Conversation with Dean Wei

Each semester since 2006, Dean Belle Wei has held a “Pizza with Dean Wei” session with College of Engineering students to talk about the goals of the college, to respond to students’ interest in new programs such as green engineering, and to explain how gifts are used to fund programs.

Here are some of the highlights of Dean Wei’s conversation with students in these sessions.

The T-model Engineer of the 21st Century

Q1: You seem to be talking about a whole new type of engineer. Can you tell me more about that?

A1: My vision of the engineer of the future is that he or she has not only strong technical knowledge and skills, but also the broad education to understand the context and purpose of engineering work. I like to call this prototype the “T-model engineer.”

This “T-model” engineer uses his or her capabilities to improve the quality of life of the people living in his or her community and beyond. I believe that technology is a means to a humanistic end. In my mind, the T-model engineer is an active and responsible member of the community and contributes to its improvement.

Q2: T-model? What does this mean?

A2: I see the T-model as a graphic depiction of the intersection of depth within the engineering discipline coupled with a multi-disciplinary understanding of the world we live in.

Q3: How is this different from before?

A3: Previously, we viewed the engineer working in solitude in his or her cubicle. In truth, that engineer never existed, but that’s what we strove to develop: an engineer steeped in all facets of the specific engineering discipline who didn’t need to interact with the world.

Nowadays, engineers must work in interdisciplinary, multicultural teams. They also have to work with customers directly, know how to see the problem from the customer’s perspective, and understand the broader context of the customer’s problem and the customer’s world in the globalized society of the 21st century.

So I’m looking at educating our students to become citizens of the world as much as we continue to develop engineers who can immediately contribute to his or her employer’s project.

The Green Engineering Initiative

Q1: What is the college doing about becoming a part of the green movement that students and faculty are passionate about?

A1: Well, first, let me tell you what we’ve already done. Beginning in Fall 2008, the college offered a bachelor’s minor degree that applies the principles of green and sustainable engineering to this global problem. In addition, the MSE (Master of Science in Engineering) Green Technology program is scheduled to begin in fall 2009. In addition to new degree programs, we have modified existing engineering courses, such as Engineering 10, to reflect the increasing importance of efficient energy conversion and storage. Furthermore, students will participate in research projects that will apply new, sustainable and environmentally-sound technologies and methods to real world green problems.

We’ll educate students on developing technology and promoting processes and policies for a sustainable planet. How? By offering multidisciplinary courses that cover all facets of solutions to the climate change problem: public policy, business models, new technology, and consumer behavior, among others.

Q2: Why do you feel that green engineering is important?

A2: Clearly, green engineering is a crucial global issue that has sparked worldwide efforts. It’s truly a new state of mind that has captured the attention of politicians, engineers, scientists, citizens, and business people all over the world. There’s a lot that we as students and teachers can do to contribute to a range of solutions.

Climate change compels us to think about how to harness and use energy resources differently so that our living environment is not jeopardized, and technology is going to play a central role in providing this “how.” Engineering students who are well educated in this area will contribute to the technology solutions that promise great career potential.

Q3: What’s the solution to the climate change and how do we play a part?

A3: Comprehensive action ranges from energy efficiency and renewable energy development to a focused public policy and the development of an ethical consumerism among all people all over the world. But to play a part in cleaning up and renewing our energy resources for the future calls for multi-disciplinary efforts. This is where the college and its students play an important role: participating in a multi-disciplinary effort to develop new green engineering solutions.

Why the college has a business minor

Q1: Why do we have a business minor in the Davidson College of Engineering?

A1: Well, quite simply, because of feedback from the industry that hires engineers. Since the college provides more engineers to Silicon Valley firms than any other school, we stay in close touch with them to make sure we’re educating engineers that Silicon Valley (as well as other high-tech centers) will want and find productive immediately.

Q2: What did you hear from these companies?

A2: Engineers need strong technical skills, but they also need to understand how their work in the company is linked to generating profit for that company. Nowadays, many engineers work directly with customers and need to understand their customer’s needs. This is quite different from our perception of what an engineer’s job used to be. You are no longer working in isolation.

Q3: How has the college responded to this feedback?

A3: We started a business minor program in 2006, in collaboration with SJSU’s College of Business. Its core curriculum of four courses is customized for aspiring technical professionals who will work with technology companies.

The Global Technology Initiative – how it adds to our education">

The Global Technology Initiative – how it adds to our education

The Global Technology Initiative (GTI) is a two-week all-expense-paid study tour to Asia for the college’s top students. In the past five years, the college sent over 120 GTI fellows. GTI fellows visited Taiwan and China in the first three years and India in the last two years.

Q1: Why did you choose Taiwan, China, or India as GTI destinations rather than other countries such as Germany or Brazil?

A1: This is because of the strong connection between Silicon Valley companies and these Asian countries. I would say that two factors contribute to this connection: Silicon Valley’s Pacific Rim location and Asia’s competitive information technology (IT) sector, which has a large pool of engineering talent as well as a large market for IT products. In addition, the fact that China and India are the world’s two most populous countries makes them critical players when we tackle climate change and energy sustainability issues.

Q2: What is happening with the 2010 Global Technology Initiative?

A2: GTI has been an astounding success in acclimating engineering students to engineering enterprises and education environments of different cultures. What’s the purpose? To help upcoming engineers develop international perspectives and knowledge about different cultures as they will work with or compete against engineers from these cultures in their future careers.

In response to GTI student feedback, we created a 3-unit course, Technology 198, to give upcoming GTI students an introduction to the culture, development, outlook and history of India prior to their study-tour to India.

Q3: Why put energy into a non-engineering course?

A3: GTI fellows felt that they needed some introduction to the area of their GTI visit before going on the trip. They were right. Again, it’s a matter of context and learning. How can a student gain a deep understanding of another culture and its outlook on technology and development, if they have little or no historical, cultural or political foundation?

Q4: What is the Global Technology Initiative’s role in my engineering education?

A4: The faculty’s primary role, as well as my own, is to educate students to be leaders in engineering and society. We see the GTI fellows as delegates for the entire College of Engineering community. What they learn on GTI trips is what they’ll bring back to their fellow students at the college in a variety of formal and informal activities. And, in this vein, GTI is an essential tool for our students to gain knowledge of the interdependence between the U.S. and the rest of world in general, and Asia in particular.

Q5: Why is learning about some far-off country important?

A5: There’s an interdependence between the roles India and China will play in the global economy and how their roles will impact your studies and your life, above and beyond the development of your technical capabilities.

We want to produce big thinkers who see the effect of their work on the world. I have to admit that when I was in school we were trained to become the stereotypical engineering specialist. We had no concept of how our work affected societal issues. This won’t cut it in the 21st century.

Belal Abadalrahman, who participated in the GTI 2006 study-tour, noted that he learned “real-life lessons we cannot learn in school. This trip was an eye opener, showing us how fast the Chinese economy is growing and how it will affect the U.S. economy."

Q6: What is the object lesson here?

A6: Embrace and anticipate the big issues and you’ll thrive as a technical professional in the 21st century. Understand how you interact in a diverse global community and you’ll be invaluable to your employer, to your community, to the world. Learn from other people, other communities and you’ll learn how to collaborate and compete globally. Each student, indeed, each of us as people, has to connect to others in the new global community. India and China will impact us all, as they deal with energy issues, as they develop their high-tech industries. Let’s ask ourselves, “what can we learn from them?”

Q7: How does visiting India contribute to my developing this bigger view?

A7: The 2008 GTI fellows in India witnessed old traditions alongside new ones; the rich and the poor; traditional customs and new, innovative ways of thinking. There’s a rich cultural heritage to observe and reflect on. How does this widely diverse nation work? How does India evolve into a vibrant high-tech powerhouse, given its 4,500-year history? Clearly, there’s a strong work ethic and reverence for education as well as a drive to improve one’s self, one’s family, and place in society.

Q8: How did GTI get started?

A8: We kicked off GTI in 2004. We were still in the midst of the post-dot.com bust, when we saw many jobs outsourced to India and China. Of course, those outsourcing decisions were business related. For maybe the first time, people in Silicon Valley saw that technical proficiency wasn’t enough to compete any longer. We had to learn how to work with others from different cultures and values. And we found that our young people were not well prepared to work in a new world of globalization, and that they needed to become educated in this new reality. The best way to do this? See this larger world with their own eyes.

Jonathan Hunt, who participated in GTI 2004, said, “Being allowed to meet and speak with innovating leaders of successful overseas companies enlightened me to the influence these global players have on the American economy and the future of technology. Experiencing the culture and history of a country foreign to me made me appreciate the differences of other cultures and made me question how I can learn from this new source of inspiration.”

If we can convey this perspective to the college’s entire student body, then GTI will have succeeded beyond our expectations.

The role of diversity and our respect for it in our future careers

Q1: I’ve heard you mention, several times, that respect and diversity are key factors of our education. How so?

A1: Learning engineering theory and sharpening your engineering knowledge are essential to your success as engineers in the future. But in my mind, learning how to work with people from around the world will be just as crucial to your success. That means being respectful of and learning from the differences that make up the world and the communities you work and live in.

Q2: What’s the benefit of this to our education?

A2: Diversity enriches our learning environment. The different people you interact with – now and later – can be agents for your own learning, beyond the technical capabilities you are developing here.

I see educating the whole person as the college’s mission, so that along with your technical capabilities, you see your work in a broader context. That’s why I encourage students to include coursework in the humanities, social sciences, and the arts.

There’s a term I use to describe this broader, more global education: holistic education.

Q3: But we live in the U.S., and most of us will work in the U.S. Why would we have to learn about these other cultures?

A3: In my view, all of us exist in at least several communities. Each and every community has a diverse “population.” Take a look at your family. You may have two or more generations at home. You have people of different genders, maybe of different sexual orientations and perhaps different ethnicities.

The same occurs here at the Davidson College of Engineering, but to a much greater degree. As you go out into the world, you’ll encounter larger and more diverse communities composed of many different people of different backgrounds, cultures and ways of thinking, feeling, reacting to situations and communicating. And just as you have to at home, you’ll have to get along with them to work with them. And as we all know, engineering teams are increasingly global in nature. You will have to learn how to work with people from other cultures to be effective at your jobs.

How the college uses funding from gifts

Q1: We have heard about big donations given to the college such as Mr. Davidson’s $15 million gift. Why do we still have old furniture and labs that need maintenance and improvement?

A1: First, donors give the college money for very specific purposes. These donors – oftentimes alumni of the college – identify how they want their gift to be used, for instance to support a specific academic program. Therefore, we can’t use the donation for just anything. If a lab needs painting or updated equipment, we have to find the money from another source.

Second, when the university receives major gifts from donors, it does not spend the principal amount. It creates endowments in which the principal amount of the gift earns interest over time. It is the interest that is used to support the college; the principal remains untouched to ensure future funding exists. You can think of it as a savings account that will never be empty.

The Engineering Student Success Center (ESSC)

Q1: What is the Engineering Student Success Center?

A1: We understand that engineering is one of the most rigorous academic programs on campus and that you need to find ways to succeed from your first year to graduation. We also understand that engineering students need to professionalize themselves in order to enter the competitive job market. So we’ve created the Engineering Student Success Center (ESSC), which offers a variety of support services and success programs to help students navigate through the engineering curriculum and give you early familiarity and training in what being an engineer is actually like.

Overall, the ESSC administers first-year student programs, advising, peer advising, tutoring, professional development, and student leadership opportunities through 30+ student organizations.

Q2: What other programs does the ESSC offer?

A2: There are three distinctive learning communities offered by the ESSC: Community for Engineering Learning and Living (CELL); Engineering Learning Community for Academic Success (ELCAS); and the MESA Engineering Program (MEP).

CELL makes building a strong support group easier for students by housing them together in the SJSU Campus Village, where they immerse themselves in all aspects of learning and get to know fellow engineering students.

The ELCAS program provides first-year engineering students a supportive environment through a cohort system. Ten to twenty students are grouped and enrolled in the same class sections for selected courses, helping students form peer support networks.

MEP supports educationally disadvantaged and first-generation college students to attain four-year degrees in engineering. Recently, four MEP students graduated from the college and are pursing their master’s and doctorates in engineering at Stanford, UC Berkeley, Virginia Tech and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. MEP enabled them to build support networks and focus their studies so that they have strong academic records to pursue advanced degrees.