Institute of Technology launch

ST. CLOUD STATE LAUNCHES INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

St. Cloud State University is leading the way forward with the launch of the Institute of Technology to integrate disciplines throughout campus through research and development of emerging technologies applied to solve real world challenges. The Institute will be a place to incubate innovative approaches, practices and initiatives to integrate technology in all aspects of teaching and learning. It will support the implementation and transdisciplinary integration of technology as a programmatic focus across the institution while working with industrial and community partners on applied research. Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness are prioritized in all facets of the Institute’s objectives and initiatives. The Institute advances the University’s It’s Time initiative to offer transformative learning opportunities and innovative partnerships by creating a set of standards to successfully build and grow partnerships throughout the community. These partnerships will ensure that programs are actively evolving to provide students with the technical and critical thinking skills needed to benefit employers when they graduate and to continue adapting to meet future needs, said Dr. Adel Ali, dean of the College of Science and Engineering. The idea for the Institute is a direct growth from the success of partnerships and research happening in the Integrated Science and Engineering Laboratory Facility. ISELF opened in 2013 as a new kind of multi-disciplinary facility for collaboration, experiential learning and innovation. It has been changing the way science is done and applied to today’s challenges ever since by innovating new ways of thinking and instituting new partnerships in research with local, regional and global organizations. These ideas and ways of collaborating go beyond the College of Science and Engineering and can be found in innovative programs throughout campus that can benefit from this same type of experiential collaboration and will establish best practices and standards of excellence.

“The main goal of the Institute is to prepare students for successful careers and citizenship,” Ali said. Every program in the Institute will have an industrial advisory council and embed experiential and applied learning into the curriculum. To do this the programs need robust partnerships within the industry. These students will graduate to serve and be engaged teacher/scholars who are staying up to date on the tools and techniques that are driving the industry. Both aspects are integral components of the It’s Time framework, Ali said.

“When we meet with students and families we explain that we know what it takes to provide an educational experience that leads to a successful career,” Ali said. “We’re going to show you how, and we’re going to act on it.” In the College of Science and Engineering, advisors are individualizing advising to map out the courses and extracurricular experiential activities they will need to achieve the skills that will prepare them for success and explain what type of skills they will build in a class and how they will apply them in extracurricular experiences like Huskies Invent and the Huskies Hackathon. This same advising mode will be built into all the Institute programs. “Students will know they are taking a course not just because they are required, but because it will build these types of skills,” Ali said. “All of this works together to build the whole package.” The Institute of Technology supports a portfolio of Engineering, Technology, and Integrative and Applied Science programs that promote service to central Minnesota and preparing students to be innovators and leaders.