OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2012 - (Page 16)

COVER “Active learning,” according to the researchers, “is an important component in teaching purely technical material (and is) almost the only effective way to develop professional skills and to realize the integration of material from different sources.” As well, the so-called STEM crisis (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) may be influencing change. Stakeholders are criticizing education in these subjects from elementary school onward, citing current methods as unconnected to real-world application, thereby contributing to attrition in higher-education student numbers and weaker skills development in related career areas. (http://chambertop10.ca/technology-to-make-canada-competitive). In an effort to respond to forces like these, the Lassonde School is instituting what Kozinski and major benefactor and mining entrepreneur Pierre Lassonde call “renaissance” undergraduate engineering education. York has a rare opportunity, supported by $50 million from the Province of Ontario for physical building, $25 million from Lassonde for student and program support, and $25 million from York itself, to expand its 300-student engineering programs, which currently specializes in space and software engineering, to encompass all foundational programs in electrical, mechanical, civil and chemical engineering. New programs will be phased in beginning in September 2013, starting with electrical engineering. The York engineering faculty complement will also double over the next five years to support a projected 85 per cent growth in enrollment to roughly 2,000 students. “We view it as a strength,” says Kozinski, “that we have not inherited a well-established engineering entity. We are piloting new practices in integrated engineering modules and pedagogy; creating online learning partnerships with MIT and others; involving faculty in immediate, external opportunities for professional development in teaching; incorporating new building and classroom configurations into learning; and recruiting faculty who are open-minded to working in new types of collaborations in law and business.” The Schulich School of Business and Osgoode Hall Law School, both at York, are working with the Lassonde School on developing introductory modules in their areas and on team teaching. The Lassonde School will also create a broad, compulsory, co-operative education program for undergraduates, while offering students active support in finding work term placements. Central to the Lassonde School’s ethos, and to Lassonde’s unprecedented support at York, is the concept of entrepreneurism not only as a strategy to integrate engineering with other disciplines and to foster student engagement but also to contribute to larger regional and national efforts to boost a Canadian economy bolstered increasingly by small businesses. ThE buSINESS ENd OF ENGINEERING According to statistics from Ontario’s top business schools, a surprisingly high percentage of current MBA students earned their undergraduate degree in engineering. These figures underscore the strong interest among engineering graduates, in particular, in gaining more business education. Moreover, in a February 2012 article, the Globe and Mail reported on piece of research that looked at 36 million professionals in Canada and the U.S. Of these, 3,337 company founders and chief executives had an advanced engineering background, versus only 1,016 who held an MBA alone. university of Toronto Rotman School of Management Engineering Social Science/humanities Economics Physical Sciences Other Life Sciences Math/Computer Sciences 28.9% 17.8% 15.6% 6.7% 4.4% 2.2% 2.2% richard Ivey School of Business: university of Western Ontario Business Engineering Computer Science Arts Science/Math Law Medicine 41% 22% 13% 10% 12% 1% 1% Schulich School of business – york university Engineering/Math/Science humanities/Social Sciences Business/Economics Other 32% 28% 25% 15% Business/Commerce and Law 11.1% 1 6 TheVoice Fall 2012 http://chambertop10.ca/technology-to-make-canada-competitive http://chambertop10.ca/technology-to-make-canada-competitive

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2012

OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2012
Contents
Viewpoint
Newsbytes
A Great Day on the Green
Don’t Miss the 65th OPEA Gala
Engaging Tomorrow’s Engineers
Renaissance Plan
The Business End of Engineering
Profile: Pierre Lassonde, P.Eng.
Continuing Professional Development: Mandatory or Not?
PAN Expands Outreach to Ottawa
BIG Engineering
You’ve just had an auto accident. Now what?
Ask the Expert: Facing a Complaint
Keep Yourself Covered
What’s 2 + 2? Depends Who’s Answering!
Custom-built Learning for Engineers
Coming Up

OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2012