Tau Beta Pi Engineering Futures Program
The Tau Beta Pi Engineering Futures Program was established to provide interpersonal skills for engineering students.
This is accomplished through the presentation of sessions on campuses by Tau Beta Pi alumni who are trained in the materials.
The Engineering Futures Program received national recognition as winner of the 2007
Excellence in Engineering Education Collaboration Award.
For additional information, select a topic below:
The Tau Beta Pi Engineering Futures Program comprises five courses that deal with interpersonal relationships and working with others, either as teams or in other group settings.
Sessions are offered in:
Basic People Skills — one-on-one problem solving
- Part 1. Communicating Interpersonal Problems
- Learn how to describe problems in a direct, specific, and non-punishing manner and start problem solving that gets the problem solved and maintains relationships with others.
- Part 2. Motivating Others
- Learn how to motivate people through the use of consequences, both natural (consequences which happen without effort on their part) and imposed (where someone needs to take an action to make the consequence happen). Also learn how to set up and follow plans once a solution is agreed upon to help ensure that the problem is permanently solved.
Advanced People Skills — one-on-one problem solving (continued)
- Part 3. Dealing with Ability Problems
- Learn how to help others solve their own ability problems by asking them for ideas and helping them come up with solutions on their own, or with the student's help. Examples show how to do this in a way that encourages the other person, and helps them to solve their own problems more effectively in the future.
- Part 4. Dealing with Emergent Problems
- Learn to identify emergent problems, determine when they can be put aside, how to put them aside, and how to address them when necessary. Also learn how to address problems involving high emotion (anger, stress, etc.) or a high degree of complexity.
Team Chartering — working in teams
- Part 1. Defining the Role of Teams
- Discuss the importance of teams by learning about the changes in tasks and demographics which have made them so important in today's world. Also learn about the advantages of teams and how teams work together through several hands-on exercises.
- Part 2. Developing the Team's Charter
- Designed for teams such as chapter officers or project groups. Gives team members an opportunity to get to know each other better through an extended icebreaker-type activity, and gives them tools for setting goals and defining plans for the future. Also have time during the session to actually use the tools for goal setting and planning.
Group Process — preparing for, running, and/or participating in group meetings
- Part 1. Planning Effective Meetings
- Provides information on how to effectively prepare for group meetings. Learn how to decide when meetings are necessary, who to invite to meetings, how to set up a room depending on the purpose and size of the meeting, how to organize and publish an effective agenda, what roles (such as facilitators, time keepers, note takers) people need to take on during the meeting in order to keep it on, and how to successfully perform these roles.
- Part 2. Conducting Effective Meetings
- Deals with how to keep a meeting on track once it has started. Learn about a variety of situations (interruptions, changing topics, criticism of other participants, participants unwilling to move on to the next topic) which can force a meeting off track, and the students then learn how to apply the skill of "tipping the baton" to get the meeting back on course.
Analytical Problem Solving — processes and tools for solving challenging problems in a team setting
- Part 1. The Problem-Solving Model
- Learn a model for problem solving which involves identifying issues, root causes, solutions, implementation of plans, and evaluation of success. Each step of the process requires two basic activities in order to perform it successfully: generating ideas and evaluating ideas. Learn basic skills for generating ideas via creative thinking, with the help of several rehearsal activities which give them a chance to practice thinking creatively.
- Part 2. Creative Thinking
- Use additional activities and puzzles to learn new ways to think creatively, and to further improve their ability to generate a large list of ideas to work with.
- Part 3. Decision Making
- Learn a process for the "other" half of the process: how to take a large list of a variety of ideas, and narrow it down to the one or the few "best" ideas to go forward with. Also learn how to clarify issues, create selection criteria, remove non-controversial ideas, narrow down the list to a "vital few", and use consensus to identify the best solutions.
Effective Presentation Skills
- Learn and practice tips and techniques for impromptu speaking, as well as group presentations. Effective Presentation Skills should be limited to 16 students.
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Each course, as listed above, lasts approximately four hours, though the facilitator may be able to adjust somewhat for the chapter’s needs. For most courses, the materials work best for groups of 15 to 25 students. Effective Presentation Skills should be limited to 16 students.
All of the courses make use of several of the following formats:
- icebreakers for students to get to know each other
- group discussion
- video examples of applications of the skills
- role playing
- group exercises
- flip charts and handouts
- contracts (to focus on applying the skills to real-life situations)
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The Engineering Futures courses may be presented to any college student, but our contract with Interact Performance Systems Inc. does not permit us to provide sessions for alumni. All sessions must be hosted by Tau Beta Pi collegiate chapters. These sessions are provided at no cost to the chapter. Please allow at least 6 weeks to schedule a Facilitator.
If you are interested in hosting a session, please review the guidelines for hosting a session and fill out the session request form.
Publicity posters are available at:
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Please see our Directory for a list of current Facilitators and their locations.
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If you are interested in becoming a Facilitator, start the process by sending a letter to:
Engineering Futures
PO Box 2697
Knoxville, TN 37901-2697
I
n the letter, express your interest in becoming a Facilitator and relate any experience you feel would be relevant. You must be willing to attend and help with a session at your own expense, to be scheduled during the application process.
You may contact Tau Beta Pi Headquarters for more information.
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