2021-RD-Reza-Rahaman

• Video details

  Innovation is inherently a cross-functional team sport and both leadership and followership are critical enablers of the success of technical professionals, yet they are rarely represented in today’s engineering curricula. At MIT, among the initiatives designed to meet this need, there are currently four complementary Technical Leadership and Communication (TLC) programs housed together in the School of Engineering – the Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program (UPOP), the Gordon-MIT Program in Engineering Leadership (GEL), the Graduate Program in Engineering Leadership (GradEL), and the School of Engineering Communication Lab (Comm Lab). These programs allow students to develop the professional skills in Teamwork, Communication and Leadership that enable them to leverage their technical acumen for maximum impact, at every stage of their MIT journey. I will discuss the foundational concepts on which these programs are based (the ‘Capabilities of Effective Engineering Leaders’), and the type of experiential learning we use to create the a-ha moments that open students’ minds to deeper development. While these efforts will deliver your employees of tomorrow, your employees today can benefit from the same approach, and many companies have found our template useful for assessment and development of their staff. We also offer professional education courses to help on their journey to becoming great leaders and great followers. Over a 30-year career in corporate research and development, I have left a legacy of category-changing innovation and I will be happy to share my experiences and lessons learned in response to your questions and areas of interest.

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