The mission of this certificate program is to prepare dedicated leaders and skilled managers who exert inspiring influence in their workplaces and across their enterprises. Depending on the starting semester chosen, a student can usually complete this certificate in two or three semesters.
This certificate centers on the Engineering Leadership course. Here students learn what it means to be a leader: to inspire others to achieve both individually and together what they would not be able to do on their own. Activities include selected readings, supplemental videos, interviews of experienced leaders, reflections, oral presentations, and discussions to explore, develop, and reinforce leadership development. Engineers’ responsibilities often exceed their direct authority, and engineers and engineering managers bridge this gap by learning the art of informal leadership.
Building on this foundation, two major tools are provided to multiply the influence of the engineering manager. The first is communication, focusing on its many written forms. The Communication Skills for Engineers course is designed to enable students to develop the ability to think critically as a professional communicator. Students are challenged to understand, develop, and produce effective communication using elements of thought including purpose, context, information sources, assumptions, inferences and conclusions, implications and consequences, points of view, and questions raised and addressed.