An Experimental Course For First Year Students: Leadership In Engineering

A first-year leadership course was created for engineering students. The purpose of the class was to develop stronger leadership skills in undergraduate engineering students early on in their college career. This was done by actively engaging students in leadership activities that gave opportunities for practicing skills while also providing classroom instruction on leadership theories, issues, and concepts. Industry has expressed a need for graduating engineering students to have stronger leadership skills and since it is believed that these skills can be learned and developed through active involvement in student organizations, this was incorporated into the overall construction of the course. Results from analyzing the journal writings of students in the class show that this course had a substantial impact on them, not only on how they viewed leadership, but also in their reported gain in self-awareness and knowledge about others in terms of personality and gender differences, communication styles, teamwork, and conflict management. While the students will be followed for the next four years to look at longitudinal data, the initial findings indicate that this can be a valuable course for first-year students.