classes. This can be done by ensuring that students get industry experience while still in school. Industry experience will help them see the value in teamwork, communication skills, and new technologies. Without industry experience, students can easily close their minds to these essential life skills and only focus on good grades. This will make it harder for them to adjust to the industry’s expectations a ..read more

Preparing students for industry involves more than just teaching them general engineering principles. It would be best to teach them how to use the industry’s tools and the teamwork culture. This will make them more confident and ease the challenge of transitioning from student to employee. At the same time, the industry needs to adjust its approach to dealing with employees to attract new graduates. That’s because young engineers have a different set of needs, such as a preference for hybrid working environments. In this episode, Shannon O’Donnel interviews Kathy Stevenson, senior academic ..read more

Electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous vehicles (AVs) are here to stay! While the benefits of transforming the transportation industry are undeniable, the true cost of making that transition is still unknown. For instance, what will happen to economies that rely on fossil fuels, and how will data-hungry AVs impact personal data privacy? Getting a full picture of what is required to make and sustain the transition will require a multi-disciplinary approach. Such an approach will help optimize investment to maximize the expected long-term benefits. This is exactly what the Massive Open Online ..read more

The education system was hit hard during the initial stages of the COVID lockdowns but managed to bounce back fast through digital engagements. It was especially difficult for engineering students who require a lot of practical classes and collaboration with peers. However, even as people get back to their classrooms, some of the innovative digital solutions that came from remote learning are continuing to play a big role. Another phenomenon that is being experienced is the rise of students’ engagement and networking at an early stage. They no longer wait to finish school to see the value of ..read more

For industries to attract and prepare the next generation of engineers, they have to create practical links with academia. This will make it possible for them to nurture the future workforce long before they graduate and seek permanent employment. This can be achieved by offering part-time opportunities to students as well as forming working partnerships with universities. Students who get opportunities to work with engineering companies should try to learn as much as possible from experienced engineers. Such opportunities can inspire them to work harder in school as well as guide them when c ..read more

Engineering is about using science to find creative practical solutions. The question then becomes - how do we train engineers to understand the problems and work with teams to get to those solutions? The best way is to give potential engineering students an opportunity to practice the class-gained skills in the real world as part of their course.  This will prepare them to analyze problems, communicate solutions, engage stakeholders, and create project plans, among others. It’ll also stir their passion because they’ll get to see the potential impact that real engineering can create on c ..read more

Engineers have played a critical role in creating the world that we live in today. They are still the people that we are looking up to and hoping they deliver many more life-changing innovations that will make our life easier, safer, and more fun. That is why the people responsible for creating those engineers are working hard to instill the right mindset in them as early as possible. They also want them to understand that they have a responsibility to make this world a better place by improving sustainability and creating a positive social impact. Joining us today is Yannis C. Yortsos, the ..read more

The ability to plan ahead and adapt is one of the biggest strengths in today’s fast-changing world. In the aviation industry, this involves working on eco-friendly planes and continued investment into space tourism and exploration. Beyond that, the industry is working to ignite the passion of future aviators at an early age through initiatives such as the Experimental Aircraft Association(EAA)  AirVenture Oshkosh.  In this episode, we’ll talk to a couple of guests. From EAA, we have David Leiting, Vice President of the EAA, chapter 252, and Rick Larsen, Vice President of Communicati ..read more

The partnership between Leoni and the University of Sonora is an exciting initiative with massive potential; it represents a considerable opportunity for young graduates. And the best part of it, it is replicable and scalable.  The University of Sonora is the alma mater of most engineers in Hermosillo, the capital of the Mexican state of Sonora, and Leoni is a German company that manufactures harnesses for different vehicles located in the same city.   Today, we talked with Adrián Aello, Capital Harness Engineer at Leoni, and Jesús Pacheco, from the Department of Industrial En ..read more

One of the biggest challenges of the imminent arrival of the 4.0 industry is knowing how to prepare for it. In ABET, a nonprofit, non-governmental organization, they prepare students to tackle this new industry's challenges providing them with technology tools and exposing them to programs constructed to guarantee that they're prepared to ensure quality, precision, and safety in the global workforce. In this episode, we talk with Michael Milligan, Executive Director and CEO of ABET. Michael is also an Engineering Educator, an International R&D, and Military Veteran. He holds a B.S in Elec ..read more