Date, 2008 ADDRESS The project initially will target the regional economies of Michigan and parts of the Midwest, but the methods developed and information gathered in our project will be disseminated nationwide. The intent of the CPACE project is to develop a collaborative process for engaging business and industry along with post-secondary education institutions (i.e., Michigan State University and Lansing Community College) to better understand and align computing education with the knowledge and skill development needs of the engineering workforce. More information about CPACE is available at our web site at http://cpace.egr.msu.edu. We hope that you agree that this is a great opportunity to collaboratively identify curricular opportunities and foster curriculum change to meet the continually shifting workforce needs of our economy. We are enclosing more detailed information about the CPACE community-building project and what your role would be if you decided to participate. Please review this document. We hope you share our vision of how important and fruitful your participation would be. The initial meeting of the CPACE Advisory Board will be held on Thursday, April 24, 2008, from 10 AM until 1 PM in the Engineering Building at MichiganStateUniversity. Our project coordinator, Dr. Mark Urban-Lurain will be contacting you within the next couple of weeks to discuss the project, determine your interest in participating, and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, please contact him directly via phone at (517) 432-2152 x 119 or by e-mail at urban@msu.edu. Thank you in advance for your kind consideration. Sincerely, Thomas F. Wolff, Ph.D., P.E. Principal Investigator, CPACE Project Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies CollegeofEngineering
WHAT IS CPACE?CPACE (A Collaborative Process to Align Computing Education with Engineering Workforce Needs) is a community building project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop a collaborative process for engaging business and industry along with post-secondary education institutions to better understand and align computing education with the knowledge and skill development needs of the engineering workforce. WHAT PROBLEM DOES CPACE ADDRESS?American industries require employees with strong computation-based problem solving skills. Traditionally, industry needs have been couched in terms proficiency with specific applications rather than around functional capabilities. Also traditionally, academic institutions developed curricula that address disciplinary principles independent of industry needs. The CPACE project seeks to address these problems by developing innovative solutions to help industry and higher education meet societal needs for an improved engineering workforce. WHAT WILL CPACE DO?CPACE will develop, implement, and evaluate a process to create an academic/industry community as a lynchpin of curricular change. The specific project goal is to demonstrate the process in the context of meeting business and industry need for computational problem solving in a way that can be generalized across other academic fields.
WHO IS INVOLVED?CPACE's Principal Investigator is Tom Wolff, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies at MichiganState University's (MSU) CollegeofEngineering. Supporting MSU as the lead institution are Lansing Community College, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, Western Michigan University (evaluation), and representatives of ABET, Inc., a national accrediting body for post-secondary engineering programs.
The project will support efforts of the Mid-Michigan Innovation Team (MMIT) and other region's engaged in the US Department of Labor's Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) initiative. WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM ME?The CPACE implementation team is convening an advisory group representing a mix of business, industry and academic representatives who understand 21st century computational skills that engineers of today and tomorrow will need to successfully compete on the job. We have invited you because we see you as meeting most of the following characteristics: - Understand and appreciate the important role computational skills play in 21stcentury engineering practice; - Have a professional interest/stake in the project, which is expected to extend through August, 2009; - Have technical engineering expertise and understand (and anticipate) the field's computational needs; and - Represent at least one cross section of the following engineering disciplines: computer/computer science, chemical, mechanical, industrial, electrical, bio-agricultural, civil, and applied. Participants from business, industry and academia should be able to provide perspectives on their sectors' needs for computational applications in engineering, with academic stakeholders also being in a position eventually to affect curricular change. We will rely on business, industry, professional associations, and professional society representatives to connect us to their peers and members who can provide input through interviews and surveys about how to improve engineering-related computational skills. WHAT WOULD MY INVOLVEMENT ENTAIL?CPACE partners will participate in regular quarterly meetings with well-qualified engineering stakeholders representing business and academia. Mindful of those with long distances to travel and of people's already busy schedules, we will integrate a mix of in-person and video conferences, with the former typically held at Michigan StateUniversity's East Lansing campus. The purpose of the meetings will be to provide strategic direction for the project's implementation. The CPACE implementation team will provide video conferencing infrastructure, a listserv, and wiki/interactive website that will house project information, messages, and other critical communications. HOW DO I ACCEPT, SEND REGRETS, OR SUGGEST A SUBSTITUTE?Contact: Mark Urban-Lurain, Ph.D. urban@msu.edu http://www.msu.edu/~urban More information on the CPACE web site: http://cpace.egr.msu.edu |
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