Engineering leadership education is emerging as a topic in engineering institutions worldwide. But the review of international “best practices” in engineering leadership education says a lack of resources, expertise, and formal networks in the nascent field is causing concern in a profession threatened by a diminishing focus on the notion of the “engineer-as-doer.”

Commissioned by the Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program, the new white paper, Engineering Leadership Education: A Snapshot
 Review
 of International Good
 Practice, reveals that the vast majority of engineering leadership education programs are based within the U.S. and most are relatively new (developed in the last five years). The white paper highlights the distinct divide between the U.S. and the rest of the world in both attitude and approach to engineering leadership education.

“As a sub-discipline, engineering leadership education is not yet on the radar of most engineering education experts outside the U.S.,” said Dr. Edward Crawley, Director of the Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program. “Certainly for many of the programs outside the U.S., there’s some discomfort with the notion of ‘leadership education’, as they feel this concept runs counter to their educational culture of inclusiveness and equality.”

The report was conducted by Dr. Ruth Graham in a series of interviews between September 2008 and March 2009. Dr. Graham investigated more than 40 programs, seeking to provide an insight into current practice, highlight international variations in approach, and identify examples of good practice.

One major 
current 
trend
 in 
engineering
 leadership 
education
 is 
the 
development 
of
 the 
students’
 global 
awareness
 and
 their 
ability 
to 
work 
on 
complex
cross‐national
 projects
 – 
which
 is
 seen 
by many
 as
 the 
environment
 within 
which
 the
 engineering 
leader
 of 
the 
future 
will 
need 
to 
operate. 

Many
 of 
the 
programs 
which 
were 
most 
highly 
rated 
by 
interviewees 
incorporate 
some
 global
 elements 
either 
through 
international 
travel, 
remote
 link‐ups
 with
 overseas
 universities/companies 
or 
project
 briefs
 involving 
an
 international 
or
 cross‐cultural
 context.
 
The trend 
towards
 a 
more
 ‘global’ 
view
 of 
leadership 
education
 was 
seen 
by 
many 
of 
the
 interviewees
 as
 one
 that 
would
 continue.


Launched through a $20 million gift by The Bernard M. Gordon Foundation, the Bernard M. Gordon – MIT Engineering Leadership Program is a new educational initiative at MIT whose goal is to help MIT’s undergraduate engineering students develop the skills, tools, and character they will need as future leaders in the world of engineering practice.

Related: Educating Engineers for 2020 and Beyond – Global Engineering Education Study – USA Losing Scientists and Engineers Educated in the USA – International Engineering Education Data: USA, China, India – House Testimony on Engineering Education