Developing Engineering Leaders: An Organized Innovation Approach to Engineering Education

Abstract

In addition to providing technical expertise in their respective fields, engineers are increasingly assuming leadership roles in academia, industry, government, and even non-profit organizations. We draw from lessons learned in our decade-long study of the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center program to provide both a theoretical framework, the Organized Innovation Model for Education, and tangible recommendations to educators, engineering managers, and anyone else interested in developing highly skilled engineers who are also excellent leaders. The model addresses a long-lamented need for systematic ways to integrate leadership development into technical curriculum and skill-building programs.

Keywords:

• Commercialization
• Engineering Management Development
• Engineering Research Centers
• Higher Education
• Innovation
• Leadership Development
• Leadership Skills
• National Science Foundation

EMJ Focus Areas:

• Engineering Management Profession
• Leadership

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sara Jansen Perry

Sara Jansen Perry is an Assistant Professor of Management in the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University. She conducts research on innovation, stress, and leadership, and teaches negotiation and human resource management staffing. Before earning a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (University of Houston, 2009), she earned a BS in Computer Science and worked in the information technology industry as a systems engineer, which fueled her passion for equipping scientists and engineers with leadership skills.

Emily M. Hunter

Emily M. Hunter is an Associate Professor of Management in the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University. She conducts research on workplace breaks, deviance and work-family balance, and teaches negotiation and organizational behavior. She earned her PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (University of Houston, 2009).

Steven C. Currall

Steven C. Currall is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Southern Methodist University. He has conducted research and taught for over three decades on organizational psychology topics, such as innovation, emerging technologies, negotiation, and corporate governance. He has been a grantee on more than 21 million dollars in external funding, mostly from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. Currall is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Ed Frauenheim

Ed Frauenheim is Director of Research and Content at Great Place to Work^®. He authors research reports, conducts data analysis, and produces commentaries related to great workplaces in the United States and throughout the world. Ed spent roughly 15 years as a journalist and commentator focused on the intersection of work, technology, and business strategy. He has co-written two books: Organized Innovation: A Blueprint for Renewing America’s Prosperity and Good Company: Business Success in the Worthiness Era.