These slides describe my efforts to change engineering education. By focusing on group projects and presentations and real-world engineering issues that are applicable to much of industry, we can help students develop and demonstrate real-world skills. Industry will notice well done analysis of real-world issues and this has occurred in my two classes. The next steps are to work more closely with industry, focus more engineering classes on group projects and presentations, and to create new forms of resumes and transcripts. These resumes and transcripts should promote the students through linked presentations that demonstrate the real-world capabilities of students and that help engineering departments build brand images.

1. A/Prof Jeffrey Funk
Division of Engineering and Technology Management
National University of Singapore

2. What is the Purpose of an
Engineering Education?
 There are many
purposes, but a major
one is to find a great job
 One that has high pay,
and opportunities for
contributing, advancing
and learning
 Not a Dead End

3. Salaries Vary a Lot
 Getting a Degree is
Important
 But salaries vary a lot for
college grads
 Some Engineers Have
Much Higher Pay than do
Others
 How can engineers get
higher pay, challenges and
fun from working with the
best engineers?

4. RANK SCHOOL NAME STARTING SALARY MID-CAREER SALARY
1 Harvey Mudd College $73,300 $143,000
2 United States Naval Academy $77,100 $131,000
3 - tie California Institute of Technology (Caltech) $68,400 $124,000
3 - tie Stevens Institute of Technology $64,900 $124,000
5 Babson College $59,700 $123,000
6 Princeton University $56,100 $121,000
7 United States Military Academy, West Point $74,000 $120,000
8 - tie Stanford University $61,300 $119,000
8 - tie Harvard University $55,300 $119,000
8 - tie Brown University $52,300 $119,000
11 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) $68,600 $118,000
12 - tie Colgate University $51,800 $117,000
12 - tie Yale University $50,000 $117,000
14 - tie Polytechnic Institute of New York University $60,700 $116,000
14 - tie SUNY - Maritime College $59,400 $116,000
14 - tie Cooper Union $61,400 $116,000
17 - tie Tufts University $48,800 $115,000
17 - tie Haverford College $38,600 $115,000
19 Washington and Lee University $48,000 $113,000
20 - tie Lehigh University $58,500 $111,000
20 - tie Williams College $50,400 $111,000
20 - tie University of California – Berkeley $54,700 $111,000
20 - tie Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT $65,100 $111,000
24 - tie University of Notre Dame $54,000 $110,000
24 - tie Santa Clara University $53,300 $110,000
24 - tie Manhattan College $55,200 $110,000
27 - tie Swarthmore College $51,000 $109,000
27 - tie University of Pennsylvania $57,200 $109,000
Rankings of US Universities by Mid-Career Salary http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-
report-2014/full-list-of-schools

5. How Can Universities Help Students
Find These Great Jobs?
 Flipped Classrooms, Great Brand Image? Great
Classes? Great Alumni?
 Yeah, but what if you aren’t a student (or
professors) at MIT or Caltech?
 And you are smart, hardworking, and creative
 Isn’t there another way to the Top?

6. Flipped Classrooms (and MOOCs)
 Students study lectures online, discuss topics in class
 The opposite of past – listen to lectures in class,
address issues in homework
 It might help students learn faster, but will it help
engineering (or other) students get top jobs?
 Don’t we need to aim higher than flipped classrooms
and demonstrate real-world skills of students?

7.  Let’s think about more fundamental issues

8. Difficult to see STUDENT’s Capabilities
in Resumes or Transcripts
 Grades, course names, and university names tell us little about
students
 Almost half of most successful entrepreneurs don’t have
university degrees
 http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/9aee9450-f7e9-11e5-96db-fc683b5e52db.html#axzz44qdhyiV5
 More importantly: has or can a student
 design products and services?
 solve problems?
 address important issues?
 These are more important issues than grades
 Particularly when courses were lectures and the grades were
based on exams

9. Exams Don’t Engage or Test Many
Important Things
 Exams ask you to
 repeat what professor said
 solve theoretical problems that don’t exist in real world
 Doing well on exams often doesn’t require
understanding of real world or its products, services,
and challenges
 But real jobs require you to
understand these things
 And many students want to understand these
things

10. An Unspoken Truth of Engineering Schools
 Many students (and sometimes professors) don’t know
names or understand meanings of current
technologies (and startups introducing them)
 Internet of Things
 Big Data, FinTech
 Software-as a Service
 Wearable Computing
 Similar problems with science and math majors
 Students are too busy being tested on their knowledge
of science and math to learn about recent technologies
 How can students get jobs if they don’t know most
recent technologies, i.e., the real world?

11. Projects and Presentations
 Projects better test student abilities
 Show whether students can identify
important problems
 Address them
 Identify, create, and implement solutions
 Presentations better illuminate student
skills
 Describe problems and solutions
 Illuminate tradeoffs
 Work with others to do this

12. Universities Should…..
 Offer project-based classes
 Most graduate and upper level undergraduate classes should
involve group projects
 Projects should address real-world issues
 Professors should be mentors and guides
 Must understand real world!
 Not blind leading blind!
 Students should learn from each other
 Promote group projects
 Enable world to see and learn from them
 Integration of group projects for holistic promotion of
students
 Good presentations will attract attention from industry
decision makers

13. What are Real World Issues?
 The projects must address real
world issues that are common
across industries
 Not theory!
 Students shouldn’t have to read
theoretical papers
 They already studied the
theory in class!
 Now its time to address real
issues with real information!
 Internet makes this easier

14. My Two Courses and Projects
 Understanding how and when new technologies
become economically feasible
 Students learn about and analyze changing economics of
new technologies (real ones!) in projects
 Not all technologies become economically feasible!
 This module helps students separate reality from hype
 My lectures and projects focuses on technologies that are
being commercialized (or will be in the next few years) and
the identities of the startups (remember unspoken truth!)
 Biz Models for Hi-Tech Products and Services
 Students learn to commercialize new products and services
and develop biz models for them in lectures and projects
 Value proposition, customer selection, method of value
capture are key elements of business model
Lecture slides and group presentations can be found on my slideshare accounts: http://www.slideshare.net/Funk98/presentations;
http://www.slideshare.net/Funk97/presentations

15. Both Courses Address Real-World Issues
 Understanding how and when new technologies
become economically feasible
 Industry must decide which technologies to commercialize
 Some are more likely to become feasible than others
 We must help students think seriously about their careers
and the technologies they will emphasize
 Biz Models for Hi-Tech Products and Services
 Industry must introduce new products and services
 And a business model is required for each new product and
service
 We must help students understand why some products and
services (and companies!) are successful
Lecture slides and group presentations can be found on my slideshare accounts: http://www.slideshare.net/Funk98/presentations;
http://www.slideshare.net/Funk97/presentations

16. These Courses Help Engineers
Do High-Level Engineering
How and when New
Technologies
Become
Economically
Feasible and thus
what Types of New
Products and
Services Should be
Introduced?
Who are customers
and what are Value
Propositions for
New Products
(including
conceptual
design)?
Let’s Design
and
Manufacture
the
Products
(detailed
design)
Hi-Level Engineering Low-Level Engineering
MT5009 MT5016 Design Module

17. The Real World Loves the Presentations
For “Analyzing Hi-Tech Opportunities,”
Currently >360,000 views in total; about 600
views per day, and growing

18. The Real World Loves the Presentations
For “Biz Models for Hi-Tech Products,”
Currently >260,000 views in total; about 900
views per day, and growing

19. Mail from Managers is Also Very Positive
 My name is Tom LaTempa and I work with Newry Corp., a management consulting firm
in the U.S. I’m working on a project with a large materials supplier that specializes in
flexible electronic pastes and we’re interested to learn more about printed battery
applications. I saw an interesting set of slides you shared that outlined a business model
for printed batteries. Is this an area that you are still tracking? Would you be available for
a brief discussion (approx. 15 minutes)?
 My name is Raffy A. and I'm reaching out from LA. I'm interested in emerging industries
and recently came across a slide presentation on LaaS that your students compiled. I
wanted to have a short 10 min intelligent conversation with one of them (or you) over
skype. I also wanted to know how your "think tank" works with entrepreneurs.
 I've been reading some of your presentations on neurosynaptic chips, very interesting. I
am fascinated by artificial intelligence and the prospect of computers being able to teach
themselves. If you dont mind me asking, What do you make of Peter van der Made's
Brainchip? It's rarely mentioned along side Qualcomm's or IBM's truenorth technology
development etc.
 I noticed you have a slide , Personal Genomics: Business Model for 23andMe. Is that a
part of your research? An example of new industry? Have you done some research about
the opportunities of ICT companies on Healthcare industry?

20. A Few More Examples
 I am Amy Sun from Huawei Technology. I sent you an email about your slides, Personal
Genomics: Business Model for 23andMe. I am very interested in this topic. I am wondering if
you are available, I have some questions to ask about new industry. Thanks!
 I was very much interested by your work on business model for Oculus. We are going to
come into this game as a new player with Immersis, a very different technology, but very
immersive. However, our business model still needs to evolve because market will evolve.
Hope I will have the opportunity to discuss in Singapore when I come there.

 I came across your very well received Slideshare presentation on Uber's business model at
the National University of Singapore. Firstly, please let me congratulate you on a wonderfully
constructed presentation. I am taking notes! I am the inventor of a ridesharing concept
called Texxi (Transit Exchange for XXI Century) that kick started this space when I stumbled
on a way to solve the largescale, real-time dynamic ridesharing problem in 2003 - 2004. You
can see my presentation here. I may be in Singapore in February or March and would be
very pleased to come to see you if you have time.
 Winner: 2015 Red Herring Top 100 European Start-ups
 Winner: 2015 Red Herring Top 100 Global Start-ups


21. What does this tell us about Students?
 Lots of views and positive mail suggest
high quality slides, and students
 more capability than ordinarily thought
 can learn and do high-level engineering
 Universities should challenge students
with real world problems
 And promote their group presentations
 Help them interact with industry
 Let’s move beyond a model of
 sole emphasis on science and math
 exams in which students repeat what
professor says
Let’s Challenge
Students!

22. This is Just the First Step!
 Students are doing great analysis
and presentations
 What can be done next?
 Include students in loop with mail?
 Have students pursue issues raised
in mail?
 Have students work closely with
industry from beginning of projects?
 Allow industry to propose projects?
 Get additional data for these
projects from industry?

23. What can be Done Next?
 Have many classes require group
projects and presentations?
 Try to link the projects, so that more
in-depth analysis can be done?
 Each project building from previous
ones?
 For each student, build network of
group presentations?
 Make presentations part of a
student‘s online transcript and
resume?
 Build brand image for students,
department, and university

24. Proposals for Future Courses
 Students develop detailed designs in group projects
 Computer aided designs, or simulations
 In some cases, functional prototypes can be made with
standard electronic components
 Different classes for different technologies
 Or focus on technologies applicable to many products
and services such as Internet of Things or Big Data
 Students develop implementation plans in group
projects
 Students participate in solving problems posed by
open innovation platforms such as Innocentive
 Professors help students propose and submit solutions
 Large scale one-semester student projects

25. Large-Scale One-Semester Student Projects
 My alma mater (Carnegie Mellon) has many students (>40
students) analyze a problem of national interest
 https://www.epp.cmu.edu/undergraduate/project_courses.html
 Other universities can do similar projects – both national
and local issues
 Many large scale technological issues can be addressed
 Smart cities, roads dedicated to autonomous vehicles, GPS
for buses, wearable computing, and many others
 Students from outside engineering can be invited
 Students learn about large-scale problems and locals
(companies, city government) can learn from students
 Such projects attract local media, can excite and motivate
students, help build brand image of university

26. Build Brand Image the Old Fashioned Way!
 Demonstrating superior output
 Produce graduates who
 address real-world issues
 solve real problems
 make real contributions
 Group presentations show real
world analytical capabilities of
students
 They help build links to industry,
including alumni
 Links to industry and alumni
provide help to future group
projects, thus promoting positive
feedback