Engineering Clinic Consultant
Spring 2002
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Sample Mission Statements
A.
Background.
The Engineering Clinic Consultant (ECC) was created (1998) to serve a multitude of purposes. From the original course proposal:
(i)
Provide additional project and/or
topic experience in a multidisciplinary team environment.
(ii)
Increase a student’s practical
competency in core electrical and computer engineering subjects by providing
additional application opportunities in a project setting.
(iii)
Provide expanded breadth of
exposure by participating in design projects for which the consultant’s
profession and skill representation are in the minority.
We have used this 1-credit (repeated) course as part of our mechanisms for curricular corrections; in fact, it has served as a feedforward mechanism to allow “fixing” noted curricular deficiencies.[1][1] In addition, we have relied on ECC as a way to “get work done” by having students perform as consultants in a client-customer approach. ECC also serves as a converging point where we give modules on professional issues, engage outside speakers, etc.
Some of the challenges facing ECC include the sudden immersion of juniors in both ECC and Engineering Clinics. These students have no idea what is expected of them and have trouble adapting to the expectation of marketing their skills as consultants. Seniors have experienced ECC and some have developed a habit of not taking it seriously evidenced by postponement of developing a consultant project until the end of the semester, and/or doing very little.
Modify the ECC experience to include some mixture of the following elements:
- Feedback/feedforward fixes. Make portions of ECC available as part of on-going assessment strategies.
- Consultant work. Make available project consultant opportunities for selected applicants—i.e., those that have exhibited the maturity to complete these.
- Modules. Continue to provide modules focused on some thematic aspects of professionalism, entrepreneurship, and other important Rowan goals.
- Training. Develop training for enhancing student skills on available resources.
The only significant change is the addition of a training component. The rationale for this is to help—especially juniors—develop and hone a set of skills that are important to successful Clinic project work as well as offering skills that can be marketed in a consultant-client relationship. While there will always be more skills required than available in our students, there are some core skills that pervade much of our Clinic (and course)work and which are based on the types of resources that we have configured. A measurable improvement in the effectiveness and productivity of our students should be possible if we start with a set of core skills. Later, we can incrementally expand the skill set by adding new training opportunities and as we add new resources.
Examples of resources/skills include:
1. Software
a. Simulation using Spice, MATLAB, etc.
b. Digital design synthesis using Mentor Graphics, Cadence, Xilinx, etc.
c. Code development using C++, C, Java, etc.
2. Printed Circuit Board Design & Manufacture
a. Design using Mentor Graphics, Cadence, PCAD, etc.
(Note: We should discourage the use of ExpressPCB S/W due to the primitive nature of this toolset.)
b. Fabrication using T-Tech Boardmaker
3. Mechanical Packaging
a. Chassis/panel work using shear, brake, and water jet.
b. Use of SolidWorks, etc.
c. Panel labeling using engraver.
4. Automatic Test
a. Use of HP VEE, LabView, etc., to configure virtual instruments.
C. Requirements for S’02.
- Feedback/feedforward fixes. None.
- Consultant work. Project consultant opportunities for selected applicants.
- Modules. Modules focused on professionalism and entrepreneurship.
- Training. Develop training for enhancing student skills on available resources.
NOTES:
(i) You will pick from Consultant OR Training.
(ii) Everyone writes an Executive Summary of a Business Plan
1. Consultant work.
Complete a properly-scoped engineering task that has been approved. The approval process will include a summary of the proposed work (1 page max). The final deliverables will include a short application note and a brief presentation.
2. Training work.
Complete the development OR execution of a training module.
Seniors: Complete the development of a training module on an approved resource. Prepare training documentation and sample exercise(s). Conduct training of student(s). Evaluate the training results. Submit both training documentation and training evaluations.
Juniors: Complete a minimum of one training module. Evaluate the training effectiveness and recommend modifications. Submit both sample work and evaluation/recommendations.
3. Module work.
Attend series of modules that provide material about some aspects of entrepreneurship, with the focus being on the business plan. Write an executive summary for a business plan based on current clinic project.
TIMETABLE
1. Approvals. Obtain approvals for planned course of action on or before 15 FEB.
2. Complete work. Complete work (Executive Summary, Consultant OR Training) before 15 APR. That is, do not postpone completion of this work until the last minute!
The Electronic Portfolio
For a quick HTML tutorial
Fair use of IP
Your electronic portfolio will be your web site with appropriate web pages. Web
pages will be intralinked as well as linked to other web sites on the Internet
as appropriate.
Your web site should have, as a minimum:
· Home page
· Your resume viewable as a Power Point presentation.
· Your resume as a downloadable MSWord file.
· A personnel improvement plan (PIP).
· Overview of your chosen profession (or your profession of
interest)
· Graduate schools of interest to you for your profession
· Volunteer work, hobbies and interests
The home page:
It should:
· Be saved as “index.htm”
· Load quickly (less than 5 seconds)
· Be graphically interesting and legible
· Contain a message for the viewer about yourself
· Have links to the other pages (hypertext or hypermedia)
· Have an interesting background
· Have a link for viewing and downloading your resume in many
formats include a Power Point version.
. Appropriate Meta Tags (Description phrase & Keywords
including student name)
Power Point resume:
It should:
· Not have your
picture, address, or phone number
· Each slide loads in less than 5 seconds and is legible
· Have your Power Point presentations index page with author,
email, and home page correctly filled in
· Have your email address on all slides
· Have appropriate graphics on all slides
· Use the “manual build” on two but not more than three
slides
· Have a reasonable number of slides (not too many – the
reader could get bored)
· Have an objective statement that is meaningful (not “mother
and apple pie”)
· Contain a skills slide that includes both technical and
people skills
· Properly show your work experience (company,
responsibilities, results)
· Make sure you cover your list of skills here
· Include volunteer work
· Contain a list of linked (when possible) professional
organizations to which you belong
· All pages should have links to sites on the Internet as
appropriate
· Show your educational background
· Show language and culture experiences beyond English and
the USA
· Include awards and honors
· Have a “References available upon request”
Answer the following: "So you want to be a
......... What do you know
about the profession?"
Overview of your chosen profession (or your profession of interest)
It should:
· Be graphically interesting and legible
· Give a short history of the profession
· Number of people in the profession
· The average starting salary for BS/BA degrees and for MS
degrees
· Explain why the profession is of interest to you
· Identify and describe the major personalities in the
profession (at least two)
· Provide the top five companies/organizations
· Have links to all historical data, people, and
organizations
Graduate Schools of interest
It should:
· Be
graphically interesting and legible
· Identify three or more graduate schools
· Have links to all schools
· Describe what their ranking is relative to other graduate
schools
· Provide the current tuition and entering class size
(graduate program)
· Explain why you would go there.
Volunteer work, hobbies, interests, sports, etc. Page
It should:
· List
organizations to which you belong and your activity in them
· Have links to these organizations/sports (when possible)
· Include appropriate (and linked) graphics
Other linked pages.
How do you keep current with the expanding body of knowledge in your field or
interests?
You should include other web pages as part of your site if you wish. It could
very well be that your volunteer work is of such significance, for example,
that it merits its own page. This could equally apply to interests or hobbies.
Resume
Your Name
Street Address
City, State zip
Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx Email: imkool@isp.com
Fax: yyy-yyy-yyyy
Objective: Objective should be targeted to the position
for which you are applying. If position not known, then state the type of
position you are seeking and in what industry when possible.
Skill Areas: Managing
groups
Marketing Database
PR
C++
Accounting Visual basic
First
Aid JAVA
MIS
Quick Books
Experience: (your work experience and education must substantiate your skill
areas)
Date1 to Present Company A, Location
One line on company
size and mission
(dates) Position1:
(title of the position you held) and your responsibilities.
Include dates for the position if you held more than one position in the
company.
(dates) Position2, etc.
Date2 to Date1 Company B, Location
Etc.
Education Summary: List a description of special courses that help substantiate
your skill areas.
Organizations: List organizations and positions held at
school(s) and in the community - this also helps to substantiate your skill
areas.
Honors and Awards: Scholarships, Dean's list, Community
Awards, etc.
Education: Anticipated degree and year,
Rowan University
Degree, Community College
Do not include High School
References: Available upon request.
Cover Letter
Your Business Cards