All Princetonians could learn at center for engineering education

Our strategic planning initiative gave me a chance to hear from a wide mix of members of the Princeton family. From within the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), across the campus, and beyond they came. I listened to the ideas of alumni, faculty, administrators, staff, and undergraduate and graduate students. Over and over again I heard the same message: We at SEAS have a responsibility to educate not only our students, but the entire campus community about technology and engineering. Within the melody of this echoing message, I heard a call for a new center, which we are tentatively calling the Princeton Center for Engineering and Technology Education (CETE).

The mission
CETE’s mission would be to ensure that Princeton graduates are prepared to lead tomorrow’s technological advancements, with full recognition of the global and societal implications of technological innovation.

CETE would:
• Enable the SEAS to lead the nation in reshaping engineering education to train future entrepreneurs, industry and government leaders, and research scholars;
• Offer new approaches to teaching that emphasize the multidisciplinary skills needed to advance technology in today’s global, economic, political, and societal arena;
• Provide opportunities for development of leadership skills by coordinating summer internships and international experiences for a large number of students;
• Oversee the first-year engineering curriculum, which will introduce students to the exciting world of engineering and applied science while building a uniform foundation upon which students may pursue more focused study;
• Extend our educational activities to non-engineering students so that every Princeton student has the opportunity to develop analytical skills and be exposed to the state of the art in technological innovation, and;
• Foster learning-by-discovery by helping faculty and graduate students find ways to extend the educational components of their research activities.

Making it happen
To realize its mission and to ensure its future as a world-class center for engineering and technology education, we now seek funding for CETE professorships, staff positions, space, and student support. Faculty positions are needed to attract and retain professors who successfully integrate innovative teaching with scholarly research. A studio classroom would be built, equipped with multimedia technology to digitally empower faculty and students. The studio classroom environment allows faculty to supplement the traditional lecture formats with alternative teaching styles that facilitate interactive, hands-on learning. A center director would oversee CETE activities, teach courses, and conduct his or her own scholarly research. Other staff positions must be created to enable curriculum development, coordinate internships, encourage international experience, and maximize the national and global impact of CETE’s activities.

Why Princeton?
The setting of an outstanding engineering school within a world-class liberal arts university allows for a unique course of study that balances rigorous engineering study with multidisciplinary breadth, which is so essential for today’s graduates. CETE would encourage faculty in innovative course development and support them as they strive to instill a passion for lifelong learning. The vision for this center is part of the bold agenda that constitutes the strategic plan of the SEAS. The projected outcomes of CETE, which are consistent with the goals of the strategic plan, are to set a new standard for excellence in engineering education by integrating real-world problem solving into the basic curriculum, and to expand our already successful efforts to engage non-engineers in learning about technology. I hope we have your support in this endeavor as we embark on a new age of excellence at SEAS.