Industrial Advisory Board

The Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department has a new Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) with a mission to assist the department in working closer with industry.

The IAB coordinator is Professor Farid M. Amirouche who, together with Dr. Worek, brings a wealth of experience in both teaching and research in industrial relations and consulting. The IAB will play a key role in reshaping our education of future Mechanical and Industrial engineers.
The members are outstanding professionals representing a broad range of industrial firms. They include Abbott Laboratories, Gas Technology Institute, and UOP. Two additional members represent Argonne National Laboratory and Illinois Institute of Technology.

The Board’s first meeting was held on June 21, 2001. Members visited MIE laboratories and were informed of the current curriculum as well as the need to enhance the undergraduate program to meet the technological changes ahead.The Board exchanged ideas and asked some questions that are both constructive and critical to the education of our engineering students. In turn, the board was asked to consider the following questions:

For our current students, where do you see the need to accelerate their development of practical knowledge so that they be better prepared for their jobs and more productive?

How can we help our graduate students to reduce their post-hiring training period so they can tackle real problems?

Several of our IAB members offered the following suggestions:

Teach the fundamentals well;
Encourage more internships with companies through the existing Co-op program;
Provide more tours of plants and manufacturing facilities;
Teach the students an integrated level of thinking;
Provide linkage between different disciplines;
Encourage teamwork;
Improve English skills;
Focus on formulating problem objectives.

The IAB ideas are extremely important to our faculty as we embark in curriculum changes and enhancements of existing courses. The Board has revisited some of these ideas and reviewed changes in its December meeting.