The future of the economic and national security of the United States depends on the ability of today’s STEM students and researchers to become the leaders and innovators of tomorrow. As we undergo a technological revolution that is already transforming the way in which we design, produce, and consume products and services, and as global competition continues to increase, it is more critical than ever to define and to build an engineering workforce that can and will continue to advance the nation’s status as a world leader.  

 To assist higher education programs in adapting their practices to better prepare engineering professionals who will thrive in the future workforce, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) is leading a two-part workshop series that will bring together leaders from various recognized industries of the future (such as artificial intelligence, quantum science, advanced communication networks/5G, advanced manufacturing, and biotechnology) to identify the key competencies required for a future-ready engineering workforce as well as the actions, programs, and support systems integrated within an educational landscape needed to support these competencies. Together, the progression of visioning exercises will produce a roadmap that describes a Future-Ready Engineering Ecosystem (FREE) in enough detail and specificity that it can be utilized to inform meaningful change actions in engineering educational programs across the nation. 

You are invited to lend your voice and shape the future of engineering education by providing feedback on Preparing Engineering Students for the Future: Report of the Future-Ready Engineering Ecosystem (FREE) Workshops.

In the context of rapid and radical changes in technology and industry, there is a pressing need to change the way we educate students for the future of work. To address this need, The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) conducted a series of workshops to envision what competencies future engineers will need to meet the challenges of new and different ways of living and working.

The workshops resulted in two key outcomes: (1) FREE Competency Taxonomy (Table 4.2) and (2) Framework and Rubric for Action (Table 4.4), both of which are detailed in this report.

Please review the report (linked above) and then respond to the brief survey here: ASEE FREE Report: Feedback Invitation Survey