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Unique Education & Workforce Development for NASA Engineers Abstract

NASA engineers are some of the world’s best-educated graduates, responsible for technically complex, highly significant scientific programs. Even though these professionals are highly proficient in traditional analytical competencies, there is a unique opportunity to offer continuing education that further enhances their overall scientific minds. With a goal of maintaining the Agency’s passionate, “best in class” engineering workforce, the NASA Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL) provides educational resources encouraging foundational learning, professional development, and knowledge sharing. NASA APPEL is currently partnering with the scientific community’s most respected subject matter experts to expand its engineering curriculum beyond the analytics and specialized subsystems in the areas of: understanding NASA’s overall vision and its fundamental basis, and the Agency initiatives supporting them; sharing NASA’s vast reservoir of engineering experience, wisdom, and lessons learned; and innovatively designing hardware for manufacturability, assembly, and servicing. It takes collaboration and innovation to educate an organization that possesses such a rich and important history—and a future that is of great global interest. NASA APPEL strives to intellectually nurture the Agency’s technical professionals, build its capacity for future performance, and exemplify its core values—all to better enable NASA to meet its strategic vision—and beyond.

NASA Engineering Education

Responsible for technically complex, highly significant scientific programs, it is only fitting that NASA employs some of the best and brightest engineers in the world. These graduates of accredited university programs have to exhibit a high level of technical competency before they are even hired. From a knowledge and skill standpoint, NASA already has a very competent and well-trained workforce in place, but continuing education is equally important. NASA offers several career enhancing opportunities for its staff, such as facilitating enrollment in university- provided master’s and doctoral programs. But other essential educational options exist internally through the NASA Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL). NASA APPEL is managed by the Office of the Chief Engineer at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. APPEL contributes to NASA's mission by promoting individual and team excellence in program/project management and engineering through the application of integrated learning strategies, methods, models, and tools in a practical manner.

Recognizing the necessity of offering blended educational opportunities that address a full range of learning styles and modes, NASA APPEL supports individual practitioners, as well as project and program teams, at every level of development. It does so through four primary business lines: curriculum; knowledge sharing; performance enhancement; and research and advanced concepts. Curriculum lies at the heart of NASA APPEL’s approach to building the Agency’s program/project and engineering capabilities. Its courses are designed using project management and systems engineering competency models, and focus on what the participants need to enhance their own capabilities, knowledge, and skills. NASA APPEL utilizes best practices and unrivaled

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Forsgren, R., & Miller, L. (2010, June), Unique Education & Workforce Development For Nasa Engineers Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--16836