Business and management competency of engineers: Curriculum and assessment

It is a global trend that those engineers who are proficient with the principles of business and management are rewarded with leadership roles. With the growing interdependence between technology, industry, economy and society, more opportunities will be available for engineers to exercise their potential as leaders, not only in business but also in the nonprofit and government sectors. In this paper, the following questions are addressed: What does it mean for engineers to have business and management competency? How can engineering schools prepare their students to attain the type of business and management competency demanded by industry? The analysis presented in this paper addresses the above questions in the following ways. First it defines the meaning of business and management competency for engineers. Second, it offers a minimum learning criterion for the business and management competency of engineers and a set of three learning outcomes of engineering management education. Third, this paper shows the results of an industry demand survey for engineering management education as well as provides a review of the global educational trends in this field in the U.S., Japan and Korea. Finally, the leading examples and lessons learned from engineering management education at Yonsei University are presented, and recommendations are made.