Share your opinions with The Polytechnic

I had the opportunity to meet with Associate Director of the Archer Center Christine Allard following my previous opinion piece regarding the current status of career development courses in the engineering curriculum. In short, based on my experience in the industry, I feel that these courses may benefit from the incorporation of a technical perspective. My meeting with Allard was organized to further discuss potential ways to improve professional development courses organized by the Archer Center.

We discussed the importance of all departments participating in helping students with professional development. For instance, just as a technical perspective would benefit Archer Center courses, a professional development perspective would benefit engineering courses. Specifically, a professional development perspective would include incorporating examples of material applications for engineering positions in industry—an explanation of what college graduates are expected to know once starting their first position.

However, Allard was very receptive to my feedback and open to discussing the further development of Archer Center courses. We discussed some ways to incorporate such a perspective, either by inviting alumni to share their perspectives or collaborating with other departments on campus. Although tangible steps have yet to be taken, the Archer Center is excited to explore the potential opportunities related to adding technical awareness in employment after graduation. I plan to follow up with Allard next semester, and strongly encourage anyone interested in this effort to volunteer their perspective and reach out to the Archer Center.

Regardless of the subject at hand, I cannot stress enough the importance of speaking your mind. Everything can benefit from improvement, and your opinion can contribute to that change or start a conversation. This past semester, the Editorial/Opinion section in The Polytechnic introduced opinion pieces, which reflect the opinions of our staff and other students who wish to contribute. Separate from Letters to the Editor, opinion pieces are developed through The Polytechnic and discuss issues both in and outside of our community. These articles are not limited to the Editorial Board—in fact, all opinions are welcome, and we would love to feature some different viewpoints. If interested, please send article ideas, reach out to edop@poly.rpi.edu, or stop by any of our meetings.