Re-Engineering Engineering Education: Stephan Athan at TEDxUF

Why do most engineering students wait until college to begin thinking about an engineering career? How are they able to compete in a highly competitive global industry given the numerous constraints, limited timeframes, and inadequate education? Because they have no other choice? Dr. Athan's solution is an engineering program based on the concept of a wormhole and compressing the timeline. His top-down teaching methodology empowers young minds with career knowledge starting at a young age.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

[@SepherStar]

If you are a kid who isn't in college yet and you are interested in engineering, you should try to get some money to do projects on your own or with friends, because as things currently are, you will not get the hands on experience you envision engineering to be, in school.

[@killercd7682]

I hardly did a prac in 4 years of an engineering degree. It was all maths.

[@laurenmutale8622]

😮😮ww😮😮😮😮😮

[@stephanathan]

Get a good mentor! You will be amazed how much time you can compress in the academic/career timeline with a good mentor.

[@thetommantom]

Instead of learning to fix real world problems, it's more like learning before actually seeing the problems. I feel like a lot of people don't know how to use their education, because they can't see the connections.

[@prats.7105]

thetommantom on point !

[@Zach-de3dv]

The best way to separate yourself from your competitor is to either a) get involved in a engineering club, b) undergrad work for a Professor, c) internship, d) volunteer work pertaining to engineering. Option (c) is unfortunately limited to certain students so best options would be (a) and (b).

[@dralbertomarquez]

Stephan, I am interested in knowing about your model. In this talk, you provided the motivation and the problem, but not the detailed answer.

[@stephanathan]

Hi Alberto, Just saw your comment. Two key points to the solution include 1) begin teaching a rigorous engineering curriculum as early in the education process as possible, and 2) employ engineers to teach an engineering curriculum. My position is if you want to learn medicine you hire a doctor and if you want to learn law you hire a lawyer so if you want to learn engineering you hire an engineer. Calling "STEM" engineering is analogous to dissecting a frog and calling it medicine. My company logo is a wormhole (shortcut through space/time) whereby I deliver relevant high level engineering content including experiments, and projects to gifted middle and high school students "today". This is a disruptive model and goes against a mainstream "common core" solution. Please visit my website at www.engineeringminds.org and I would be happy to discuss this further with you anytime. Take care. Stephan

[@matthewmiles6799]

I just took a week engineering camp with him and he was great!

[@MrPuddnhead]

Sounds great. Get it done. It's sure as hell not happening now. I have a Ph.D. in Engineering from a university in the USA. The engineering programs were all accredited by ABET. I was in the top 1% of my class. That meant absolutely nothing when it came to getting a job.

[@mohanbajaj978]

His words are really helpful for engineering students like us! The question that how can we get a job without experience is a common one! The answer to it, as per my thinking is through the promotion of practical learning in institutions. As compared to marks based education system, the knowledge-based education system is much better in shaping the student's career. I am happy to be at a place that values practical learning. Mohan Bajaj, Engineering student at Glocal University, U.P (India)

[@siddharthnandi8567]

In india the market is dead for engineers. It's best to start freelancing as a consultant and acquire the money to start a business. The key is to have a mindset of job creator not a job taker. I completed my degree from australia and started consulting remotely for clients on design projects. 5 years later I own a consulting firm with 10 employees who all serve clients all over the world.

[@MrPuddnhead]

He didn't say it was new. He said we need to get off our ass and implement it. The education system in the USA has slowly been spiraling down the shitter for the past 30 years. All colleges and universities care about is getting accreditation and money. They could give a fuck about how well they educate their students. It's sink or swim at a university in the USA. Professors don't teach anymore. The student has to teach their self.

[@boriscuduco4377]

Exactly. Teachers prefer to teach by analogy before even expressing the conceptual theory because they expect us to not understand, the fact is that, university classes aren't difficult, they can only be difficult if one forgets or never learned anything of the topics behind it. You can't expect someone to understand what a protein cell is, without they understanding what is a cell. Similarly in math, you can't comprehend calculus if you have no clue about algebra, it is simple. So, teachers and the academic systems should teach better methods of information retaining and understand the needs of their students, also being more specific rather than broad if the latter is not effective.

[@MartaToroM]

That was a good talk. Universities today are more interested in getting the money from students, than of "making" engineers of quality for the world, or great leaders. We have many engineers with many technical habilities but a huge lack of leadership, and that is a great problem for companies at the time to trust them a project or a chief position. So it gets harder and harder to fill that "gap"...

[@dralbertomarquez]

The challenge is multidimensional. We would need 150 credit hours to teach all the leadership and all the techniques that corporations are demanding. On top of that, students read less now, and have a hard time writing. In order to become leaders, the ability to communicate is key. Students dismiss presentations and writing as non-important, not part of what it means to be an engineer. It is the same when we teach them about costs, and economics. That is not engineering, right? Well, it is for companies. Further more, students are trained to get the answer right in the test from elementary school. Unfortunately, they are trained in such a way that understanding is irrelevant for them, as long as they can get the right answer. For companies, understanding is of the up most importance. There are many possible correct answers to the same problem, but all the correct answers depends on understanding the problem and understanding the solution. Finally, real life problems are way more complicated than the simplified problems in school Companies demand more experience, students say they do not apply anything they learned in school. The reason why they do not apply it is because they know too little about how to use their knowledge to actually be able to apply it to a practical setting. The "gap" requires the will to work the extra mile, both faculty and students to develop the skills that cannot be part of the curricula, because there is not enough budget to provide those skills.

[@wad3aan]

Good presentation matching with the fact.

[@serano5023]

the model works the model works, what model? the top down model. instead of repeating these words a thousand times, it would have been better to explain that model better and clarify its whereabouts.

[@theresachung703]

I don’t know what the issue is even in minute 3.

[@samdevo1921]

Hmm, what school did you go to? Any other advice for someone just about to enter an engineering program next year?

[@blackknight3777]

be aware some companies comes to the schools and recruit.

[@umitdev7045]

Sunu Türkçeye çevireniz baya faydalı mühendislik eğitimi nasıl olmalı gelecekte eğitim nasıl olmali vs

[@aneekaazmat6653]

Stephan, i am doing research on engineering education. i am merging flipped class room, game development based learning and gamification. i am going to provide a web portal using these methodologies as hybrid. can you please tell me , have you ever find any platform that provides such web portal for engineering education together?

[@vaggs75]

Did he actully say anything or just brag for a few minutes?

[@samdevo1921]

Hmm, a mentor, is this synonymous with a tutor in university? I imagine a mentor in the career aspect would be someone in a position you'd like to be in the future? Thanks for the reply interesting idea! would like to hear more.

[@blackknight3777]

medical device that I would do

[@illuminatedperspectives2894]

The industry is finding out Traditionally educated engineering graduates are usually not able to do actual engineering work outside of theory and mathematical equations. They cant actually pick up actual parts and components and engineer something that works properly. lol

[@killercd7682]

I hardly did a single prac in 4 years of mechanical engineering. Never touched an engine.

[@illuminatedperspectives2894]

@@killercd7682 well i mean as in putting together something thats serves a systematic function or purpose. Not just engines.

[@sudansamirkujur3147]

Re Engg { DGR-1984, who is Ex Service Man}

[@sudansamirkujur3147]

Ministry of Defence....

[@blackknight3777]

internship

[@altoncarter5661]

Elaina i love you

[@davidj-nv1sm]

I want to be an astronaut

[@terriphenn2442]

He can talk all he wants, but it won't get fixed. Why is it that accreditation requires a broken system? And if it does, why do schools care about accreditation instead of the quality of their output? Imagine something this stupid in a market other than education. Suppose some fast food restaurant were to turn out wormy food that was "accredited" by some restaurant association. Would not they quickly go bankrupt because people would take their $$$ elsewhere? But so much of our higher ed $$$ come from government subsidies that depend on accreditation, but not the quality of the product. If we use the communist model for higher ed, why are we surprised by the results?

[@stephanathan]

You are absolutely correct...it won't get fixed and although schools may care about the quality of their output maybe they need to reconsider their metric(s). Students need to be empowered to own their career paths long before graduating from college and more preferably beginning in middle or high school. This is what I do at EngineeringMinds.org and, yes, an experienced mentor is essential.

[@terriphenn2442]

I see that engineeringminds.org is about getting students plugged into industry, academia, etc. If you really care about the gifted students, or the country, then getting them "plugged into" the existing beurocracies just plain wrong. We just don't fit in!! We need to learn how to become successful entrepreneurs creating our own, new industries, not becoming dumbed down cogs in some organization, whose usefulness was outdated even in the now extinct 20th century.

[@stephanathan]

Terri Phenn The door is open. You have less time than you think.

[@blackknight3777]

boots

[@blackknight3777]

iam bill gates