Academic Teams at Clarkson
The Collective Power of Teams
Because Clarkson prepares you for the way the world
actually works, your education here will involve working on a wide variety of
teams. After all, in today's
complex world the biggest achievements are invariably a result of teamwork,
often on a multitude of levels. This is true whether you're talking about
a global corporation, a high-powered research laboratory, or an entrepreneurial
start up. It's as true in engineering, science, and business as in sports
or government. Collective brainpower and energy is what gets it done.
So across the curriculum we emphasize a hands-on, collaborative approach to tackling complex, open-ended problems — just the kind of challenges and approach you'll find in the real world. You'll work side by side with students from other disciplines whose concerns are different from your own. In the process, you'll come to understand the collective power of teams, become an efficient problem solver, learn to communicate effectively, and gain a better grasp of the big picture.
Combining Business, Engineering and Science
In addition to working on team projects
in many class assignments, Clarkson students join teams in extracurricular academic
competitions that can range from business entrepreneurship in business to computer
programming in science to environmental remediation in engineering. And many of
these teams combine students from different majors to help with specific challenges.
Here's an example: Last year a team of undergraduate engineering and science students obtained funding from the Environmental Protection Agency to study the exposure of children to diesel exhaust as they ride their school buses and implement the use of biodiesel to reduce the pollutants that contribute to childhood asthma. They are now working on a technical, economic, and environmental assessment of the suitability of biodiesel, modifying the bus, and testing pollutant levels.
Every year, some 200 Clarkson students get involved in Student Projects for Engineering Experience and Design (SPEED) in which they compete against student teams from other universities to design, fabricate, test — and possibly market — inventions such as solar-powered airplanes, concrete canoes, ATVs and race cars. And it's not just engineering students who are involved. These projects require students from a wide variety of disciplines including business, communication, manufacturing, engineering, science and mathematics to work together quickly to create original, innovative products.
SPEED currently includes 14 exciting design projects run by students who are advised by faculty. These include: Concrete Canoe; Construction Management; Destination Imagination; Design, Build and Fly; Environmental Design; FIRST Robotics; Formula SAE; Manufacturing Experiential Learning Program; Mini Baja; Partners in Education; Snowmobile Challenge; Solar Car Racing; Steel Bridge; and Timber Bridge.
Practical Experience
More than 80 percent of business courses include a team component. Developing
skills in teamwork is a significant feature of the business curriculum. Extracurricular
opportunities include activities like the Clarkson chapter of CEO, which
runs a kiosk that sells Clarkson goods and last year won a national award
for being the best student-run business.
Students compete for the chance to join Venture@Moorehouse, a pioneering residential program course for sophomores. Participants live together for a year, during which they work together as members of an entrepreneurial business team that conceives, creates and starts up an actual commercial venture.
Clarkson undergraduates also gain practical hands-on experience by joining student consulting teams that assist area businesses and other organizations in addressing actual problems in areas that run the gamut of challenges from marketing analyses to production efficiency issues.
"I'm part of a team of business and engineering students designing dormitory furniture," says Ashlie Gregoire, Engineering and Management major. "We came up with a prototype, constructed a model, drafted a business plan, and presented our plan to a group of investors. They were real investors who were so impressed with our idea that we're now doing the R&D to see if we can turn our plan into an actual company."
