Olin College — Re-Engineering Engineering

theodp writes "In its College Issue, the NYT Magazine profiles tuition-free Olin College, which is building a different breed of engineer, stressing creativity, teamwork, and entrepreneurship — and, in no small part, courage. But questions remain as to whether the industry is ready for the freethinking products of Olin, and vice versa. Few of the class of 2006 are going on to grad study in engineering or jobs in the field."

Hard facts first

[Gothmolly]

2 stories after the "why are no American kids going to grad school?" article, we have an article that explains how Engineering is teamwork, enthusiasm, and feeling good about yourself. Coincidence?

Misfits

[michaelmalak]

From TFA:

In some companies, he says, the freethinking products of Olin might have trouble fitting in. "Does industry want people like that? I think that's a very good question, but I think this goes beyond what industry wants," he said. "This is the right thing to do -- this is what industry needs. If the country had more people like this, we'd be in a much better situation."

Does Olin offer courses in:

• How to change Wall St. to stop looking only at the next quarter's results?
• How to deal with PHB's and bean counters?
• How to persuade the customer to fund your "freethinking" idea instead of the customer's idea?

If not, Olin is producing useless misfits. Oh, I agree that "misfit" is something "good" to be sought after in a certain sense -- creativity is what makes us human. But that's not what the economy needs in the post-Industrial Revolution world.

Y-Combinator(Olin)

[univgeek]

Interesting :-).

Y-combinator seems to be generating 40 quickie get-big-or-die-trying companies a year. What I found interesting is that in a few years 'Alumnus of Y-combinator' is going to have a very good cachet associated with it - just as an MS from a good college does. There're going to be a bunch of successes and even those who don't succeed will have the associated aura. The guys who put themselves through Y-combinator are a self-selected bunch of motivated people, who might even have an above average chance of succeeding in life.

Olin students might have similar self-selected characteristics. And in a few years, the results of that experiment - with widespread Olin alumni support - are going to be worth watching.

Note, I'm in no way related to either. Just speculating on a correlation that I see.

Re:Quasi-Old Fart Observation

[AaxelB]

I'm kinda the opposite of an old timer in engineering (a current undergrad), so maybe I can give a good opposing viewpoint.

Bean counters run companies now and they don't like what a good engineer has to say.

Olin College was my first choice when I was applying to colleges a few years back (alas, I got rejected) largely because the things they emphasize ("creativity, teamwork, and entrepreneurship") aren't geared to produce engineers that will simply serve the "bean counters" better. Note the emphasis they place on entrepreneurship. These "new" engineers are not supposed to take your standard entry-level engineering job, they're supposed to come up with brand new ideas and create new companies that will be founded on the same concepts that Olin was, thus actually chaging the role of engineers, not just how they're taught.

I think they think that long term change is easier to accomplish by changing the playing field rather than just training the players differently.

Re:Hard facts first

[Valar]

Are you suggesting that there's no teamwork in engineering?

Interesting facts:

Most airplanes are designed by one person.

Most computer chips are designed by one person.

Buildings, ditto.

Oh wait. Hmm.

Anyway, even if engineering specifically didn't require the ability to work in a team, modern life does. That's why companies exist in the first place-- you can make more money together than apart.

Disruption == Key

[DaftShadow]

One of the key ways that money is made is by disrupting the status quo. Take something that is good, and make it much better. Take something that is thought of as important, and replace it completely. Think of every great product that you know - the kind of products that changed everything how people live and work. The hammer, the wheel, the model-T, the plow, the longbow, the musket, the steam engine, the computer, automated mfg, the internet. Hell, even simple things, like the ipod. These creations have improved the possibilities of the human experience (except, maybe, the ipod ;). This is what Olin college is attempting to inspire.

Industry is floundering because it has stopped giving engineers and creative types the responsibility of actual creation. If we, as a society, wish to bring engineering and manufacturing back to our side of the world, we need colleges and programs like the ones that Olin is taking on. We need engineers who will develop & create beyond our expectations. This is important to the future success of America.

- DaftShadow

Re:courage

[b0s0z0ku]

Courage always helped me build the best bridges!

Well, it helped me tell someone higher up that the bridge he approved would collapse.

Re:Hard facts first

[Anonymous Coward]

they are valuable attributes, but some schools are teaching kids confidence at the expense of competence. I had to pull my son out of the public school system because of this. they are teaching math where the kids can get a high grade just by trying. The correct answer is not important just the effort. In this case we are graduating functional and technical idiots who feel good about themselves. Math and science are not the place to teach self esteem. I suppose you are okay with graduating engineers who don't know math but feel great about it.

Re:learning to think differently

[Pacer]

For that matter, it doesn't say "with the aid of a barometer and a superintendent" either, but it doesn't say "with ONLY the aid of a barometer," so I'm going to give him a pass.