Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program
For more than 150 years, MIT has produced technically expert engineers who have fueled our nation's powerful technology engine. From Doppler Radar to GPS and Technicolor to Voice Recognition technology, MIT's engineering graduates helped the U.S. lead the world in engineering innovation, invention and implementation.
The challenges we face in the 21st century — from the stable supply of energy in a carbon constrained world to the delivery of new products based on the fusion of engineering and the life sciences — cannot be accomplished by individuals or by technology on its own. We need to cultivate technically astute people who can apply their skills to guide the development of economically, socially, and environmentally acceptable solutions to technical problems.
We need engineering leaders.
In the Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program (ELP), we define engineering leadership as the:
- Invention of new technical components
- Innovative design of new products, processes, projects, materials, molecules, software, and/or systems
- Leading the implementation of these developments, goods, and services so as to meet the needs of customers and society
ELP responds aggressively to the future needs of our engineering industry by transforming young engineers (whether enrolled at MIT or already working in industry) into effective engineering leaders — thereby addressing critical needs expressed by national leaders, industry, students and other key stakeholders.
"The most important thing we can do is to take engineers who are technically proficient and prepare them to lead. Yes, you must have a good process from concept to design to execution. But you also must have engineers who will both risk acting on great ideas as well as nurture and propagate the emotional side of engineering."
— Dan Riccio, VP, Apple Computer Inc.
As an engineering industry leader, you realize that the lack of engineering leaders is hurting your bottom line and endangering U.S. engineering primacy. You know we must produce engineers who are not just technically superior but who can also work effectively, efficiently and productively within multi-disciplinary teams.
We need tomorrow's engineers to lead, and MIT's history of addressing transformational issues of industry and society uniquely position the Institute to produce engineering leaders.
"In view of increasing global competition, engineering leadership today should be built on the reinforcement of product engineering education, that is, the education of those who innovate and put products into production."
— Bernard M. Gordon '48, Program Benefactor
ELP educates and develops the character of young engineers as potential future leaders in the world of engineering practice and development and is transforming engineering leadership in the nation, thereby significantly increasing our product development capability.
While enrolled at MIT, students in the program (Gordon Engineering Leaders, or GELs) are exposed to a multi-year intensive combination of "real-life" project-based learning experiences and academic subjects, thereby building engineering leaders who are ready from Day One to lead from any chair in your company. Beyond MIT, the program works with engineering industry companies and organizations to develop the leadership skills of their young engineers.
As the ultimate customer for these engineering leaders, working with the ELP's powerful alliance of academic and industry leaders gives you:
- Access to MIT's "best and brightest" engineering leaders
- Access to unique project-based learning modules and young engineer training activities custom-designed for the needs of your company
- The ability to help forge the next generation of U.S. engineering leaders (.pdf on Mentoring a Gordon Engineering Leader)
You can ensure the future of U.S. primacy in engineering by supporting the Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program in many different ways (.pdf for industry involvement opportunities):
- Mentor Gordon Engineering Leadership students (Mentoring .pdf): Guide students during their Junior and Senior years at MIT
- Host a GEL intern at your workplace for an Internship Plus
- Network the program among your peers and colleagues
- Invest in the program financially
"It was a pleasure to sponsor Clare this summer. She consistently performed at a level exceeding expectations. She has a strong work ethic, is a problem solver, and adapts quickly to new situations. The feedback from her coworkers is that she has excellent communications skills and learns quickly. Clare is a high potential leader." — J.P., InternshipPlus Supervisor, Johnson Controls, Inc.
As an engineering industry leader, you know your future — indeed, the future of the engineering profession in the U.S. — depends on your active involvement in the Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program.
"Initiative was probably one of Max's strongest attributes: He clearly expressed a desire to take on as large of a project as he could (considering his intern status), and he completely owned the projects he took on. I was very impressed with his efforts." — J.E, InternshipPlus Supervisor, GE Aviation
As a result of the engineering leadership training and development students get in GEL, they are prepared to work in almost any company. In addition to the companies shown below, GELs work at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Airbus, Inc., Booz Allen Hamilton, PowerAdvocate, Levitronix, Pelton & Crane, and serve in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy.
Read more about GEL requirements in the GEL handbook.
For more information, contact Executive Director Leo McGonagle at engineeringleaders@mit.edu.