Industry 4.0: Future-proof your engineering career with these four universities

As engineers enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), it’s more important than ever to upskill their skills to start and stay ahead of their careers.

Yet the need to upskill is nothing new for engineers.

For instance, the late civil engineer Sir William Halcrow, one of the most notable English civil engineers of the 20th century, once addressed the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) with this passage:

“The wellbeing of the world largely depends upon the work of the engineer. There is a great future and unlimited scope for the profession; new works of all kinds are and will be required in every country.”

And as we face the threat of machines replacing humans in an increasing number of tasks, Halcrow’s historical quote remains relevant.

The world will depend on future-focused engineers that can adapt to new technologies and thrive amid Industry 4.0 workforces.

This need for upskilled engineers is also a focal point in the recent report titled The Global Engineering Capability Review, which was commissioned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation and the Royal Academy of Engineering:

“As digital technologies develop, so too does our understanding of the modern engineer. The digital economy is increasingly woven into all aspects of business, requiring massive amounts of energy and new infrastructure.

“Ultimately, these technological advances have led to a rethink of the skills and abilities that engineers need.”

Engineers today need to weave the knowledge of new technologies into their skill set if they want to stay connected to the future of work.

At one of these four universities, they can achieve just that through online engineering Master’s degrees and industry-centric faculties:

DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING — UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, KNOXVILLE

There are many ways to engineer your future at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) in the US.

One popular way is via their postgraduate Industrial Engineering with Engineering Management Programme which provides you with the technical depth and leadership skills you need to take your career forward.

Source: UT

In just two years, you can graduate from this online Master’s degree and focus on the engineering and management areas that you deem most relevant.

UT makes this possible by letting students shape their curriculum with classes that are related to their chosen career paths. It’s an approach with significant value, as discovered by UT graduate Paul Rengio, who was able to improve his repertoire of analytical, finance and economic-related skills.

“The online course was extremely valuable to me. For example, I used Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and fishbone diagrams with more frequency to help me with problem-solving etc.

Another UT student satisfied with how the course prepares students for their future jobs is Sarah Gamble.

“I absolutely love the industrial engineering department here. It’s the best choice I ever made and the world needs more industrial engineers!”

So if you need a top-ranked Master’s degree from the US that empowers your engineering career, click here to find out more.

WHITING SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING — JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

The Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University is known for its experiential, online Master’s programmes.

For instance, their online Electrical and Computer Engineering Master’s programme provides distance learners with virtual laboratories so they can experiment and analyse real data during their studies.

By opting for this programme, you’ll be developing systems for communication, computation, information transformation, power generation and transmission, measurement, and control.

Source: JHU

Moreover, you will have access to hands-on learning opportunities that include collaborative group projects, mentored research projects, summer weekend lab residencies and at-home lab kits; thus giving students the same quality of education as on-campus students.

The School’s virtual community also lets you connect with students around the world virtually — recently, students hosted a virtual event to solicit ideas from around the world to fight the novel coronavirus.

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING — OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

From lecture halls to engineering labs, the College of Engineering at Oregon State University continuously supports the next generation of engineers in their pursuit of internships and work opportunities.

Hence why the College features a range of online engineering degrees that help develop the technical skills that you need for your future engineering career.

For instance, the online Master of Industrial Engineering programme tailors to the needs of 21st-century engineering professionals who want to move into a leadership and management role.

This programme takes about two years to finish if you take one to two courses per term, and when you complete the programme, you earn a Master of Engineering in Industrial Engineering with a transcript-visible option in Engineering Management from Oregon State University.

ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT — COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES

Graduate programmes at the Colorado School of Mines aim to transform students’ knowledge and provide future engineers with the wisdom they need to implement new technologies.

Source: Colorado School of Mines

By undertaking one of these programmes at the School, you’ll also be focused on improving your technical and leadership skills as each student is expected to manage data, information and risks to make timely decisions with uncertain and incomplete information.

Both technical and leadership skills are important for your future engineering career as we head into Industry 4.0.

Therefore, if you envision a future that involves solving some of the major problems of our time and changing the world, consider the Earth Resource Development Engineering (ERDE) graduate programme and the Professional Masters – Mining Engineering and Management (MP-MEM) as necessary additions to your resume.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International

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