On May 16, Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership (GEL) Program Director Joel Schindall awarded Certificates of Engineering Leadership to 59 students. Twenty-two students graduating from the GEL Year Two program earned Advanced Certificates of Engineering Leadership and 37 students graduating from the GEL Year One program earned Certificates of Engineering Leadership.
As GELs, these students completed rigorous program requirements that included:
- participating in and leading weekly immersive Engineering Leadership Labs;
- completing required courses in Engineering Leadership, Engineering Innovation and Design, Project Engineering, and People and Organizations;
- completing a reflective Personal Leadership Development Plan and delivering individual presentations of their personal leadership development in GEL.
In his remarks to the graduating GELs, Professor Schindall said, "You've given yourselves a head start on your colleagues who are beginning careers in engineering through the skills you have learned in GEL and your diligent application to the study and practice of engineering leadership. You should be proud of what you've accomplished, both personally, professionally, and on behalf of the Institute."
Launched in 2007 through a $20 million gift (with a matching requirement) from the Bernard M. Gordon Foundation and housed in MIT's School of Engineering, the Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program provides an integrated set of leadership-oriented, hands-on engineering activities, set in the context of the practice of engineering. The program's carefully planned activities are designed to help develop outstanding MIT students as future leaders in the world of engineering practice.