Enabling The U.S. Engineering Work Force For Technological Innovation: The Role Of Interactive Learning Among Working Professionals

This is the second of four invited papers prepared for a special panel session of the National Collaborative Task Force on Engineering Graduate Education Reform to enable a strong U.S. engineering workforce for competitiveness and national security. There has been a significant increase in educational opportunities for the working professional, as employees and their companies have recognized the criticality of continuous learning to sustaining economic growth and prosperity in a highly competitive global economy. To meet the needs of a demanding and highly diverse constituency, educators have experimented with a wide range of program formats, modalities, and pedagogy in an effort to insure a high quality learning experience in the face of significant career obligations. This paper focuses on the benefits of employing a cohort-based learning model for practicing engineers and all professionals who wish to develop their technical and innovative skills. It will highlight the experiences of two graduate programs that are structured around a cohort model but have adopted different delivery strategies, to provide an illustration of how institutions can tailor the cohort model to meet the needs of its key stakeholders.