Themes of the Course
Resume Writing
Lecture on resume writing followed by a workshop led by Deborah Rosencrans (MIT Office of Career Services and Pre-Professional Planning) involving peer review of student resumes.
Technical Writing
Lecture on writing tips and concerns including: knowing your audience, methods to improve prose clarity, special considerations regarding email and theses, plagiarism and available resources at MIT.
Effective Oral Presentations
Presentation, followed by discussion, of a video entitled "Effective Presentations" produced by the American Chemical Society.
Job Placement Interview Workshop
Lecture on job interview skills by Richard Orton (Vanasse, Hangen & Brustlin, Inc.), followed by small-group mock interviews.
Project Evaluation
Series of four lectures and a small-group assignment presented by Carl Martland and Susan Murcott (MIT Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering) covering: what is a project, financial assessment of a project (engineering economics), broader economic, social and environmental issues, environmental impact assessment and sustainability assessment.
Engineering and Construction Industry
Series of three lectures by Charles Helliwell, Jr. (MIT Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering) providing an overview of the Engineering & Construction Industry and strategic issues that confront the industry, followed by an individual assignment where students profile a company.
Project Management
Series of three lectures by Chu Eu Ho (MIT Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering) touching on: the life cycle of a project, methods of contracting, the relationship among owners, contractors, architect/engineers, and suppliers, and project scheduling, followed by a small-group exercise on project scheduling.
Chase an Engineer Exercise
Students select a practicing engineer in the Boston area to shadow for a day, then report their experiences in a class discussion.
Negotiation
Series of three lectures on negotiation by David Laws (MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning), including a series of one-on-one negotiation sessions using case studies provided by the Program on Negotiation Clearinghouse at the Harvard Business School.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Introduction to mediation and other forms of conflict resolution utilizing neutral third parties, followed by a series of skits presented by Ellie Tonkin and Doug Thompson (both of EPA Region I) and Dan Winograd (MIT Senior Counsel's Office).
Professional Ethics
Introduction to issues of professional ethics and a skit led by Brian Brenner (currently at Tufts University), plus team debates of case studies from the Case-of-the-Month Club, distributed by the National Institute for Engineering Ethics.
Getting Work
How companies develop business, respond to Request for Proposals, and maintain their client base, presented from three perspectives: the large consulting company (Guillermo Vicens, Camp Dresser & McKee); the small company (Peter Shanahan, Hydroanalysis) and the IT industry (George Kocur, MIT Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering).
Grading
Grading is based on both individual and team exercises involving written and oral presentations.
