_ _ learning in industry

Th is column provides exa mples of cases in which students have gained know ledge, insight. and experie nce in the practice of chemical engineering while in an industrial setting. Summer intern ships and co-o p assig nments typify such experiences; however, reports of more unusual cases are also welcome. Description of the analytical tools used and the skills developed during the project should be emp hasized. These exa mples should stimulate innovative approac hes to bring real world tools and experiences back to ca mpus for integration into the curriculum. Please submit manuscripts to Professor W . J. Koros, Chemical Engineering Department, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712.

FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE WORKPLACE

Motivating Students to Learn in Industry
A. CHRISTIAN FRICKE
R ensselaer Poly tech nic Institute T roy, NY 121 80

hat makes a successful engi neer? No one wo uld deny that technical ex pertise is critica l to mastering real-world engineer ing pro blem s. Yet techni ca l mastery is only half the battle; there are also many complex social skills that must be learned in order to make successful use of technical knowledge in a workplace setting.

lized , enginee ring ed uca tors ca n increase stude nts' effectiveness in putt ing this techn ical mater ial to use in the wo rkplace. T here exists a real need to alert undergraduates to the fact that excelling in the classroom , although critica l, is only half the eq uation in prep aring to be an effe ctive professio nal. Otherwise naive stude nts need to be ex plici tly made aware of the see mingly co mmo nse nse notion that one must indeed "learn in industry" in order to be a successful co rporate engineer.

T he purp ose of this article is twofold. First, it will note a few examples of spec ific nontechn ical skills that can be useful in managing the day-to-da y wo rkplace rea lities of a BS-level engineer. Th ese skills and strategies are taken from the author' s personal experience in wo rking as a process engineer for three years at a mid-sized manufacturing co nsulting firm, as well as fro m co nversations with and obse rvations of dozens of co lleagues working in varied chemica l and mechani ca l product design and manu facturing settings. The majority of these enginee rs were within six years of graduation and we re in the process of learning the soc ial skills necessary for moving up the corporate ladd er from technicall y oriented process position s to more business-oriented managerial function s. It is hoped that these observations will pro ve useful to engi neer ing professors who have not wo rked for an appreci able amount of time at the BS level and who therefore have ex perie nced the indu strial setting in a much different co ntext. Second , th is article will outline seve ral ways in whic h the need for acquiring these informal skills ca n be co mmunicated to the vas t majority of stude nts who will end their education at the BS level. T he co nvey ance of tec hnical co ncepts, skills, and informat ion is undoubtedly what the und ergraduate experience is all about, but by suggesting some of the social co ntexts within whic h these skills will be mobi84

STUDENT PERCEPTIONS
T his need is illustrated by a recent sur vey of se venty-s ix undergraduate engineers at Rensselaer Polytechni c Institute (RPI) in wh ich 95% indicated they had a "very fir m" or at least a "somewhat fir m" idea of what the daily wo rk ex perience of an ave rage engineer is like (see Figur e I). A close look at the numbers ind icates tha t students likely do not have the fir m grasp of engineering wor kplace realities that they profess. For instance , there was no correlation between stude nts '
A. Christian Fricke graduated Irom North Carolina State University with as degrees in chem ical engineering and biochemistry. He has worked in a Merck Pharmaceuticals produ ction facility, as a research assistant in a molecular genetics laboratory , and as a process engineer for CTC, a manufacturing consulting firm with headquarters in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He is currently a doctoral candidate in the Science and Technology Studies program at RPI.

Copyrig ht ChE Division of A SEE 1999

Chemical Engineering Education

There exis ts a real n eed to al ert undergraduates to th e fact that excelling in the classroom, although critical, is only half the e quation in preparin g to be an effective p rof essional. .. S uc cess on th e job . . . en tails learning many com p lex soci al beha viors in addition to tho se n ecessary for cla ssroom success. It al so en tails developing an en tire ly n ew p ersp ecti ve on what constitutes "engin eering."
rep orted knowled ge of "what it is that engineers do on a dail y basis" and their personal relationships. Students who had no close relatives or acquaintances with engineering backgro unds (more than 60 % of those surveyed) were j ust as like ly to ind icat e a firm knowledge of dai ly working realities as those with enginee rs "in the famil y." In the abse nce of actual engineers to talk with and observe, stude nt conceptions of " workplace rea lities" are vague and simplistic at best.

TABLE 1
Overall Survey Results
(76 respondents)
Response to the allestion : " Do yOIl have a finn idea of what it is that engineers do all a dail y basis ?"

multiple poten tiall y "correct" so lutions . In his book Design ing Engi neers, [2 J Loui s Bucciarelli characterizes these fundamentally social aspects of engi neering design and practice in the follow ing mann er:

rP[articipan ts in design work within a rich,

Very Firm Idea: Somewh at Finn Idea: No Finn Idea: No Idea Whatsoever:

Thi s simplistic view can und ermine an engi neer's effective ness in accomplishing per sonal, professional, and societal goa ls in the wor kplace . In addition, the apparently prevalent stude nt attitude of believing they alread y know what pro fessional wo rking realiti es are all abo ut can seriously limit the benefit s to be gained from intern and co-op ex periences . The se experience s provide the ideal setting for obse rving the practical day-to-day social skills and strateg ies necessary for BS-Ievel success . In order to realize this benefit, however, stude nts must be actively looking for these potential lessons in the first place.

multidimensional environment that reaches well beyond the narrow confi nes of their 30% own object worlds. A customer 's needs are 65% n01 given or discovered, but must be cre5% ated; an ope rator's capabilities must be de0% fi ned; building codes need interpretation; costs must be tried 0 111; budget limits must be agreed upon. The task must be organized into subtasks; suppliers IIl11st be coaxed to commit to a price and delivery date; the dropou t prob lem at Photoquik must be COl I struc ted. All of this is designing. In all of this, choices are being made, decisions fo reshadowed, and possibi lities discounted.

In other wor ds, worki ng eng ineers must create and mana ge forma l and info rma l social structures in order to generate built produ cts. Success on the j ob therefore entails learnin g many co mplex soc ial behav iors in addition to those necessary for class roo m succes s. It also entai ls developing an entirely new perspecti ve on what co nstitutes "e ngi nee ring." Without restruc turi ng the entire unde rgraduate ex perience to incorporate these wor kplace lessons, engi neering educators can nevert heless prep are students for this impend ing paradi gm shift by at lea st bringin g it to their attention. In addition, there are many specific exercises that can be easily incorp orated into the ex isting und ergraduate curric ulum to reinforce some of the nont echn ical social sk ills necessary for success in the corporate workpl ace.

UNDERGRADUATE SOCIALIZATION
Th e majorit y of und ergraduate students form their first co ncrete conception of "engineering" through survey co urses and introdu ctory seminars that are structured to help freshman and first-semester sophomore students choo se a particular discipline . At RPI , for exa mple, seco nd-semester freshman students take a course , titled "E ngineering Seminar ," that is designed to "provide the student with info rmation relati ve to the various engi nee ri ng field s and cur ric ula r area s."!'! Th e se types of survey co urses gene ra lly foc us on the end products of engi nee ri ng wo rk . In other wo rds, the y e mphas ize what it is th at th e vario us di sciplines accomplish. They lea ve under graduates w ith a fee li ng that th ey und er st and wha t it is that e ng inee rs do, but with out an appreciati on for th e socia l realiti es of how these task s are ac complished . This distinction is significant. Undergraduate coursework fosters the perception that the enginee ring working ex per ience is one of solving hig hly conce ptual, well-defi ned, science-based problems in a largely indi vidu alized setting, wit h emphasis on arrivi ng at a single, objectively "correct" solution. But the reality that working enginee rs enco unter is one of solving highl y practical, undefined, procedur al-ba sed problems in an extremel y tight-knit soc ial setting , resulting in
winter / 999

WORKPLACE REALITIES
Acco rding to one ea rly ' 80s study , "technical pro fessi onals typicall y spend over a third of their wo rk week writing, editing, or prep arin g reports.t'l" If you also include co mposing letters, proposals, draftin g schedules and procedures, takin g field notes, and ge nera ting other more informal modes of written co mmunication, then "writing" eas ily occupies more than half of the typ ical engin eer ' s work ex perience. Oral co mmunication also occ upies a maj or porti on of the engineer's time. Th is can include time spent in meetings or on the phone with vendors or customers, time spent on the shop floor interacting with techni cians and workers, etc.
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Ta ken together, these two activities comprise by far the bulk of an engi neer' s wor k week . In the work place setting that the vast majorit y of graduates will enter, typical engineers will likely use only 10% of their techn ical bac kgro und 10% or so of the tim e. Of cour se, the specific 10% will vary wide ly for eac h indi vidual, making tech nical breadth within the curriculum essential. But the fact remains that most of a worki ng BS-Ievel engineer' s time will be spent not active ly solving technical probl ems, but instead communicatin g potenti al techni cal solutions to others. Engineers' effectiveness, reputation, and ca reer success wi ll be based on technical ex pertise, yet determined by how well they manage to tran slate this expertise into action through masterin g such nontechnica l workplace skills as effective co mmunication, org anization, and persuasion . Thi s is, of course, not a one-way flow of info rmation. For every memo that is written or presentation that is give n, someone (presumably) read s and listens. The success ful engineer also has to take in and interpre t an enormo us amount of written and verbal information. Organi zing and making effec tive use of this infor mation requires good cr itica l reading and listenin g skills. Given the enormous amount of inform ation ge nerated in the typ ical co rpor ate workplace , qu ickly and effec tively separating the whea t from the chaff is an important skill in itse lf. The vast maj ority of a BS engi neer 's time is taken up with both taki ng in and communicating informat ion. Success requi res possessing the " nontechnical" skills necessary to first reco gnize and then convince and organize others to act on information that is important.

complex social realities of engi neeri ng practice by givi ng them a tangibl e feel for the workplace setting that most will find themsel ves in.
Usin g Pop ular Culture One resource for accomplishing this is the com ic strip " Dilbert." In many respects, " Dilbert" is an entirely acc urate ethnog raphic acco unt of the typ ical BS-Ievel enginee ring experience . According to one leading management co nsultant.I" "It' s not a comic strip, it' s a doc umentary-it provides the best window into the reality of corporate life that I' ve ever see n." It therefore provides an exce llent reso urce for undergradu ates' (or anyone else, for that matter) interested in the daily interactions of practicing corporate engineers. "Dilbert" ca n be read as pro vidin g very specific, contextualized examples of the man y workp lace issues and cha llenges that BS-Ievel engineers must confro nt and ove rcome in the process of applying their technical knowledge to rea l-wo rld prob lems.

Of course, illustration does not imply prescription. "Dilbert" should cer tainly not be taken as illustratin g a social ideal or model for how engineering professionals ought to navigate these issues. It can, however, offer a view of what some of these issues are and mot ivate students to contemplate how they would manage similar circumstances in a more constructive manner. "Dilbert " provides an alternative insider' s perspec tive that, if presented as serious social satire and critique, ca n be a valuable learn ing too l for preparing for the reality of the engineering workplace, Taking "Dilbert" as ser ious soci al comm entary can prepare students for making the leap from view ing corporate enginee ring as a purely technica l activity to see ing it as a techn ically mediated , yet esse ntially soc ial, endeavor. It can also prevent the disillusion ment co mmonly generated by the ex perience of realizing that dai ly workplace rea lities are qu ite different fro m naive undergradu ate preconceptions.
Discussin g Specific Strategies ' A truly comprehensive list of specific social skills useful for man aging "Dilbert"like situations in a co nstruc tive mann er would be almost infinite in length. Thi s sec tion merely present s five strategies that ca n be particularly critical to workplace succes s. "N ewly minted" BS-Ievel corporate engineers usually learn these strategies only after a sometimes painful and potentially damaging period of tria l and error. Discussing these import ant nont echn ical skills within the context of appropri ate undergraduate co ursework ca n benefit grad uates by accelerating their on-the-jo b learning curve enormously. I. Sa ve everything that crosses yo ur desk, Undergraduate educa tion reinforces the notion that when something is "done," it' s ove r with. With the end of eac h semester, textbooks are returned to the bookstore and class notes are relegated to recycled paper bins. But in the real wor ld, proj ects never really come to an end. You never know when, say , a cost analysis done for a long-forgotten proposal mig ht come in handy.
Chemical Engineering Education

CONVEYING WORKPLACE REALITIES

So, how ca n you alert engineering undergradu ates to this reality? One strategy is to suggest that effective communication is an esse ntial engineerin g skill-one that can be j ust as important as any techni ca l ability. In the words of histori an Henry Petroski.!" "s ome of the most accomplished engineers of all time have paid as much attention to their words as to their numb ers, to their sentences as to their eq uations, and to their reports as to their designs." Point ing out to students the vital importance of mastering effec tive writing, reading, speaking, and listening reinforces the notion of engineering practice as a soc ial activity. Yet there are many other " nontec hnical" skills that are also important to success at the BS level. If presented to students at all, these skills are most often communicated in the most genera l of terms, with successful enginee rs described as possessing "curiosity," "perseve rance," "se lf-co nfidence," "c ommon sense," and so forth. What undergraduates need is a reso urce that highlights the importance of specific skills, moti vated by a concrete social co ntext and picture of the day-to-da y realiti es of corporate enginee ring practice. The key is to mot ivate stude nts to appreciate the
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Saving old work (even draft work) can prevent future duplication of effort. 2. Document everything in writing. There is no such thing as an unambiguous verbal order. 3. Learn to use a daily planner. Some corporations provide a standard dayplanner system free of charge to techn ical employees, but even if their use is not officially encouraged, dayplanners are an essential tool for maintaining order in personal and project schedules (planning meetings, scheduling travel, keeping notes, maintaining contacts, etc.). Undergraduates are used to having order imposed for them- tests, project deadlines, class times, course materials, etc., are all organized in advance. This leaves novice engineers completely unprepared for the job of creating their own order from the chaos of daily events. A good dayplanner system is an indispensable tool for managing this process. 4. Use the "plus a fifth " rule. One of the most difficult things to learn in managing complex techn ical efforts is how to acco unt for the unexpected. Even the most detailed, well-researched proposal or project plan can be subject to unanticipated delays, setbacks, cost overruns, and instances of Murphy' s Law in action. Planning for the unforeseeable is a management skill that can only be learned through experience. In the meantime, beginnin g engi neers can instead simply assume that all but the most straightforward tasks will take 20% longer and cost at least 20% more than expected. Even if nothing goes wrong. coming in significantly under budget and ahead of schedule can be much preferable to the alternative for all involved. 5. Learn where and when to compromise. A critical skill for managing working relationships is knowing when an issue is important enough to battle over. One engineer who is employed by a large tool and homeappliance manufacturer characterizes this as realizing that "the sun doesn't rise and set on a toaster oven." Maintaining an uncompromising stance on, say, the color of a new product can make collaboration impossible. But no compromise should ever be made on any aspect of engineering design, production, or management that infringes on the health or social welfare of others. Students should recognize that they will have to make such distinctions for themselves and that the answers will rarely be clear-cut and obvious. Practicillg Workplace Strategies ill the Classroom In addition to simply discussing the aforementioned strategies, there are also many relatively simple. straightforward teaching techniques that can be employed to help students develop positive social working skills like good communication, organization. planning, patience, etc. Once again, presenting a truly comprehensive list would be impossibleWillie!" / 999

this is merely a collection of seven specific activities to illustrate the breadth of possibilities. I. Performing peer evaluations fo r student oral presenrat ions. Having undergraduates evaluate one another' s presentations in a structured manner would focus listening skills and give students practice in recognizing key points, initiating critical discussion, etc. 2. Practicing giving oral and written equipment operation and sampling procedure directions. Unitop labs provide a plethora of opportunities for sharpening interpersonal communication skills. For example, students could actively direct and observe each other rather than passively following TA instructions. Also, students could be required to generate written operation and sampling procedures for subsequent lab groups to follow. These experiences would highlight the importance of precision and clarity in giving both written and verbal direction. 3. Swapping notes for lab reports. Another potential unit-ops exercise would be to require groups to exchange notes and generate reports based on each other's data. This would highlight the importance of preserving data and other information for unexpected future uses while also stressing the necessity of precision and clarity in all forms of engineering communication. 4. Writing and presenting standard business communications. Practice in writing and speaking can be combined with aiding students in their job search. First, students could be asked to research and produce a short report and presentation on a particular industry or market. Then students could generate a resume and letter of application to an appropriate company based on their researc h. This would give students practice in evaluating what is important to individuals working within other organizations, while at the same time reinforcing proper business communications etiquette. sharpening business research skills, etc. Students could also gain valuable experience from attending departmental seminars and producing short memos or similar communications detailing key information presented, summarizing discussions, etc. 5. Producing detailed proj ect plans. Senior design courses also provide a wealth of opportunities for practicing nontechnical, "real-world," social and organizational skills. For example, students could be required to generate detailed project proposals outlining specifically what is to be done and how it will be acco mplished, complete with a breakdown of activities. timelines for completion, etc. This would give students experience in organizing work and delegating responsibility in a formal and considered fashion. Couplin g this activity with a proposal
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prese ntation wo uld also give students practice in clearl y artic ulatin g and advoca ting a proposed co urse of action. Also, requiring periodic project updat es would prompt students to manage delays and setbacks in an orga nized fashion .

pitfalls, and a complex combination ofmany other discrete social skills. )

Convince others to follow

(This invol ves recognizing that the importance and urgency of a "problem " and the fe asibility of a "solution " are directly proportional to the skill and clarity with which they are presented and defin ed.)

6. Dealing with vendors. Ano ther good senior desig n experience wou ld be to ask students not ju st to mode l a proce ss, but to also locate , spec out , and price the specific equipmen t necessary to make the process run. This could be done by simply giving students access to a Thomas Register (now available on the Internet) and a telephone. This would expose students to the realities of uncertainty and would likely require manage ment of time and (imaginary) cost overru ns. 7. Rotating group members and respo nsibilities. Performing well on corporate-engineering project team s means respo nding co nstructively to change. This can be simulated in the classroom by requiring students to periodically res huffle project, lab , and ho mework gro ups. Similarly, specific roles such as coordinator, note taker, etc ., ca n be rotated within groups. Having to con stantly fill new roles and interact with different indiv iduals wo uld sharpen both leadership and collaborative, coo pera tive interpersonal skills.
In genera l, implementing these activities would requ ire so me extra TA wor k and addi tional time spent in providing more quali tative feedback on assignments. But all of these sugge stio ns can be incorporated into existing coursework with a minimum of curricular disruption.

Cooperate in dea ling with conti ngencies

(This invol ves realizing that exe rcising pati ence and understanding with one 's group members generates the cooperative solidarity necessary fo r overcoming crises.)

Unde rgraduat es should view them selves as continually striving to meet this positi ve idea l through the con stant acquisition of co nstructive prac tical socia l skills.

CONCLUSION
In summary, undergraduate engineering student s likely confuse familiari ty with what engineers produce with what professional engineers actua lly do on a daily basi s. This confusion is reinforced through introductory engineering survey courses and an overall curriculum that emphasizes the built prod ucts and techni cal aspects of engi neering over the social processes throug h which these prod ucts are generated. Although stude nts are give n an opportunity for direct exposure to enginee ring wor kplace real ities through intern and co-o p ex perie nces, the aforeme ntioned preconcept ions are counterproductive to using these exp eriences in the context of developing genuine, conscious insight into the essential social aspects of engineering practice . Engineering educa tors would benefit students by simply alerting them to the fact that the creative, cha llenging process of learning to "do" engineering wi ll not end, but only begi ns, at grad uatio n. Likewi se, undergradu ates would benefit from being presented with contextualized exa mples of the daily workplace realities of corporate engineerin g life. Takin g a few moments to illustrate the soc ial side of engineeri ng practice, along with devoting some curricular effort to reinforci ng these aspects of engineering work , would help motivate studen ts to think abou t their professional futures in concrete term s and provide undergradu ates with a co nstructive context for developing positive professional soc ial ski lls. In the end, this would result in more reflexive , more effective engi neer ing professionals.

Outlinin g the Positi ve " Qualities of Succ ess " Finally, simply presenting a few specific context s of engineering practice can also motivate students to begin think ing about the contrasts between their undergraduate educational experience and their impendin g BS-Ievel working reality. For example, successful engineers (whether employed in sales, processing, design , manage ment, or any other capac ity) are often called upon to

Recognize problems th at aren ' t a pparent

(For example, being abl e to walk thro ugh a production fl oor and see opportunitiesfor cost-savings, or recogni ze subtle ethical questions that others overlook.)

Define problems that a re nebul ous

(Problems in the real world rarely come numb ered for easy refe rence.)

REFERENCES
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. "E ngi neeri ng Seminar," Rensselaer Catalog 1996-9 7, RP I Publication s, Tro y, NY, 3 17 (1996) Bu cciarelli , Lou is L., Designing Engin eers, MIT U niversity Press, Cambridge, MA, 149 (1994) Lampe , D.H., "E ngine ers' Invisible Activity: Writing," Tech nology R ev., 73, April (1983) Pet roski, H., "E ngine ers as Writers ," Amer. S cient ist, 423, September-October (1993) Levy , S., "Dilber t' s World," Newsweek, 53, August 12 (1996)

Choose solutions tha t are realistic

(A skill that doesn 't necessarily mean limitin g the range

ofpossible solutions-often the most successful enginee rs are ones who recogni ze the pra ctical possibiliti es of seemingly impra ctical approa ches.)

Plan how to mak e solutio ns wor k

(A process that includes marshalling resources, motivat-

ing others, keepin g people on task, recogni zing potential

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Chemical Engineering Education