Innovation in the Classroom

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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 after graduation.

In this episode, Dora Smith interviews Oscar Barton, Jr., the dean of Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr., School of Engineering at Morgan State University. He’ll help us understand what it takes to prepare students for industry. He also discusses the importance of diversity in both academia and industry.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The adjustment Morgan State University made during the COVID pandemic (05:00)
The guiding principles that helped Oscar build a positive culture (08:06)
How to best prepare students for industry (11:25)
How to ensure students are exposed to the latest industry technologies (17:28)
What the mechatronics program offered at Morgan State University entails (23:59)

Connect with Oscar:

LinkedIn
Morgan State University

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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 teaching specialist in the mechanical engineering department at Michigan State University. She’ll share with us what she does to prepare her students for the industry after graduation. She’ll also share her thoughts on what the industry should do to prepare for younger graduates.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

Challenges that graduates deal with when entering the workforce (04:26)
Why it is important to introduce real-world experiences in the classroom (05:52)
Why collaboration is integral in the engineering world (09:11)
How Kathy teaches her students to use Siemens NX (10:36)
Kathy’s experience working with the Siemens NX team (15:43)
How Kathy’s personalized teaching methods differ from others (24:15)

Connect with Kathy:

Linkedin
Michigan State University

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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 Course (MOOC) is seeking to do.

In this episode, Dora Smith interviews Elisabeth Gerber, Collegiate Professor of Public Policy and Innovator-in-residence at the University of Michigan and Founder of ViewPoint Educational Technologies. She’ll help us understand what the MOOC course entails. She’ll also share with us the benefits they have leaped from partnering with Siemens.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

What Elisabeth's new course, MOOC, entails (02:11)
How her expertise in social science helps her in the project (07:16)
Why we need to transform electricity generating systems (09:41)
Why data privacy is a big challenge in AV development (11:12)
How a shift from fossil fuels will impact local economies (16:56)

Connect with Elisabeth:

LinkedIn
Website
ViewPoint

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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 creating meaningful connections with students taking similar courses in different universities, and also with people already in the industry.

In this episode, Dora Smith interviews two engineering students, Maria Laura Polo and Felipe Gomez. They are both members of SPEED (Student Platform for Engineering Education Development), a student-engagement organization. They’ll share with us how their organization promotes student involvement and engagement. Additionally, they’ll share with us their experiences with remote learning and teaching when COVID was at its peak.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

How Maria and Felipe got into Engineering (02:27)
Their advice to students thinking of Pursuing engineering (05:30)
How SPEED drives student involvement and engagement (10:28)
What the initiative ‘Voice of Change’ is all about (22:46)
What the ‘SDG for Youth Network’ involves (31:06)
Digital innovations that Maria and Felipe experienced during COVID lockdowns (40:53)

Connect with Maria:

Email
World SPEED

Connect with Felipe:

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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 choosing what to specialize in.

In this episode, Jennifer Bradford interviews Stephan Groß (Gross) and Enes (Enis) Öksüz. They’ll share their experiences as engineering students in Germany. They’ll also share how their exposure to industry whilst studying broadened their horizons and opened doors they didn’t even know existed.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

How Enes combines studying and interning (01:31)
The mindset needed to remain competitive in the Formula Student competition (06:53)
The importance of encouraging students to do what inspires them (11:29)
How to inspire more students to pursue engineering (14:25)
How to make students aware of the importance of soft skills in engineering (24:30)

Connect with Jennifer:

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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 communities all over the world.

In this episode, Dora Smith interviews Will (Bill) Oakes, an award-winning educator and the Director of the EPICS Program at Purdue University. He’ll share with us what motivated his transition from the industry to academia. He’ll also help us understand the EPICS program, its mission, challenges, and some of its success stories.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The objective of the Purdue EPICS Program (08:11)
The major benefits of the program (17:12)
How the work of the students in the program is graded (21:19)
The differences between students that come from the program and those from traditional education setting (25:12)
What it takes to build lasting relationships with communities (28:14)
Some of the program's success stories and the impact they’ve had on the communities (33:29)

Connect with William:

Linkedin
EPICS - Purdue University

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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 Dean of the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering and the Zohrab Kaprielian Chair in Engineering. He will share with us how they are helping engineering students learn about the ethical repercussions of their work and the societal impact they have the potential to make.

Listen to learn more about the 5 mindsets of change that the next generation of engineers will need. You’ll also hear about some of the alumni success stories and the impact that they are creating in the world. Additionally, you’ll hear the reason why remote learning is here to stay.

Questions I Ask:

What is a socially responsible engineer through the lens of the 5 mindsets of change? (09:30)
What are the grand challenges within the context of our planet’s hierarchy of needs? (18:19)
What is the impact of remote learning? (21:33)
What are the implications of remote learning on initiatives like the Freshman Academy program? (23:01)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

What USC co-curricular engineering program involves (01:55)
How engineers are prepared to be future world changers (06:00)
How USC students are made to understand the responsibility they have (07:55)
Some of the program’s success stories and the impact they are creating (13:58)

Connect with Yannis:

Linkedin
USC Viterbi

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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 Communication and Member Programming. From Siemens Digital Industries, we have Sonya Sauvé, Director of Aerospace and Defense solutions. And, Dale Tutt, Vice President of Aerospace and Defense. We’ll also hear from Jarrett Schiedermeyer, a Senior at Oshkosh West High School, and an EAA Young Eagle.

We’ll start by discovering what inspired our guests to join the field of aviation. We’ll also discuss what the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh involves and the impact it hopes to have on the 1000s of participants and visitors. Additionally, we’ll discuss AeroEducate, a partnership between Siemens and EAA that aims to bring interactive and educational virtual experiences to young people, ages 5 to 18. Lastly, we’ll talk about what the future holds for the aviation and space travel industries, as well as what is being changed to promote sustainability.

Tune in and find out more about EAA’s passionate aviation community, and what they are doing to attract and prepare future aviators.

Some Questions I Ask:

What do you see when you look up? (02:07)
What happens at the Airventure show and who’s involved? (04:21)
What was it like for Jarrett to fly a plane for the first time? (06:29)
Can you briefly explain the concept of additive manufacturing? (14:34)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The impact that moon landing had on kids (03:50)
The future of space travel and tourism (12:12)
The changes happening in the aviation industry to meet today’s sustainability goals (13:39)
What Siemens is doing to get more young girls and women involved in aviation (15:38)

Resources:

EAA
EAA Virtual Flight Academy
AeroEducate

Connect with David Leiting Jr:

Connect with Rick Larsen:

Connect with Sonya Sauvé:

Connect with Dale Tutt:

Connect with Shannon O'Donnell:

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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 Engineering at the University of Sonora.

We had a delightful conversation about the details of the partnership between the two institutions and its benefits from an academic and industrial standpoint. We talked about the creative solutions partnerships like this can offer to both the students and the companies and how this idea can be adopted by other companies from different industries. Finally, we discussed how the educational system should improve students' chances of getting hired and performing better in the real world.

Some Questions I Ask:

Can you tell me a little bit more about how this partnership came to be? (0:50)
How many semesters might a student be involved in this program, what it means to have folks from Leoni be in the school, and what courses this involves? 2:50)
From the university's perspective, do you feel this will draw in additional students to your program? (6:06)
What do you wish that university administrators and faculty worldwide knew about what it is that industry needs? (13:09)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The significant driving force between the partnership Leoni/University of Sonora (1:41)
The partnership's two different approaches (5:05)
The gap between the industry and young graduates this partnership is trying to close (7:16)
What should the career plan for students be focused on to make their lives more accessible in the industry (13:18)

Resources:

Leoni website
University of Sonora website

Connect with Adrian:

Connect with Jesus:

Email: jesus.pacheco@unison.mx

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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 Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University, an MBA from Western New England University, an MSE from the University of Massachusetts, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas.

We talked about Michael's background and how he got to be part of ABET. Michael also shared ABET's role in preparing students and employers for Industry 4.0, their concerns, and how they deal with them. We also discussed how ABET establishes its criteria to measure students' progress in their programs. In addition, we talked about inclusion and diversity, non-degree credentials becoming popular among learners, and ABET's role in that.

Tune in and find out more about ABET and its fantastic work in adding crucial value to academic programs and preparing students for the new world.

Some Questions I Ask:

Can you tell us just a bit of yourself and your journey? (1:24)
What do you feel is the overall role that ABET plays in education and why are accreditation and engineering programs important? (3:13)
From your perspective, can you point some specific effects you've noticed in education and how it's adjusting to meet industry 4.0? (11:23)
Apart from ensuring access to water and sanitation for all, can you give us just your perspective on other trends you see that we need to address? (25:56)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

ABET blends theory and practice. The outcome-based criteria (6:16)
ABET's continuous efforts to keep their programs in constant evolution (8:28)
How vital are ethics, sustainability, and cybersecurity for ABET (12:02)
The need for people with computer skills and ABET's actions to change education in that regard (16:34)
The relevance of diversity and inclusion at ABET (22:24)

Resources:

ABET website
ABET Twitter
ABET Instagram
ABET Vimeo
Medium

Connect with Michael:

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Mobility in the modern world is a primary need and a concern about its impact on the environment. Researchers, scientists, engineers, and other professionals work daily to generate vehicles moved by green, renewable energy. Their final goal is to develop the technology and make it accessible and available to the masses.

In this episode, I talk with Frederik Vanmaele and Gilles De Baets, both members of the Belgian Agoria Solar Team, a dream that started over 16 years ago. A group of Belgian engineers decided to do something with their degrees and created the first Belgian solar car. The Agoria Solar Team won the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia in 2019 and the iLumen European Solar Challenge in 2020.

Frederik and Gilles kindly explained the entire process to create and develop solar cars, from the communication needed to attract investors to the basic understandings of 3D modeling and how it can help understand a vehicle before its existence. We also talked about the impact of using Siemens software and its benefits to the team.

Tune in and listen to these two young talented engineers talking passionately about the present and the future of solar cars and renewable energy.

Questions I Ask:

Can you walk me through your team's process of designing and then building a solar car? (2:09)
Can you talk a little bit more about what was new that you had to learn? (4:49)
What was it like to transfer your theoretical knowledge that you've learned in your studies to this real world? (5:42)
Can you talk a bit about how the use of Siemens software is connected to your team and the industry? (10:06)
What is the most rewarding thing about being a part of the Agoria Solar Team? (12:39)
What is next for you. What are you hoping to do in your career? (16:04)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

How it's built, and how a solar car works (2:16)
The constant learning that entails making solar cars (4:55)
The advantages of 3D modeling (8:40)
A unique opportunity the pandemic offered to engineers from several solar teams (14:32)
The unbreakable engineer mindset. Building the most efficient car no matter what (15:26)

Resources:

Agoria Solar Team website

Connect with Frederik:

Connect with Gilles:

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The future of tech-related disciplines lies in an interdisciplinary approach to teaching. Professor Stephan Simons believes that industrial, electric, and mechatronics engineers shall find their way into working together.

Stephan is an electrical engineer; he has a major in Control Theory and a Ph.D. in Robotics. He worked in medical technology for more than 11 years, where he developed some of the respiratory care systems used today to fight COVID. He had a passage in a company initially owned by Siemens, Sirona Dental Medicine. In 2006, he decided to move to the automation technology business. After Siemens bought UGS, Stephan found a way of combining his interests - automation technology, software business, and medical technology. In his own words, "It's all mechatronics."

The new normality pushed everyone deeper into the digital world; that should sound ideal for electrical engineers and robotics students, but it is not. Students need both a combination of the digital and the real thing.

Listen to what Professor Simons has to say about the present and future of engineering, robotics, and automation students and the importance of collaboration between companies and universities.

Questions I Ask:

Can you start sharing a little bit about yourself and your background? (0:46)
Why did you decide to focus on embedding digital twins in education? (2:22)
What are the skills you're developing in future engineers? (5:07)
Do you see other schools trending in the same fashion as combining the digital with the real world? (6:27)
How do you see the future of teaching now that everything is more digital? (10:06)
How do you keep current with the constant technology changes and improvements? (11:42)
Would you like to see industry partners like us engaging with the university more successfully? (27:04)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

Why it is essential students work with digital twins (3:06)
How our students need to be educated (5:20)
Ecosystems that connect students communities are key (8:13)
The future of Universities is having a combination of digital and presential disciplines (11:30)
How tech-related courses inspire students? (14:14)
The best way to improve collaboration between companies and universities (22:30)

Connect with Stephan:

Linkedin
University of Applied Sciences

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Interns are the future full-time workforce so it is important to provide them with responsibility for projects that are impactful for the current and future innovation they will be working on.

In this episode of Innovation In The Classroom, Susanne Barnsteiner, an industrial engineering intern and graduate student at the University of Applied Sciences in Kempten, Germany, details the projects that she has worked on and her unique current role. Susanne describes her current internship at AGCO and her experience in her university studies as the cornerstone for where her career will go.

Some Questions I Ask

Why did you choose industrial engineering? (1:29)
How did it feel to get to take on such a large project as an intern? (5:36)
Did you have to learn software for your internship or did you go in prepared knowing a few different types of software? (6:15)
How has your experience with Siemens software helped you with other projects? (9:33)

In This Episode You Will Learn

What a day in the life of Susanne’s internship looks like (2:45)
The impactful projects that Susanne has previously worked on (4:31)
How Susanne’s role was impacted by COVID-19 (7:31)
What Susanne wants to accomplish in the next few years (10:37)
Susanne’s advice for other students (11:45)

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The global pandemic has caused most industries, including engineering, to adapt, adjust, and innovate their digitization techniques. On today’s episode of Innovation in the Classroom, I am joined by two engineering industry professionals, Michelle Boucher and Sirin Tekinay.

Michelle Boucher is the VP of Research for Engineering Practices at Tech-Clarity and Sirin Tekinay is the Dean of the College of Engineering at the American University of Sharjah. Both women have amazing insights into how the global pandemic has impacted engineering professionals, students, and teachers. The current pace of digitalization in the industry is affecting how prepared engineering students are when they enter the workforce and engineering education has begun to adjust its curriculum accordingly.

Sirin provides a fascinating take from the academia side of digitalization in engineering, addressing the mental health impacts of online classes for students, the adjustments that students have had to make in their projects, and her advice to simulate a campus experience. Michelle’s knowledge as a researcher brings in the industry point of view. She dives into the newfound importance of business skills in the engineering industry, the global consistencies she has found between universities, and what she believes is the key to preparing students to enter the industry as it rapidly becomes more digitized.

Tune in to learn how engineering education and industry are aligning, finding dissonance, and what Michelle and Sirin recommend for joint success.

Some Questions I Ask

Sirin, can you share your perspective on changing from a ‘push’ to a ‘pull’ approach in engineering education? (4:59)
How have you found the students adjusting to this new normal? (9:15)
Michelle, what do you think is really key to keeping this pace of innovation of digitalization to prepare students for working in the industry? (12:38)
What forms of collaboration have you seen to be most effective? (18:19)
How do we teach students soft skills? (23:22)
Michelle, did you notice in your research that universities are leveraging software and technology to optimize learning? (29:50)
What is your feedback for companies like Siemens to better serve academia? (35:11)

In This Episode You Will Learn

The global trends across universities that Michelle has seen in her research of digitization (3:30)
How this semester has been different for Sirin (7:53)
How Michelle and Sirin view the current relationship between academia and industry (15:04)
The importance of cross-functional projects for students (21:58)
How engineering curriculum has become more project-based (25:26)
Why the educators Michelle interviewed said that COVID-19 adaptations have improved their learning environment (30:12)
The trends that Sirin is seeing in engineering education (33:10)

Connect with Michelle

Connect with Sirin

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Staying relevant in technology is important now more than ever, especially for an Information Systems professor at the university level, like Sabine Matook.

Sabine grew up in Germany where she studied Information Technologies and has since gained prestige as an Information Systems professor of 16 years at the University of Queensland in Australia. She teaches thousands of students the fundamentals of Information Systems with a particular focus on the development of technology and how it is applied. Her global academic experience has taught her the ins and outs of diverse teaching and learning styles which she applies to her classroom.

Although COVID-19 has provided teachers with many roadblocks, Sabine has handled the transition to online teaching with innovation and positivity.

Listen in to Sabine explaining relevance in technology, teaching during COVID-19, and her own teaching philosophies.

Questions I Ask:

Can you tell us about your background? (00:48)
How do you stay relevant as a technology educator? (2:46)
Have you had any opportunities to attend virtual conferences in the past few months? (4:04)
Have you had to change your teaching style at all? (8:10)
Can you expand more on how you use technology in the classroom specifically as it relates to Mendix and providing scenarios for your students? (11:04)
What can we learn from how students learn differently around the world? (18:05)
What advice do you have for students? (23:36)

In this Episode, You Will Learn:

What Sabine does at the University of Queensland (1:44)
The importance of conferences for Sabine (3:47)
How COVID-19 is affecting academics and the University of Queensland in particular (4:41)
Sabine’s teaching philosophy (11:29)
Why Sabine is a big fan of Mendix and how she uses it in teaching (14:05)
Some insights offered by Sabine on various learning styles (18:49)
How learning styles are being translated through online learning during COVID-19 (20:24)

Connect with Sabine

LinkedIn
University of Queensland

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Do you remember the first time you looked up at the night sky after learning that those tiny twinkling lights were actually giant glowing spheres of hot gas? What was going through your young mind when you learned that other planets existed, so far away from Earth that we could only wonder through the eye of a telescope what they were like? It’s the youthful bewilderment of moments like these, the ceaseless curiosity instilled in us as students, that eventually inspires a new generation to explore the great unknown.

Preparing students who are interested in pursuing careers in the Space Industry is the goal of NASA’S L’SPACE Academy. It’s an interactive online program for undergraduate students in STEM majors who are gearing up for careers with NASA or other space-focused agencies. Each 12- Week program provides insight and hands-on learning, and even offers opportunities for students to collaborate, in real time, with industry professionals.

Sheri Klug Boonstra is Principal Investigator of NASA's L'SPACE Program. She grew up in the 1960’s, a time when space age dreams were finally being realized. From her home in the Mojave Desert, she spent youthful nights gazing at stars, wondering “why?”, “what?”, and “who?”. The world was intent on discovering the mysteries of the cosmos, and a combination of luck and curiosity put her in the right place at the right time to be a part of the fold.

Some Questions I ask:

Why do you think your job is the best job in the world? (6:12)
What are the skills you’re providing to students that are useful to future graduates pursuing a career in the industry? (12:20)
How do you ensure a level playing field of access to these tools? (17:20)
What metrics are you using to measure the success of the program? (24:45)
What impact did Covid-19 have on your program? (29:35)

In this episode you will learn:

The field trip that changed Sheri’s life (2:36)
What L’SPACE stands for and the goals of the organization (8:02)
How it works in the classroom (10:42)
The number one quality the industry looks for in students (13:31)
How students are already working with NASA (22:16)
How 7th graders in the program discovered a cave on Mars (27:30)

Learn more about the work of Sheri Klug Boonstra and the L’SPACE Academy:

https://www.lspace.asu.edu/

https://mars.nasa.gov/msip/teachers/contacts/SheriKlugBoonstra/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheri-klug-boonstra-8375a016

https://chamberbusinessnews.com/2019/06/07/fail-fast-and-go-on-asu-creates-space-workforce-pipeline/

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How do you know what you’re supposed to do outside of college?

When students prepare to graduate from college, entering the workforce can be daunting. Sometimes it feels like you know it all, and other times you might not even know where to start. That’s why CAPSTONE classes, SAE groups, and Formula SAE competition groups are so important. These competitive design series involves designing building a formula-style, open-wheel concept vehicle to perform in a competition.

In this episode, John Kittleman gives us insight into how these competitions go and what students have to learn. John is a GTA at Oregon State. His role is to help lead 25 students in developing the suspension system.

Tune in to learn more about SAE competition groups and how they help develop future engineers.

Some Questions I Ask:

How did you get into GFR and Formula Student? (0:46)
What are the specifics with what your students are working on? (2:57)
What challenges come up when collaborating globally? (5:34)
With the exchange program, how does the university class structure play into the team structure? (9:01)
How does Siemens Software allow you to connect with the industry, both in the US and internationally? (10:59)
What’s your advice to future engineers? (18:20)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

What is SAE and Formula Student? (1:16)
How the Formula team decides which cars should be autonomous versus electric for competition. (4:47)
What range of experience students have around building racecars on the Formula Student teams. (9:32)
How Formula Student and SAE utilize Siemens Software. (11:11)
How Formula Student is adjusting in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (13:20)
Why John plans on pursuing aerospace engineering after graduation. (16:47)
Why it’s important to take calculated risks to forward your career. (21:06)

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Everyone starts their engineering career at different places in life.

Levi Zima, for example, got started at a very young age. His childhood was surrounded by technology. He even used Siemens’ CAD software Solid Edge at the age of seven. As he continued to grow up, he was given more and more opportunities to work in the engineering and wireless industries. Today, he’s a student at the University of Central Florida, currently studying RF and Microwave engineering.

Throughout our conversation, Levi talks about his experiences with KidVenture, innovating new technologies for kids, and how his coursework connects with his internship at RF Laboratories.

Tune in to hear how Levi combines his unique experience both inside and outside of academia to design new technology with RF Laboratories.

Some Questions I Ask:

How did you get into the engineering field? (0:57)
How did KidVenture get started? (3:50)
Where does your inspiration for serving the community come from? (4:35)
Will you continue designing your radio kit? (8:44)
What’s the most interesting project that you’ve worked on so far? (11:32)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

What it was like to work with Siemens software as a seven-year-old. (1:39)
How Levi entered into aviation engineering competitions as a kid. (2:40)
What Levi works on in the RF Laboratories and with Pool Guard. (5:29)
How Levi connects his internship at RF Laboratories and his coursework at UCF. (10:56)

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Oftentimes, engineering classes focus solely on the hard skills of manufacturing.

But what about the soft skills?

More and more often, employers and professors are finding that students need to sharpen their soft skills to be successful in the workplace, such as having tough conversations, learning to be collaborative, and how to redirect behaviors that are not productive on collaborative teams.

In this episode, Dr. Mary Pilotte of Purdue University explains this need for soft skills and shares some of Purdue’s strategy to stop the soft skills shortage in the workplace. It all comes down to multidisciplinary engineering, such as theater engineering. What makes theater engineering different is that it incorporates statistics, dynamics, and other hands-on practical design experiences—including creating engineering structures or systems to support live performing arts and entertainment.

So, tune in to hear how some of the best and brightest in academia are finding new ways to teach students the soft skills they need to create a more productive and positive environment in the workplace.

Some Questions I Ask:

What inspired you to get into this field of engineering and academia? (0:42)
Can you give us a feel for the state of engineering education at Purdue? (7:35)
What compelled you to research millennials and the multi-generation workforce? (21:09)
How do you address generational differences in an effective and productive way? (29:24)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

What a day in the life of a Director of Engineering Education looks like. (3:11)
What makes Theater Engineering different from other types of design and engineering. (6:12)
How Purdue is better preparing future graduates in key skill areas in manufacturing. (10:21)
What best practices could help manufacturers get more engaged with schools like Purdue. (36:42)

Connect with Dr. Mary Pilotte:

Resources:

Millennial Reset by Dr. Mary Pilotte

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Millennial Reset: Reimagining a Workplace that Works for Everyone

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800 years ago, the purpose of getting a university-level education was vastly different from what it’s become today. Back then, everybody was seen as a generalist. Now, everyone is hyper-specialized in one or two areas, yet many are not able to recover from the inevitabilities of disruption.

The only way to offset disruption in employability is by helping students understand humans. To make real change, it’s crucial to leverage the real disciplinary competencies that we have in the humanities, arts, professional disciplines like business and engineering, social sciences, and sciences.

Ishwar Puri is the Dean of Faculty of Engineering at McMaster University. Together, we discuss how the school is disrupting curricula to improve engineering education, and how he’s helping lead academic institutions to develop robot-proof graduates through disruptive innovation, closing skill gaps, and strengthening graduate employability.

So, tune in to hear some of the brightest minds in engineering education share insights and best practices to empower the next generation of digital talent.

Some Questions I Ask:

What made you pursue engineering as a degree and choose academia as your profession? (1:26)
What are the key ingredients to making “The Pivot” program a success? (15:36)
What gets you most excited about the future of engineering education? (20:50)
From your perspective, how can a company like Siemens help schools more? (30:25)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

What future universities need in order to tackle change. (10:57)
How “The Pivot” will prepare students to face disruption in the workplace. (13:50)
How Ishwar inspires engineering students. (21:57)

Connect with Ishwar Puri:

Resources:

“How the university can save itself – from itself” by Ishwar Puri and Leonard Waverman

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Most engineering students learn from hands-on experiences, but more often than not the only “experiences” they get are classroom lectures.

This is why Parikshit Borgowda, a graduate student engineer, is driving changes in the engineering curriculum at a top university. He integrates practical examples and real-world applications to drive change on campus. He developed an entire crash course for students to use in order to learn Siemens software.

So, listen to this crash course in Siemens software to learn how Parikshit Borgowda is exponentially helping engineering students get a leg up in their studies and work.

Questions I Ask:

Tell us about your engineering career thus far? How did you get to work with Siemens? (1:10)
Are there any example problems that you created that are super beneficial? (10:25)
Because of the NX Crash Course program, are students more aware of career opportunities at Siemens? (16:12)
What advice do you have for aspiring engineers? (25:03)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

Why students should learn Siemens software first. (6:19)
How the practical examples used to teach the software benefits students. (14:33)
The best way to engage students to give them a learning advantage. (17:40)
How Parikshit’s curriculum continuously improves and changes. (21:50)
What all goes on at the Simulation Technology Center. (24:17)

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As a student, you want to get as much knowledge as you can, before actually going into the workforce, but not many Universities offer you this chance.

The University of Cincinnati is one of the only colleges in the United States that has co-op programs and gives the students the possibility of graduating with two and a half years of work experience. Through the Academic Partnership Program, Siemens is collaborating with UC, offering students summer internships, thus giving them the chance to apply the information they learn in school.

Greg Barker and Chase Ashby are third-year Computers Science students at the University of Cincinnati and they are benefitting the co-op program inside Siemens, doing software development. They will share with us, today, what it’s like to have this opportunity and what are the benefits they see, as interns.

So, listen to Episode 02 of Innovation In The Classroom, to learn directly from the source about the experience of actually working in your field, before graduating college.

Questions I ask:

Why did you guys decide to pursue a degree in engineering? When did you know you wanted to be an engineer? (01:44)
How did you guys choose that you wanted to do it at the UC? (03:04)
Did you have any previous experience with Siemens Software, before the internship? (08:42)
Do you think that it would be beneficial for people to be using the software early on in classrooms? (11:14)
How do you think it's the biggest way that you apply what you learn at school, in the workplace today? (11:51)

In this episode, you will learn:

What a day in the life of being an intern looks like. (05:07)
How Siemens treats its interns. (06:24)
The benefits of Siemens partnering with schools like UC. (13:20)
About Teamcenter software. (16:24)
A piece of advice for students considering pursuing a career in the engineering field. (18:33)

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The college world is filled with organizations that try to provide development opportunities for the students, and BEST is no exception. They try to provide complimentary education through different courses, they have competitions that connect students with real-world challenges, and every year, they hold events to raise awareness on the importance of learning.

Antonia Nanau is the former president of BEST, which is a European Student Organization that represents nearly 96 technical Universities in 34 countries. She is currently in her final year as a student at the Politehnica University of Bucharest, following an engineering degree in Information Engineering.

Listen to the First Episode of Innovation In The Classroom, to learn about this innovation-driven organization that helps engineering students to develop their skills.

Questions I ask:

If you could tell us a little bit about your background and education? (01:40)
Besides the competitions, do you have any other specialized events that you guys do, every so often? (05:39)
Is BEST very integrated into your community where you are headquartered? And do you do any outreach or is that a priority of your organization? (08:12)
Do you have a favorite part of the organization or a favorite component? (09:08)
Are there any resources or partners that you use software programs from, including Siemens, that you think are pretty valuable for students at this point? (13:40)
Is there anything else about BEST that you would like us to understand or just some parting thoughts about the organization, at least from your experience? (24:00)

In this episode you will learn:

What was like for Antonia to take a year off from college to be the President of BEST. (02:13)
What BEST does as an organization. (03:16)
How the Executive Board at BEST operates. (06:59)
The results of the GEDC student engagement survey. (15:07)
What software vendors, like Siemens, could do to support the student engineers. (19:03)

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Innovation in the Classroom: Recent Episodes

Siemens - The Academic Partner