Rice University
IN-26: Innovation C

Administered by the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (RCEL), a certificate is now available to students who complete the required 10 hours of coursework, an internship, a portfolio, and a final presentation. The Certificate for Engineering Leadership recognizes students who excel in the areas of teamwork, communication, and other facets of leadership. RCEL’s program strives to transform engineering students into leaders whose work will leave a lasting impact on society. In 2014, Rice was among the first of four universities across the nation to offer a Certificate for Engineering Leadership (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, and Cornell University also had certificate programs). This set a precedent that encourages other institutions to follow suit, and now over 100 universities are following suit, after President Obama’s call for engineers to solve the nation’s “Grand Challenges,” which include, “national and international health, security, sustainability and quality of life in the 21st century,” according to an article in Rice News. The program works to promote sustainability from cultural, social, and environmental perspectives to solve challenges like those listed above. Dean of Rice’s Brown School of Engineering Edwin Thomas said, “There are five components that go into educating a Grand Challenge Engineer: hands-on design or research, real-world experiential learning, entrepreneurship and innovation, and service learning. Most of these are integrated into RCEL’s Leadership Certificate Program, and with the added cross-cultural perspectives that many of our students get through Rice’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders, every aspect required to be a Grand Challenge Engineer has been covered.” RCEL’s programming helps students make a positive difference with their work by enhancing a traditional engineering education. It provides learning experiences not typically covered in the Rice engineering curriculum in order to inspire, educate, and develop, ethical leaders in technology. Through a series of curricular and co-curricular learning experiences, RCEL students learn to create and communicate a vision, build a high-performing team, form and execute collaborative plans, and create sustainable innovations.

Kazimir Karwowski, Executive Director of RCEL karwowski@rice.edu http://news.rice.edu/2014/11/12/rice-among-first-to-offer-engineering-leadership-certificate/ http://www.rcelconnect.org/aboutrcel/