Engineering is central to solving the defining challenges of our time, and the way in which we educate engineers must evolve to meet the moment.
From supercomputing to climate change, from healthcare to robotics, and from sustainable infrastructure to nuclear energy, engineers are shaping the systems that will define the future. Preparing graduates to contribute to these challenges requires more than incremental adjustments to existing programs. It calls for rethinking how engineers learn, how disciplines connect, and how technical knowledge is applied in an increasingly complex world.
Powered by a $100 million transformational gift from alumnus Stephen J. R. Smith, this project is rare and bold, aiming not just to improve a few programs, but to revolutionize the learning experience for all our students.
Our vision is clear: to prepare engineers who thrive in a complex, interdisciplinary world, equipped to solve problems with deep technical skills and a profound sense of social responsibility. We are reimagining curriculum, teaching, and support systems to create authentic, impactful learning experiences where students engage deeply and meaningfully.
Reimagining Engineering Education is guided by a strategic vision: to create an educational model that is technically rigorous, experientially focused, socially conscious, and creatively inspired.
This vision comes to life through a set of interconnected tenets that shape both our curriculum and our culture: Disciplinarity & Interdisciplinarity, Engineering Tools, Integrated Critical & Systems Thinking, Professional Mindset, Active & Authentic Learning, Flexible Pathways, Ongoing Innovation, and Community & Belonging.
Together, these tenets reflect a commitment to preparing engineers who combine deep technical expertise with the ability to work across disciplines, engage with complex societal challenges, and adapt to rapidly evolving technological landscapes.
The diagram is depicted as a wheel with eight, interconnected segments, divided into upper and lower halves. The upper half of wheel is labelled "Advanced Skills" and the first four headings encircle the outside of the wheel, above each segment. The lower half is labelled "Supportive Environment" with the last four headings. Descriptions for each heading are found below.
Disciplinarity & Interdisciplinarity
Creating engineering solutions to complex problems with positive societal impact requires disciplinary expertise combined with the ability to work across fields and value different perspectives.
Engineering Tools
Addressing complex challenges requires the ability to use engineering tools and approaches, including digital technologies like artificial intelligence.
Active & Authentic
Meaningful growth and deep learning come through active participation, integration, and authentic challenges.
Ongoing Innovation
A shared commitment to continuous improvement fosters adaptability and innovation in response to rapid change in industry, academia, and society.
Integrated Critical & Systems Thinking
Critical, creative, and systems thinking are essential to anticipating, defining, and solving complex problems.
Professional Mindset
Teamwork, communication, curiosity, adaptability, accountability, and a commitment to self-directed learning are essential for success.
Community & Belonging
A culture grounded in respect, empathy, and inclusion enables everyone to thrive and contribute meaningfully to the profession and society.
Flexible Pathways
Flexible learning pathways are needed to prepare for future-ready and impactful careers.
Faculty, staff, and students are translating new ideas into real learning experiences. These initiatives bridge the gap between theory and practice, giving students opportunities to apply their knowledge to authentic engineering challenges while experimenting with new tools, technologies, and ways of learning. The initiatives highlighted here represent a snapshot of this innovation in action, creating learning environments that reflect the complexity, collaboration, and creativity of engineering.
Electrical engineers design the intelligent systems that power emerging technologies, from autonomous transportation to advanced sensing and control systems. Autonomous systems provide an example of how these technologies come together in practice. In this learning experience, students design and test autonomous vehicles within a simulated town environment, applying principles from control systems, perception, and decision-making to open-ended design problems. Through oral assessments, design logbooks, and iterative testing, students engage deeply with both the technical and ethical dimensions of autonomous technologies. The experience strengthens the ability to connect analytical knowledge with hands-on design while developing the reflective thinking, teamwork, and accountability required in engineering environments.
Mining engineers design and operate the systems that extract and process the resources essential to modern infrastructure, energy, and manufacturing. One aspect of this work involves understanding complex processing systems. A virtual reality mineral processing plant is integrated into the curriculum to simulate industrial environments that are difficult to replicate in the classroom. Within the immersive environment, students explore equipment, processes, and system interactions while reinforcing their understanding of core technical principles. By interacting directly with these digital systems, students gain insight into the scale, coordination, and operational realities of mining engineering.
Civil engineers design the infrastructure that supports communities and helps them adapt to environmental risks such as flooding and climate-related hazards. Flood-resilient housing provides an example of the kinds of challenges that civil engineers address. Civil Week 2 brings together learning from multiple second-year Civil Engineering courses through an intensive design experience focused on this problem. Student teams design, model, prototype, and physically test residential structures under defined technical, budget, and sustainability constraints. By integrating knowledge from across the curriculum, the experience strengthens systems thinking, collaborative design, and professional communication through a final judged showcase.
Mechanical engineers integrate knowledge from mathematics, physics, and engineering science to design the systems and machines that power industry. Challenge-based design experiences provide a way to explore how these ideas come together in practice. MechMania 2.0 creates an environment where students apply ideas from mathematics, numerical methods, mechatronics, kinematics and dynamics, and fluid mechanics. Working in teams, students build and iteratively test a propulsion-based, microcontroller-driven prototype. The experience emphasizes experimentation, iteration, and systems thinking while illustrating how ideas from across the mechanical engineering curriculum come together in real-world design.
Reimagining Engineering Education is not a single change, but a long-term commitment to building an engineering education that is more connected, more creative, and more responsive to the world that engineers are helping to shape.
As this work continues, each new course, challenge, and learning experience contributes to a larger transformation, one that strengthens how students learn, how disciplines connect, and how future engineers see their role in society.
The work is ongoing, and the opportunity is extraordinary: to prepare engineers not only for the world as it is today, but for the world they will help to create.
Embedded video: Reimagining Engineering Education at Smith Engineering