2006 ERC Annual Meeting November 29, 2006 Student Leadership Council Retreat Lynn Preston Leader of the ERC Program and Deputy Division Director Division of Engineering Education and Centers National Science Foundation

Driving Forces for the NSF Engineering Research Centers Program l Continual innovation is need to keep U.S. industry ahead foreign competitors strength in engineers is wide-spread globally l Globalization is shifting routine engineering jobs offshore, US engineers need to be at the forefront of innovation l Engineering must involve a more diverse spectrum of faculty and students to capture the genius of all people for engineering l Integration of fundamental research with systems and engineering practice produces more competitive engineering graduates l Partnerships between academe and industry speed knowledge/technology transfer and prepare a more competitive future workforce

Engineering Research Centers Program Guiding Goals Create and sustain an integrated, interdisciplinary research culture in partnership with industry to: l Advance fundamental engineering knowledge and engineered systems l Educate a globally competitive and diverse engineering workforce

Key Features of an ERC (A Forcing Function for Culture Change in Academe) l Long-term, strategic vision for a transforming engineered systems l Strategic plan to realize the systems vision l Integrated, cross-disciplinary research program, encompassing fundamental to systems research and proof-of-concept testbeds l Education program teams undergraduate and graduate students and integrates research findings into curricular materials for students and practitioners l Pre-college Outreach motivates students to study engineering and infuses engineering concepts into the pre-college classroom l Partnership with industry and other practitioners formulates, evolves, and strengthens the ERC and speeds technology transfer.

How ERCs Prepare Graduates to be Leaders l Experience in a cross-disciplinary, team oriented culture l Experience integrating knowledge and technological innovation l Opportunities for project management l Opportunities to develop communication skills through presentations to industry and NSF site visitors l Internships in industry and close contact with potential employers l Experience explaining engineering concepts to students and teachers, important for future communications challenges l Student Leadership Councils prepare SWOT* analyses of the performance of their ERCs, communicate impact of ERC on students to ERC “management” and NSF, good training for management *Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

Comparisons by Member Firms of Performance of ERC Graduates With Non-ERC Hires Overall Preparedness to Work in Industry Breadth of Technical Knowledge Ability to Work in Interdisciplinary Teams Contribution to Firm's Technical Work Depth of Technical Knowledge Ability to Integrate Knowledge and Technology to Solve Problems Ability to Develop Technology % Performance Dimension Percentage of ERC member firms’ representatives rating the former ERC students/graduates hired by their firm as “Better Than” or “Much Better Than” equivalent hires without ERC experience. SRI International, “Impact on Industry of Interactions with Engineering Research Centers, Dec 2004

Role of an ERC Student Leadership Council l Organizes student activities to fulfill the goals of ERC Program l Manages a SWOT analysis process to determine how well the ERC is achieving its goals from a student perspective l Meets with the Director and others on ERC Leadership team to convey the SLC’s SWOT and determine how to deal with weaknesses/threats l Works with the other members of the ERC Leadership team to improve the ERC l Meets with NSF site visit teams to present the SLC’s SWOT, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the ERC, and report on progress l Works with Education Director to manage student involvement in pre-college activities l Works Industrial Liaison Officer to manage student involvement with industry/practitioners l Facilitates student social activities to build a cohesive ERC team

The SLC SWOT Analysis Process An Industry Tool for Strategic Improvement: S - Strengths (Major) W - Weaknesses (Major) O - Opportunities (New Dimensions) T - Threats (Internal to the ERC)

Student SWOT Analysis Joins ERC Students & NSF in Partnership to Strengthen an ERC l ERC Program uses post-award oversight to strengthen the ERCs and terminate weak centers l Annual and renewal reviews through NSF site review teams are the primary source of information on the progress of an ERC l Students meet with the site visit team to provide feedback on the progress of the ERC l Student SWOT analysis is the tool for this feedback to NSF and an organized mechanism for feedback to the ERC’s leadership team

SWOT Analysis Process l The SLC members convene ERC students to carry out a SWOT analysis, some do it online l Private meeting of the students l Students analyze the strengths of the ERC’s Key Features (Vision, Strategic Plan, Research, Education, Industrial Collaboration, Leadership & Team, Mgt., Equipment/ Space) l Determine the major strengths l Determine the major weaknesses l Determine if the ERC is missing opportunities to capitalize on its strengths to deliver innovations in some key features l Determine if there are any serious weaknesses internal to the ERC that will be threats to its ability to fulfill its vision and goals

SWOT Analysis Process/Format l Narrow down to key key Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats l Put them in priority order under each category l Prepare four viewgraphs (one for each category, i.e. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) l Prepare a brief written report with more detail on the bullets, this is for the ERC’s Leadership team l Communicate SWOT findings to the ERC leadership team and to the NSF site visit team during the annual review l To update annually, show progress achieved in dealing with the prior SWOT findings