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December 2005 |
Volume 2 Issue 12 |
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This issue home | Past issues | MTBC home Tech Titan Of The Future Scholarship Check Presented To Richland College Award To Help Stimulate Engineering Education In North Texas
Bill Sproull, president and CEO of the Metroplex Technology Business Council was welcomed with open arms when he recently visited an engineering class at Richland College. Of course, he did come with money – a check for $5,000 in scholarships – which he presented to Richland College President Steve Mittelstet, before an audience of faculty members and a class of some 20 students. The money represents the financial portion of the Tech Titan of the Future Award given to the Articulated AS (Associate in Sciences) degree program in Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Richland. The program replicates the first two years of computer/electrical engineering programs at the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of North Texas, allowing students to transfer directly to either university with 62-66 credit hours toward a four-year engineering degree. Richland received the Tech Titans of the Future Award at the MTBC's fifth annual Tech Titans Awards ceremony and gala held in late August at the Eisemann Center in Richardson. In presenting the check, Bill Sproull said: “There is a real crisis in engineering education in this country: there are actually less engineering graduates now than there were 10 years ago. Meanwhile, our global competition in countries around the world, particularly China, India, Korea and elsewhere, is improving the quality of their technology education and advanced research programs and dramatically turning out more and more engineering graduates. “For our companies to compete effectively in the future, we need to convince more of our young students to take the necessary math and science courses in K-12, to enroll in college and university engineering, computer science and technology degree programs, and to consider careers in high-tech. “This MTBC award recognizes educational programs which are designed to address the gap in the student pipeline in technology disciplines and/or educational programs which create a collaboration between technology businesses and educational institutions whose purpose is to provide qualified graduates to the technology industry.” In receiving the scholarship check, Dr. Mittelstet said. “It has been a pleasure working with former UTD President Franklyn Jenifer and his faculty and UNT Chancellor Lee Jackson and his faculty in developing and offering Richland's seamless engineering transfer curriculum. “Similarly, it is a pleasure working with our MTBC CEOs to strengthen the future pipeline with our public schools through initiatives such as this Tech Titan of the Future scholarship. Innovative business-university-community college-K-12 partnerships are essential to the economic vitality of our community,” said Dr. Mittelstet. The Articulated AS Engineering Degree Program According to Brent Donham, dean of the School of Engineering & Technology at Richland, the first of two AS degrees was implemented in the fall of 2004. “Prior to the implementation of the new AS engineering degrees, the primary means for a student to transfer into an engineering program was to complete the ‘core' curriculum or the field-of-study in engineering, which usually only allowed the student to transfer 23-28 credit hours. This AS engineering program allows a guaranteed block transfer of 62-66 hours. “More than 240 students registered for engineering courses in the first year of the program, demonstrating a high level of interest,” he said. There were also three AS electrical engineering graduates following the first year of the program. “The affordability and access offered by this course at Richland College makes engineering available to a group of students who otherwise might not have considered this career field,” said Donham. Enthusiastic Student Reaction Donham noted that several students attended the Tech Titans Awards ceremony and the Tech Titans of the Future Award to Richland College's program had an immediate personal impact on them. Following the event, several sent congratulatory notes. One remarked: “I don't think I have ever clapped for anyone with so much enthusiasm. I was very honored to be one of the students representing Richland College, especially when I and the other Richland students came on the big screen -- that was something! This event has made me eager to explore the field of engineering and you truly have been an inspiration for me.” Another student commented: “I feel very lucky and proud of being present at the moment in which our department was announced as winner of the Tech Titans of the Future Award. All of this honor is thanks to you and your staff which never stop working on the improvement of the quality of education that is given to us. As a student and professional, I want to say that I could not choose a better school in the U.S. ” Industry Support Of Engineering Education Bill Sproull concluded: “The MTBC and its member high-tech companies are developing programs, such as this financial contribution toward scholarships -- as well as the prestige and recognition of programs through the Tech Titans of the Future Award – that can stimulate students to take math, science, engineering and technology and to support innovative engineering/technology programs by educational institutions in the Metroplex. “We thank those MTBC companies, particularly Tech Titan sponsors Texas Instruments, Paragon Innovations, Hewlett-Packard, Entrust, MCI, InnerWireless, Intervoice, iStation, UGS, White Rock Networks, and the City of Richardson, which made specific contributions supporting the scholarship program,” he added. Tech Link is a monthly publication of the Metroplex Technology Business Council Communications Department. Contact the editor. |
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