MIT does an excellent job of helping students develop the technical knowledge and skills to solve complex and challenging problems. However, it takes more than technical knowledge to bring great ideas to fruition and make the most of a career in engineering.
The GEL program complements the world-class technical education you get at MIT with the values, attitudes, and skills you need to address real engineering problems and shape the world.
Many of the skills needed to lead and manage a team are the same skills that one relies on as an individual contributor—from effectively expressing one’s ideas to empathizing with others, listening carefully to persuading eloquently. These are skills that must be intentionally developed through practice.
In GEL Year One (GEL1), students are exposed to the fundamentals of leadership theory in an engineering context. GEL1 students actively practice as members of and leaders of teams. They engage in carefully crafted team experiential learning activities to develop their leadership, communication, and teamwork skills. With feedback and reflection experiences, GEL1s gain valuable engineering leadership capabilities.
Students who continue in GEL Year Two (GEL2) take on added responsibilities and further develop as engineering leaders. They actively lead the GEL2 program – coaching teams, providing feedback to GEL1 students, engaging with industry guests. GEL2 students collaborate with instructional staff to plan and deliver weekly experiential Engineering Leadership Labs. GEL2s receive personalized coaching for a more focused leadership experience.
GEL’s foundational white paper, the Capabilities of Effective Engineering Leaders, is the guiding document upon which the GEL curriculum is built. The Capabilities document is based on significant input from leaders in engineering industry, academia, and government.
Our approach is cohort-based and highly interactive, blending Engineering Scenario Practice, Engineering Leadership Concepts & Theory, and Reflection and Values Development.
GELs are exposed to the fundamentals of leadership theory. As the program progresses, they learn specific tools and frameworks that are relevant to topics such as ethical decision-making, project engineering, and systems thinking.
Leadership development OR developing oneself as an engineering leader requires practice, reflection and refinement. While underlying theory is important and is covered in other aspects of the program, GEL’s highly innovative Engineering Leadership Lab (ELL) provides a “playing field” that serves as the core of our students’ engineering leadership development.
During weekly ELL sessions, students participate in immersive, team-based activities designed to challenge their assumptions and hone their leadership, teamwork, and communications skills. Each ELL focuses on one or more of the “Capabilities of Effective Engineering Leaders,” with active participation by engineering industry leaders, who also share their real-world experiences.These activities provide opportunities for students to lead their peers and serve on teams, while fostering growth and learning individually and within their team. Watch video of ELL
Reflection is integral to the GEL program. Both inside and outside of class, students are guided through reflection and self-assessment on their own performance and ways to improve. We encourage (and challenge) GELs to embrace the development of their own personal core values.
GEL’s rigorous program of indirect assessment (at the cohort level) focuses on the change in students’ confidence in their ability to perform specific leadership tasks before and at the end of the program. Over this timespan, we observe gains in student confidence across a range of leadership capabilities that students practice in GEL.
| Summer | Fall | IAP | Spring | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEL 1 Junior or Senior Year | Engineering Leadership (6.9120) 3 units & Engineering Leadership Lab (6.9110 3 units Design & Innovation Leadership Requirement (select one subject) 6+ units* | Engineering Leadership (6.9120) 3 units & Engineering Leadership Lab (6.9110) 3 units |
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| GEL 2 Senior Year | InternshipPlus or Impactship | Engineering Leadership Lab (Team&Lab Leader Role) (6.9130) 6 units Leadership Elective** | Project Engineering*** (6.9140) 4 units | Engineering Leadership Lab (Team & Lab Leader Role) (6.9130) 6 units Final Reflection Presentation**** |
We spent months working with experts from industry and academia to determine the most critical missing skills for aspiring engineers. Here are the characteristics they identified (and that our students develop).
TLC equips students and trainees – from sophomores to postdocs – with the teamwork, leadership, and communication skills that they need to succeed in the real world.
