Teaching engineering leadership at Rensselaer

The Archer Center for Student Leadership Development at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was developed for the purpose of teaching Rensselaer students about leadership and its many components. The Center believes that leadership skills can be taught through experiential learning. Rensselaer defines leadership skills as the following: effective communication, both verbal and non verbal, public speaking, listening, leadership styles, personal values, corporate values, effective team work, decision making, group dynamics, ethics, multiculturalism, self awareness, and critical thinking. These are essential for leaders and followers in their professional success. The Archer Center staff offers an interactive approach to leadership by combining theory with practical applications. The Center has a long history of involvement with the School of Engineering and has participated in many team-oriented engineering courses. The School of Engineering believes that reaching leadership will become an important element of the engineering curriculum. This paper describes a version of the course that is being currently offered. It also describes future plans for incorporating this material into a new engineering curriculum currently under development at Rensselaer