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The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) encourages you to explore the resources to cast your vote on election day:July 2014
COMMUNITIES: EDUCATION
California City on Hunt for Engineering School
CARLSBAD HAS IDENTIFIED A CITY-OWNED BUILDING AND SURROUNDING SITE FOR A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION TO USE.Inc. magazine recently named the San Diego metropolitan area one of the country’s most innovative regions. But businesses in one part of the area are up against a major obstacle: a talent squeeze.
Carlsbad, a city of 110,000 people and growing in North San Diego County, is a hub for the life sciences, information, and telecommunications, and is becoming one for clean tech. But schools in the area just can’t keep up with demand for workers. So the city has launched a nation- and worldwide search for an institution with graduate programs in applied science, including electrical, chemical, biomedical, and environmental engineering.
Solutions could include a school establishing a satellite campus or a consortium of institutions. Currently options are completely open, explains assistant city manager Kathy Dodson. But the city would like to see the institution connect with local businesses, for example through internships, co-ops, and research.
City representatives have tried different tactics—for instance setting up a booth at the annual meeting of the American Council on Education and sending notices to schools.
And the city is offering a 129,000-square-foot building it owns, as well as the surrounding 13.5 acre site.
In May, Carlsbad released its Request for Expressions of Interest. Responses are due in September. “We’re still in an exploratory phase,” says Dodson. But she has been surprised by the number of contacts that have already been made. “There’s a lot of preliminary interest.”
Brian Bender, president of software company JetHead Development, serves on the city’s search board. He explains that the two universities the company recruits from are both about 80 miles away. “Having something where we could be a little closer affiliated in our immediate area would be very nice,” he says.
Other local businesses that can’t find workers are having to use workarounds or look internationally for talent. The city wants to make it easier on them and facilitate growth. “They’re finding solutions,” says Dodson, “but it’s a difficult road.”
MORE Issue 3 2024 ARTICLES
Leaders of the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering have approved sweeping plans that will engrain diversity, equity, and inclusion into the education of undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and staff.