A new Engineering Business Minor and two certificate programs, in Engineering Business and in Global Engineering, have been approved for launch in fall 2011. The new Engineering Business offering is a collaboration between U of T’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and the Rotman School of Management.
“The goal of the new Engineering Business Minor is to give our engineers the basic business concepts that will enable them to move across the technology-business barrier that often exists in companies,” said Professor Jonathan Rose (ECE), the new program Director. “They will be able to engage in the strategic business thinking that goes on and bring much more to the table when combined with their technological and scientific acumen.”
Students interested in the Engineering Business Minor will take a set of six courses in strategy and marketing, accounting and finance, as well as management and entrepreneurship. An Engineering Business Certificate will require the completion of three courses.
The new Engineering Business Minor will enable engineering students to understand and operate in the language of business, and to engage more fully in the companies in which they work, says Professor Rose.
With the creation of the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) in 2009, U of T Engineering will also offer a new Global Engineering Certificate, through which students will be able to develop their knowledge of global issues including global energy systems, innovative finance techniques, and current theories in international development and foreign aid. To graduate with a Global Engineering Certificate, engineering students must successfully complete three courses.
“In today’s global marketplace, we want to graduate engineers with a strong technical foundation who are also business-literate, with international knowledge, leadership and entrepreneurial skills,” said Cristina Amon (MIE), Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.
“Our Engineering Business Minor graduates will understand all aspects of engineering work, from inception of an idea to technological innovation and commercialization, through strategy, marketing, management and finance; they will be able to manage the technology as well as the business aspects of their jobs.
“Our Global Engineering Certificate will prepare U of T engineers to work internationally, both overseas as well as from home.”
