IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2017 - 51

know-how is used in practice. We
teach students copious amounts of
math, physics, chemistry, and now
programming, to make them careerprepared; but are we as educators
effectively developing students'
problem-solving mindsets? Solving
complex real-world challenges is not
straightforward. Students need to
develop an engineering mindset, one
that allows them to ask the right set
of questions to unpack situational
challenges. No one can math themselves out of a real-world problem
if they don't possess the correct
domain and contextual knowledge.
Similarly, while only a small fraction
of students will become entrepreneurs, an entrepreneurial mindset,
a way of thinking and doing that
demonstrates leadership, initiative,
innovation, ownership, responsibility - creating something new and
getting things done - can help
students be successful in any pursuit. HESE teaches problem-solving
using data- and evidence-driven
approaches. But the most important
thing it teaches is how to discern the
scope of problems and identify the
ones that are ripe for solving, or are
even solvable. HESE is designed to
offer broad, multifaceted views of
real-world problems and address
how classroom knowledge can substantively affect them. This readily
answers the question that so many
students, and women in particular,
have voiced about their classroom
education: "How can I use this?" As
one student reflected,

tangible ways to illustrate that
engineering, technology, and
specifically bioengineering are
important and helpful on a
global scale.

Students graduating from universities today are entering an increasingly complex and rapidly changing
job market both within and beyond
global sustainable development.
HESE helps students develop two
Throughout the program, HESE
distinct mindsets. First, they develop
students learn core life skills such
a STEM-centric mindset of problem
as negotiation, ethical decisionsolving, systems thinking. This promaking, effective communication,
vides competency in quantitative,
and how to create win-win partnerdata-driven, and evidence-based apships. Students are involved in dipproaches. This mindset is complelomatic conversations bet ween
mented by liberal arts competencies
stakeholders and they find opportuand mindsets like empathy, comnities to help others save face. They
munication skills, contextual underalso witness first-hand how hard work
standing, global quotient, ethical
can lead to real change in people's
decision-making, and resilience and adaptability to different situations. Women in
particular have used HESE
as a transformative expe"I have always wanted to change
rience to carve their way
forward in engineering as a
the world, and now I am ready!"
caregiving and socially innovative profession.
lives; a powerful experience at any
#10 Build the Foundations
age. Experiencing this as a student
of a Careers
is particularly transformative. HESE
HESE students take on large probgraduates leave the program not only
lems that cannot be solved by a
more capable - as learners, listensingle discipline, such as food securiers, engineers, and practitioners -
ty, accessibility of healthcare, and
but more driven. They leave saying,
climate change resilience. We have
"I have always wanted to change
found that this makes our graduthe world, and now I am ready!" For
ates incredibly attractive to potenwomen, HESE shows that they have
tial employers because students
a place not just in classes, or at Penn
become multi-faceted problem
State, but in the business of changesolvers, representing the future of
making as a whole, and their degree
the engineering profession. As Mary
in engineering is going to be a gateWells, Chair of the Ontario Network
way to that impact-focused career.
of Women in Engineering explained,

Sometimes, it is hard for me
to envision how slow and
small advances in research,
studying math theorems, etc.,
actually helps to benefit anyone out there in the world.
This HESE course, the Mashavu [telemedicine] project, and
all of the other HESE projects
as well, will hopefully serve as
DECEMBER 2017

of engineers as "geeks," (something we are proud of) we
need to acknowledge the
engineering profession is integral in the improvement of the
human condition. In many
cases, engineers are now the
technical ambassadors that
bridge the divide between
technology and society.

Moving Forward

No longer is an engineer just
the technical specialist who
does only complex calculations. Despite media portrayal
∕

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

We at HESE certainly don't know
if our model is the right formula to
achieve gender parity in engineering
and entrepreneurship. Maybe, there

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2017