iFoundry: Illinois Foundry for Tech Vision

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iFoundry Illinois Foundry for Tech Vision
Leadership

• Andreas Cangellaris
• David E. Goldberg
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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The Engineer of 2020

• Needed Attributes Analytical skills, creativity,
  ingenuity, professionalism, entrepreneurship,
  leadership
• For the engineering profession to shape its own
  future it must
• Build a clear image of the new roles for
  engineers, including as broad-based technology
  leaders, in the minds of the public
• Accommodate innovative developments from
  non-engineering fields
• Transform engineering education to adapt to new
  trends and needs

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The iFoundry idea

• iFoundry is conceived as a pilot unit in the
  College of Engineering to
• Overcome systemic barriers to curriculum change
• Inertia of curriculum status quo
• Traditional curriculum evolution is incremental
• Exploit collaborative opportunities for
  curriculum innovation and enrichment
• Contemplated changes in curriculum emphasize the
  importance of cross-cutting skills and
  disciplines
• Work collaboratively across the College and
  beyond to the rest of campus to pilot new courses
  and themes of study that incorporate theses
  skills and disciplines

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The iFoundry idea

• Innovative courses combining cross-disciplinary
  elements/themes driven by emerging areas and
  trends
• Embedded social science humanities art
  design business
• Respect for faculty governance
• iFoundry courses evaluated by CoE faculty
  committee
• Successful pilot courses considered for
  integration in regular curricula through regular
  curriculum change process

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The iFoundry idea

• Interlaced commerce entrepreneurship Corporate
  sponsorship participation of venture capitalists
  in entrepreneurship and venture formation
  training
• Embedded ABET and NAE influence
• Scalability iFoundry educational activities must
  be designed for sustainable and scalable delivery
  to a body of 5400 undergraduates
• Ongoing assessment to ensure the effectiveness
  and impact of curriculum changes

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The iFoundry idea

• Students in iFoundry receive degrees in their
  home departments
• Curriculum modification through iFoundry courses
  and themes is permitted on a pilot basis
• iFoundry support pilots of both common and
  separate interests
• Common interests communications leadership
  ethics business entrepreneurship creativity
• Separate interests, founded on the units central
  themes (Civil, CS, Electrical, Mechanical, )

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The iFoundry vision

• Establish an agile infrastructure for engineering
  curriculum innovation, in pace with the
  developments and trends in science, technology,
  and society