Integrating Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Liberal Arts in UD's New Engineering Vision

Week 1 of building engineering at the University of Dubuque is in the books.

This week, I intentionally did not start by designing courses.

Instead, I started by asking a more important question:

What should our graduates be able to do?

Too often, engineering curricula are built around a collection of classes. My goal is different. I want engineering at the University of Dubuque to be built around student learning outcomes - focusing first on what students will learn, experience, and become.

As I developed the initial learning outcomes this week, several themes emerged:

• Strong technical engineering competence.
• An entrepreneurial mindset that encourages curiosity, opportunity recognition, and value creation.
• Innovative and creative problem-solving skills.
• Effective communication and collaboration across disciplines.
• The ability to integrate engineering knowledge with broader perspectives gained through a liberal arts education.

One aspect I'm particularly excited about is creating opportunities for engineering students to work alongside students from disciplines outside of engineering. The most impactful solutions to today's challenges rarely come from a single discipline. Engineers need to understand people, business, communication, ethics, and design - not just technology.

The vision for engineering at the University of Dubuque is an engineering education that seamlessly intertwines technical expertise, innovation, entrepreneurship, and the strengths of a liberal arts foundation.

This is only Week 1, but starting with the end in mind feels like the right place to begin.

Jodi Prosise, PhD, a mechanical and biomedical engineer, is the inaugural director of engineering at UD. She will coordinate designing, developing, and launching an industry-driven four-year engineering program with specialized tracks in fall 2027, pending Higher Learning Commission approval.