NDSU has pledged to help the United States educate 20,000 Grand Challenge Engineers to face the changing societal issues of the 21st century.
NDSU is one of 120 institutions across the country that have committed to addressing the "Grand Challenges" identified by several national initiatives, including the White House Strategy for American Innovation, the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges for Engineering and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
Gary Smith, NDSU dean of engineering, was among the numerous co-signers of the "U.S. Engineering School Deans' Response to President Obama on Educating Engineers to Meet the Grand Challenges." The response is dated March 2015.
In the document, the deans pledged to educate engineering students through a creative learning experience, experiential learning, an entrepreneurship and innovation experience, global and cross-cultural awareness and service learning activities.
"Over the course of the next decade, we commit to graduating from each of our institutions a minimum of 20 students per year who are prepared with this unique combination of skills, motivation and leadership to address the Grand Challenges for Engineering of the 21st century," the deans' response stated.
Among the challenges listed by the deans are making solar energy cost-competitive, engineering better medicines, providing access to clean water, ending extreme poverty and hunger, securing cyberspace and advancing personalized learning tools.
"We envision the power of the 20,000 Grand Challenge Engineers to change the course of our civilization," the deans wrote.
NDSU's College of Engineering offers Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology accredited degrees in eight engineering disciplines and an American Council for Construction Education accredited degree in construction management. The college also offers many advanced study opportunities leading to master's and doctoral degrees.
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