CPACE Advisory Board Executive Summary
October 30, 2008
This document summarizes key progress to date. We will discuss the findings in greater detail at the Advisory Board meeting.
The overarching goals of the CPACE project for this period were:
- Design and test interview and survey protocols
- Engage engineering and technology stakeholders in the region to conduct interviews and to connect with employees for surveys
- Interview representatives of engineering and technology companies, including executives and HR representatives
Preliminary Results
These results are based on a set of employer interviews: seven pilot
interviews and six interviews with companies represented in the Advisory
Board. Analyzes of employer interviews to date reveal some common
themes that employers are seeking in their engineering workforce.
- Employers desire engineers who are capable of using a variety of engineering and standard business software including:
o process simulation
o computer-aided design (CAD)
o collaboration and project management tools
o spreadsheets
o modeling software
o facility with programming languages
- Employers place a high value in interpersonal skills such as
communication skills, ability to organize and present data and team
work. Critical and innovative thinking as well as problem solving are
important attributes.
- Employers place a high value on the ability of engineers to
understand engineering principles and use computational tools to solve
engineering problems by moving between abstractions in software and
physical systems.
- Employers see trends towards computational globalization which
translates to the need for engineers to understand business practices
and the importance of integrating engineering data across larger systems
(i.e., logistics & ordering).
Advisory Board Meeting Discussion
We will present more information about these findings during the
Advisory Board meeting on October 30 and have discussion of the findings
regarding:
- Current Engineering Practices
- Computational Aspects of Engineering
- Future of Engineering
Comments
I assume the 2nd bullet from the bottom is being compared to the one above it when you say higher.
Looks fine to me in the short time I have to look at it.
Louise

Posted by Louise Paquette at Oct 17, 2008 15:07 |
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