Symposium 2025 Program

New Frontiers in Engineering Education: Building Sustainable Industry Partnerships

Dr. Nik Chawla

Ransburg Professor of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette / Associate Dean for Engineering, Purdue Indianapolis

Discover Purdue's innovative approaches to regional engineering workforce development.

Dr. Chawla will discuss Purdue’s initiatives in workforce development and industry collaboration, focusing on the semiconductor sector influenced by the CHIPS and Science Act. He will also highlight curriculum innovations incorporating experiential learning to equip students with real-world applicable skills.

"We are just getting started" - Innovative Policies and Practices for Continuing Engineering Education Sustainability

Dr. Craig Downing

Associate Dean of Lifelong Learning and Head of the Department of Engineering Management and Professor, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Dr. Downing will delve into sustainable business models and policy innovations that support the longevity and effectiveness of continuing engineering education programs, elaborating investment returns for participants and the institution, as indicated by assessment results. He will also analyze concerns related to staffing, logistics, and the diverse needs of their target audience population.

Industry-University Collaboration: A Continuing Education Model for Industrial Manufacturing

Presenters:

Dr. Jeff Buck

Dean and Vice President, School of Business and Information Technology, Purdue Global

Dr. Maricel Lawrence

Innovation Catalyst, Purdue Global

Rapid technological advances are driving significant change across nearly every industry. Automation, robotics, AI, and other technologies are quickly transforming manufacturing processes, making the need for workforce development and continuing education solutions in this field more critical than ever. Dr. Buck and Dr. Lawrence will present an overview of how an educational institution has partnered with industrial manufacturing leaders to develop a solution that offers upskilling, reskilling, and credentialing opportunities. This solution incorporates online courses, simulations, and real-world case studies. Elements of this program could serve as a model for other educational institutions to explore.

Conversational AI and Dynamic Assessment: Shaping the Future of Engineering Education

Dr. Prajwal Paudyal

CEO and Founder, Qualz.ai

Dr. Paudyal will explore how conversational AI and dynamic assessment strategies are changing engineering education by fostering interactive learning environments for diverse populations and personalized and in-depth evaluations, leading to enhanced student engagement and outcomes.

CEE as a (Future) Model for Engineering Education - A Panel

Dr. Sabrina Casucci, Moderator

Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The State University of New York at Buffalo

Would a Continuing Engineering Education (CEE) model work as the main way for engineering education, perhaps assuming a more “learn and earn” model? What impact could this have on the ability of students? For faculty? For industry? For society and the economy? Let the panelists explore!

Panelists

Matthew Wagner, Senior Director, Corporate Learning & Development Partnerships for Purdue University

Dr. Stephen M. Ruffin, Ph.D. 

Interim Executive Director & Associate Dean, Professional Education (GTPE)

Professor, School of Aerospace Engineering, Director, NASA Georgia Space Grant Consortium 

Georgia Institute of Technology 

Ed Borbely, Associate Dean, Interdisciplinary Professional Programs, College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Refining Our Shared Continuing Engineering Education Language Through Collaboration – A CEE Taxonomy

Presenters:

Dr. Patricia Caratozzolo, Institute for the Future of Education, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico
Dr. Christopher J.M. Smith, Glasgow Caledonian University

Continuing Engineering Education (CEE) operates globally, but its implementation varies significantly across countries and organizations, leading to inconsistent terminology and practices. To address this challenge, a standardized taxonomy for CEE was developed. This presentation will introduce version 2.1 of the CEE taxonomy and explore opportunities for international collaboration to refine it further. The goal is to establish a common language, facilitating knowledge sharing within the global CEE community. Additionally, institutions can use this taxonomy to evaluate and map their current practices. Participants will have access to an online platform to contribute feedback and engage in discussions to help shape future taxonomy versions. The wider team collaborators were:

Sonia M. Gomez-Puente, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Bente Nørgaard, Aalborg University, Denmark
Hans-Ulrich Heiß, TU Berlin Academy for Professional Education, Germany
Matias Urenda Moris, Uppsala University, Sweden
Katriina Schrey-Niemenmaa, Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK, Finland

Reshaping Continuing Education: Balancing Budgets with Partnerships and AI-Driven Change

Dr. Chris LaBelle

Executive Director for Online and Professional Education, University of Michigan College of Engineering

Continuing education programs face growing challenges managing two operational models: traditional open enrollment and third-party partnerships (including OPMs) with divergent cost and staffing needs. Drawing from the University of Michigan College of Engineering's three-year experience, this presentation explores how CE units can strategically reassess their value, align with university goals, and integrate AI-enabled management practices to address these challenges.