Engineering Educators in Industry:  a Case Study of a Doctoral Internship

Meagan C Pollock

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Conference: 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Publication Date: June 23, 2013
Start Date: June 23, 2013
End Date: June 26, 2013
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: CIP Division Technical Session 2
Tagged Division: College Industry Partnerships
Page Count: 8
Page Numbers: 23.507.1 - 23.507.8
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--19521
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/19521
Download Count: 333

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Meagan C Pollock Purdue University

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Meagan Pollock is a doctoral candidate at the School of Engineering Education, Purdue University and is a recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. She received a B.S. in Computer Science from Texas Woman’s University, and a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she worked as a microelectromechanical-systems (MEMS) engineer for Texas Instruments.

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Abstract

Engineering Educators in Industry: a Case Study of a Doctoral InternshipWith the current direction of education reform, and the national priority to improve STEMeducation, a focus on engineering education has become vital for universities in order to produceengineering graduates that meet industry needs, and educators equipped to teach the nextgeneration of engineers. Engineering Education Programs are popping up at universities acrossthe country. Purdue University created the School of Engineering Education (ENE), the world'sfirst such academic unit, in 2004. Since then, universities such as Virginia Tech and Utah StateUniversity have created engineering education programs, and other universities such as theUniversity of Texas and Tufts have created STEM Education programs. The degrees offeredfrom engineering education programs vary: some universities offer bachelor’s degrees or minorsin engineering education, while some schools offer only graduate degrees. One of the concernsfor engineering education programs, is where do the graduates belong? Engineering educationresearch is not considered adequate or competitive in tenure procedures among other engineeringdisciplines. Even an accomplished engineering education researcher would not likely be able togain status or tenure in any department other than specifically engineering education, and thereare very few of those at this time. Thus for the growing number of graduates with engineeringeducation degrees, it is important to consider where these students might be placed.One opportunity for engineering education graduates is the education technology market thattargets engineering education in K-16. This may include products, and services, where servicescan include curriculum and professional development. This paper describes a single case study ofa Doctoral Candidate in Engineering Education who sought a summer internship in an industrysetting. The student worked for a Fortune 500 company that was eager to learn more about theK-12 engineering education market. The paper outlines how the partnership was built, theprocess for how the objectives were defined and expectations set, a description of the workconducted, and experiences of the student and company representatives. This paper aims toprovide insight into a unique college-industry partnership in engineering education, and serve asa framework for potential opportunity and placement of students in Engineering Educationprograms.

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Format

Pollock, M. C. (2013, June), Engineering Educators in Industry: a Case Study of a Doctoral Internship Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--19521

TY - CPAPER
AB - Engineering Educators in Industry: a Case Study of a Doctoral InternshipWith the current direction of education reform, and the national priority to improve STEMeducation, a focus on engineering education has become vital for universities in order to produceengineering graduates that meet industry needs, and educators equipped to teach the nextgeneration of engineers. Engineering Education Programs are popping up at universities acrossthe country. Purdue University created the School of Engineering Education (ENE), the world&#39;sfirst such academic unit, in 2004. Since then, universities such as Virginia Tech and Utah StateUniversity have created engineering education programs, and other universities such as theUniversity of Texas and Tufts have created STEM Education programs. The degrees offeredfrom engineering education programs vary: some universities offer bachelor’s degrees or minorsin engineering education, while some schools offer only graduate degrees. One of the concernsfor engineering education programs, is where do the graduates belong? Engineering educationresearch is not considered adequate or competitive in tenure procedures among other engineeringdisciplines. Even an accomplished engineering education researcher would not likely be able togain status or tenure in any department other than specifically engineering education, and thereare very few of those at this time. Thus for the growing number of graduates with engineeringeducation degrees, it is important to consider where these students might be placed.One opportunity for engineering education graduates is the education technology market thattargets engineering education in K-16. This may include products, and services, where servicescan include curriculum and professional development. This paper describes a single case study ofa Doctoral Candidate in Engineering Education who sought a summer internship in an industrysetting. The student worked for a Fortune 500 company that was eager to learn more about theK-12 engineering education market. The paper outlines how the partnership was built, theprocess for how the objectives were defined and expectations set, a description of the workconducted, and experiences of the student and company representatives. This paper aims toprovide insight into a unique college-industry partnership in engineering education, and serve asa framework for potential opportunity and placement of students in Engineering Educationprograms.
AU - Meagan C Pollock
CY - Atlanta, Georgia
DA - 2013/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Engineering Educators in Industry: a Case Study of a Doctoral Internship
UR - https://peer.asee.org/19521
DO - 10.18260/1-2--19521
ER -