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Engineering News Spring 2018

Alfonso Ortega, Dean of Engineering

Alfonso Ortega, Dean of Engineering

Dean's Message

Dean Alfonso (Al) Ortega sees two big trends shaping engineering education today: STEM convergence and the intersection of design, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking. Read how Santa Clara University Engineering is embracing these big ideas.

Two big trends, STEM Convergence and Innovation and Entrepreneurship, are shaping engineering education globally. Engineering and the sciences are increasingly interwoven in all important technology trends, and SCU is deeply entrenched in this movement, with plans underway for the $265M Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation (SCDI) that will be home to engineering and science departments. The SCDI will provide opportunities for a converged, interdisciplinary education, preparing students for careers in that new paradigm.

The second trend encompasses a current of ideas converging at the intersection of design, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking. SCU Engineering has been a leader in this area for several years, developing new programs, courses, and extracurricular activities geared toward unleashing our students’ innovation and entrepreneurial mindset. Looking to broaden the impact of programming in this realm, the School of Engineering and the Leavey School of Business are exploring ways in which we can reimagine the B-school’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship as a university Community for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). With a major gift backing the effort, we are in the midst of ideating (to use a design thinking term) what this community is, who it serves, and how it will help our students be innovative and entrepreneurial, not only in their work, but in their lives!

But that’s tomorrow. For now, examples of the creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking our existing programs are imbuing in our students abound. Enjoy!

Photo: Adam Hays