Olin College: A Comprehensive Redesign of Undergraduate Engineering Education

1. Olin College: A Comprehensive Redesign of Undergraduate Engineering Education Richard K. Miller President Needham, MA 02492 III International Conference of the Russian Association of Higher Education Researchers National Research University – Higher School of Economics Moscow, Russia October 20, 2012

3. Engineering vs. Science The Process of Engineering Design Why Not…? (Idea) There Must be a Better Way! (Analysis) Why Doesn’t it Work? (Test) Let’s Try It! (Prototype) Engineering is a Process, not a Body of Knowledge!

4. What Is An Engineer? • Applied Scientist • noun: “a person who carries through an enterprise by skillful or • artful contrivance,” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) • Designer/Architect of a System, Process, or Device • Project/Team Leader • “To Engineer is to Make” (D. Chapman-Walsh) • “An Engineer is a person who envisions what • has never been, and does whatever it takes • to make it happen” - Olin College “Scotty”

5. Feasibility Viability Engineering and Science Business and Economics K-12Education Desirability Psychology, Arts, Humanities, etc.

6. Feasibility Viability All other subjects All other subjects Feasibility Desirability Viability No Uniformly Accepted Standards For Feasibility or Viability

7. Feasibility Viability INNOVATION Desirability

8. Creativity & Cognition P P P YOUTUBE: Sir Ken Robinson (TED 2006)

9. Multiple Intelligences: Howard Gardner, Frames of Mind (1983) • All people have at least 7 “intelligences” • Linguistic • Logical/mathematical • Spatial • Bodily-kinesthetic • Musical • Interpersonal • Intrapersonal Academic Intelligence (IQ, SAT, etc.) Artistic Intelligence Persuasion, Management

10. A New Culture of Learning TraditionalNew Knowledge Transfer Construct Knowledge “Can’t Do” “Can Do” Follow Orders Follow Your Passions Learn in Class Learn 24 x 7 Learn Alone Learn in Teams Problem-based Design-based Pedagogy like Graduate School “For most of the twentieth century our educational system has been built on the assumption that teaching is necessary for learning to occur.”

11. What We Teach vs. What They Need to Know • Engineering alumni report that engineering science is not as useful in • their careers as design, communication, teamwork, and entrepreneurial • thinking (Kristen Wolfe, “Understanding the Careers of the Alumni of • the MIT Mechanical Engineering Department,” SB Thesis, June, 2004, • MIT (supervised by Prof. Warren Seering)). • Prof. Woodie Flowers, “Man Who Waits for Roast Duck to Fly Into Mouth • Must Wait a Very Long Time,” Engineer of the Future 2.0, Olin College, • April 1, 2009. YouTube: Prof. Woodie Flowers on Education Reform

12. Source did not 100% else- where 80% job 60% grad school 40% 20% MIT ungd 0% ME core professional skills how and why

13. 100% used pervasively 80% 60% learned at MIT 40% 20% 0% ME core professional skills how and why

14. pervasively never Frequencyof use lead/innovate none Expectedproficiency

15. Olin College Overview • Undergraduate residential engineering education • Total enrollment of about 330 • Nearly 50% women • BS degrees in ECE, ME, Engr only • 9-to-1 student/faculty ratio • Founded in 1997, first graduates in 2006 • 75 acres and 400,000+ sq. ft. new buildings • Endowment > $1 million/student • Research expenditures ~ $1 million/yr • Adjacent to Babson College, Wellesley College • No academic departments • No tenure • Low tuition • Continuous improvement

16. Olin College Campus Needham, MA

17. Blurring Boundaries VIABILITY FEASIBILITY DESIRABILITY

18. Some Features of the Olin Curriculum • Candidates’ Weekend: interviews required for admission • Extensive DESIGN core required • Multiple Team design projects required in 6+ semesters • SCOPE senior project: corporate sponsored, year-long ($50k/project) • EXPO at end of each semester: “stand and deliver” • Olin Self Study self-directed independent research required for graduation • AHS/E! Capstone project required for graduation • Study Away in Junior year • Summer internships: REU and corporate experience • Business and entrepreneurship: • all students must start and run a businessfor a semester • Nine competencies across all four years: quantitative analysis, qualitative • analysis, teamwork, communication, life-long learning, context, • design, diagnosis, opportunity assessment • Continuous improvement: expiration dateon curriculum every 7 years • BUT, the learning culture is far more important than the curriculum!

19. Where We Are After 10 Years • Great Students • Median SAT = 1490 • 25% Natl Merit Scholars • 46% women • Great Educational Experience • Enrollment = 344 • Stu/Fac ratio = 9:1 • Newsweek “New Ivies” • US News #6 • NSSE > 90% in all scores • Princeton Review (2011) • #3 Students Study Most • #3 Best Classroom Exper. • #4 Professors Get High Marks • #8 Happiest Students • Princeton Review (2012) • 3 Professors among top 300 • in US • Great Outcomes • Top Fulbright producer (X3) • Among top producers of NSF • Grad Res Fellowships • 41% Alumni pursue Grad Degrees • More go to Harvard, MIT, Stanford • than elsewhere • Employers: Olin grads = others • with 3–5 years experience • Avg starting salary = $82,000 • Great Financial Position • Endowment > $1 million/student • Remarkable Influence • Visited by > 175 universities in • less than 3 years Google: MIT Brunel 2011