Strategic Plan

Education and Outreach Committee:

The education and outreach activities of the ERC are coordinated through an education and outreach committee that has a representative from each participating school. This committee oversees the development, implementation and assessment of various programs targeting undergraduate and graduate student education relevant to the ERC, industry-specific training initiatives and K-12 outreach initiatives.

Members of the committee from the center include:

Henrik Pedersen - Chair, Rutgers University
Aisha Lawrey - Rutgers University
Zulma Marreo - Rutgers University
Kwabena Albert Narh - New Jersey Institute of Technology
Nelson Cardona-Martinez - University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
Mariano Savelski - Rowan University

Carl Wassgren - Purdue University

Vision:

The Engineering Research Center on Structured Organic Particulate Systems (ERC-SOPS directs a significant portion of its efforts and resources to education and outreach. We are continuing to make excellent progress; building on the foundation we laid by raising the bar. The overall program theme is “Building Foundations: From A.B.C. to P.H.D. to J.O.B.” which covers four components, the two main components are Engineering the Future Outreach Program and Education Training Institute while we will use the other two components Program Evaluation and Technology as tools to accomplish our goals.

This new structure still emphasizes our impact and feasibility while strongly leveraging existing institutional resources for pre-college, undergraduates, graduates, and professionals. The aim has been to produce engineering graduates who are able to apply their knowledge across disciplines to advance technology based on first-hand experience with systems, which is vital for industrial innovation.

Goals:

Bring together students, educators, and parents; to fully inform them about engineering education so they will adopt it into their everyday lives.
Design and promote experiential programs and pedagogical material for K-12 outreach, recognizing the diversity of students’ and teachers’ backgrounds
Train students who will be effective engineers and leaders in the manufacturing and research operations of the pharmaceutical and allied industries of the Center
Train students for roles in education and for employment in agencies involved in regulating food and drug manufacturing operations
Incorporate the new Center research advances in engineered organic composite systems into the existing engineering curriculum at both the undergraduate and graduate levels
Develop a suite of modular educational units for use by the various Center constituents in formats that allow for efficient web-based dissemination.
Develop educational programs for industrial practitioners and foster alliances with industry in the education and outreach activities of the Center

These goals are still consistent with the overall center. Each of the ERC-SOPS’s core partner institutions (Rutgers, NJIT, Purdue, and University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez) brings unique education and outreach strengths, traditions, and experience. These strengths include a wide variety of exciting and innovative programs that already exist and can be leveraged, augmented and enhanced through the allocation of resources and the active involvement of all center members.

Strategic Plan:

We have set our sights even higher to create a culture of collaboration and leadership. Successful organizational change for establishing effective engineering education programs requires leaders to move through a continuum of knowledge from awareness to informed leadership. ERC-SOPS is well on its way to becoming a leader in enriching engineering education. From the very beginning, the Center’s education and outreach strategic plan has been implemented by selecting key programs that would promote interaction between partner universities and some or the core constituencies identified in our new foundations concept. The ultimate objective of all activities is the building of foundations to produce highly trained students for the workforce.

Our two main program components - Engineering the Future Outreach Program and Education Training Institute These two components help us stay focused on attaining our many goals. The last two Program Evaluation and Technology are tools to measure how effectively we are attaining our goals.

Engineering the Future Outreach Program

Main Goals: To bring together three groups of stakeholders: Students, Educators, and Parents; in order to fully inform them so they will adopt STEM education. To design and promote experiential programs and pedagogical material for pre-college/K-12 outreach recognizing diverse student and teacher backgrounds

Scope: Pre-College programs for students, teachers, parents, and the community dealing with engineering education will be developed and implemented by members of the ERC and its partners.

Impact: Reach as many schools as possible in the areas surrounding the four institutions of the ERC. Mentors in Business/Industry will also be used to help change the misconceptions about engineering and help provide opportunities for students to experience engineering first hand.

Education and Training Institute

Main Goals: To train students who will be effective engineers and educators in the manufacturing and research operations of the pharmaceutical and allied industries of the center. To prepare students for roles in education and in the agencies involved in regulating food and drug manufacturing operations.

Scope: Training will focus undergraduates, graduates, postdocs, and professionals on the development and implementation of research surrounding the pharmaceutical industry. Conduct educational programs for industrial practitioners and foster alliances with industry in the education and outreach activities of the center.

Impact: Integration of all groups to assist in the research surrounding pharmaceutical engineering. Bring the new Center research discoveries in engineered organic composite systems to enrich the existing engineering curriculum at both the undergraduate and graduate levels sending them into the workforce better equipped.

Program Evaluation

Main Goals: To determine the effectiveness of the Education and Outreach program.

Scope: Pre-College, undergraduates, and graduates

Impacts: To measure the progress of participants in the program. Measure whether or not participants have changed while being in the ERC education and outreach program. How can the program be improved? With which group(s) is the program most effective?

Technology

Main Goals: Use the website to introduce, sustain, and scale up implemented curriculum and courses for all to view. Provide a mechanism to support all ERC members and partners with communicating across the universities.

Scope: All groups in the ERC. ERC CSOPS website, videos, DVDs, and teleconferences will be used to communicate with ERC members and partners.

Impact: Develop a suite of modular educational units for use by the various center constituents in formats that allows for efficient web-based dissemination