Last week we were privileged to have 2 CSU deans, David McLean (Engineering) and Beth Walker (Business) update our club on the ongoing collaboration between the College of Business and the Walter Scott College of Engineering.
Dr Walker provided a little history of how the collaboration started. In 2015, soon after her arrival on campus, she met Dave and in one month they were talking about collaboration between the 2 schools. A joint Board meeting ensured support as members emphasized the need for collaboration between academia and industry. The second key to success is physical – sharing is easier because the schools are located adjacent to one another on the main CSU campus. Last week the 2 boards met again at the new Spur (Denver Stock Show complex) campus where much of the future efforts will take place.
Dr McLean shared two recent examples from the Venture Funded Engineering Senior Design Program. The goal of these endeavors is to provide business education to engineers and exposure to the technical/scientific aspects of projects to business school students. ENGR 422 provides a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The idea is to teach (in a simulated “real life” environment) junior and senior students to take great ideas all the way to successful commercial products or startups. Two specific examples were illustrated. First, a better design and build for a device enabling dogs to walk that have “rear-end” challenges involved collaboration with the Vet School and School of Engineering. The second was the development of a better “swing-arm” for dirt bikes (a part subject to failure). Both are now ready for the marketplace.
A developing and ambitious collaboration between the schools and Innosphere is project REACH (Regional Energy Accelerator) which will address some of the many challenges of climate change. This effort will move forward in 3 phases (Phase 1- DOE Funded Accelerator focused on Decarbonization; Phase 2 – Dedicated Food/Energy/Water Cohort and 3, a rebranded World-Class Accelerator. Such a project is appropriate at CSU given its position as a leader in green energy and its ongoing efforts to stall and reverse climate change.
Questions focused on the well - known difficulties in the engineering world with communication and shared purpose as engineers get promoted to administrators. What are the specifics in CSU’s collaborative approach to maintain technical engineering expertise as well as a business understanding ? Answers- free up enough time in the undergraduate schedule for engineering students to explore the business world and offer the MBA tract to engineers after graduation. Soon, “special academic units” designed to create true partnerships between these 2 lines of study will be offered.
We appreciate the time spent with our club by two very busy people and look forward to an update in the future on these evolving efforts and projects.