Vol. 23, No. 6, Sept. 18, 2002
EDUCATIONAL
INNOVATION
Fortune 500 firms back business-engineering program
Mark
Reutter, Business Editor
(217) 333-0568; mreutter@uiuc.edu
9/1/03
CHAMPAIGN,
Ill. — Six Fortune 500 companies have become members of a program at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that gives industry the opportunity
to interact with students and faculty engaged in cross-disciplinary research
on engineering and business issues.
Boeing, Deere & Co., General Motors, Honeywell, Kimberly-Clark and State
Farm Insurance have signed on to the Corporate Affiliates Program (CAP) of the
Technology and Management Program by each making a three-year, $35,000 annual
contribution.
"A lot of decisions in corporate America are based not just on engineering
and not just on business, but on the interplay of the two," said Russ Jamison,
co-director of the Illinois program and professor of material sciences and engineering.
The Illinois program, believed to be the only joint business-engineering undergraduate
program in the nation, leads to a minor degree in technology and management.
Students are admitted to the program after their sophomore year based on their
grades and career goals. In their junior year, engineering students study the
fundamentals of accounting, corporate finance and new product marketing, while
business students take classes on mechanics, materials science and introduction
to electrical and computer engineering.
In their senior year, the students take courses together on product development
and management of innovation and are divided into teams that tackle "real-world"
problems for a corporate affiliate. The teams then present their findings to
the company at the end of the school year.
The program was started as a small pilot project eight years ago and has grown
steadily. Business and engineering professors jointly teach the courses, and
there is frequent participation by industry representatives through a lecture
series and visiting executive program.
So far, nearly 200 students have graduated from the program. "The Illinois
program is setting a new model in interdisciplinary education for today’s
business and engineering students," said Kathi Seifert, executive vice
president for Kimberly-Clark.
Mark Hogan, vice president of advanced vehicle development at General Motors,
said the carmaker "seeks out students in the program because they come
to us with solid team experience and an excellent understanding of the way business
operates."
As CAP affiliates, the six companies will be offered ongoing relationship-building
opportunities with students and faculty, said Janet Eakman, assistant director
of the program.
An advisory committee is being organized so that the affiliates can offer suggestions
on ways to improve the curriculum and "our graduates can hit the ground
running in today’s corporate environment," Jamison said.