The College of Engineering at The University of Texas at El Paso is among more than 120 U.S. engineering schools leading a transformative movement in engineering education announced at the White House March 23.
In a letter presented to President Barack Obama, UTEP and peer institutions committed to establish special educational programs designed to prepare undergraduates to solve “Grand Challenges” – complex yet achievable goals to improve national and international health, security, sustainability and quality of life in the 21st century. Together, the schools plan to graduate more than 20,000 formally recognized “Grand Challenge Engineers” over the next decade.
UTEP has already made great strides in its commitment to adequately prepare engineers to meet the challenges of the 21st century. UTEP is the first institution in the nation to offer a B.S. degree in engineering leadership. This degree program is designed to produce 21st century engineering leaders that exhibit the character, competence and capacity to address the grand challenges.
UTEP also has established the Mike Loya Center for Innovation and Commerce to provide integrated curricular and extracurricular experiences for engineering and business students in innovation and entrepreneurship. The Office of Global Programs in the College of Engineering promotes and provides support infrastructure for global experiential learning, including the implementation of dual degree or dual course programs in the Czech Republic, South Korea and Peru.
For details about the initiative, please see National Academy of Engineering release, “U.S. Engineering Schools to Educate 20,000 Students to Meet Grand Challenges,” online here.
The following individuals are available for interviews regarding UTEP’s role in the initiative:
UTEP College of Engineering Dean Richard Schoephoerster, Ph.D.
“The world is facing many issues – in health, safety, and sustainability – that must be solved by a combination of technology, public policy and diplomacy. In addition, technology is now so intertwined with society that its potential impact even on our overall happiness is huge. To address these grand challenges, engineers must have a very broad education that develops skills across all technological and societal domains. We’re very proud to be among those engineering schools that have committed to producing “grand challenge engineers,” and we are well on our way to achieving this goal with our ongoing programs in leadership, entrepreneurship and global experiences.”
Daniela Natera, sophomore engineering leadership student
“Being part of the engineering leadership program has impacted my life. I am learning to learn differently. I’m able to use what I learn to make a difference, to do something good. Hopefully I’ll have a really good set of engineering skills and business skills and professional skills when I graduate so that I can go off and apply my skills.”