Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership < Northeastern University Academic Catalog

Simon Pitts
Director and Head—Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership

415 Stearns Center
617.373.4800
617.373.7680 (fax)

The Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership offers a graduate certificate that pairs with over 20 master's programs in the College of Engineering, College of Science, and Khoury College of Computer Sciences. The Gordon program is a transformational graduate program designed to build a future corps of engineering leadership professionals. GIEL seeks to accelerate leadership development capability in an engineering context through a concentrated curriculum that inculcates both the psychological skills and capabilities needed to lead engineers in parallel with technical skills to successfully engineer products to customers and markets. The program teaches relevant leadership theory followed by practice in leadership laboratories. Technical product development and scientific principles courses are followed by the completion of a market-worthy challenge project. This learning framework is supplemented with three-way mentoring from industry, faculty, and program mentors. Graduates of the program, known as Gordon Fellows, have an opportunity to gain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to successfully lead engineering teams. They stand out from their peers in their ability to invent, innovate, and implement engineering projects from concept to market success. Participation in GIEL accelerates Gordon Fellowsʼ careers, making them more valuable to their company.

The Challenge

When relatively unseasoned engineers run teams or projects, most fail to satisfy all of the projectʼs critical requirements—missing the mark in functionality, performance, quality, time-to-market, cost, or other key objectives.

This shortfall exists because engineers enter the workforce without critical skills related to:

Competitiveness
Taking responsibility to prevent failure
Market and customer focus
Influencing and motivating skills
Interdisciplinary decision-making and teamwork capability
Simultaneous optimization of all elements of performance, quality, cost, and timing
Front-loading the engineering process
Financial acumen
Big-picture engineering
Leadership abilities and organizational social awareness
Enterprise understanding
Program management tools and processes
Designing to avoid failure modes
Designing for lean manufacture

The Mission

GIEL’s mission is to create an elite cadre of engineering leaders who stand out from their peers in their ability to invent, innovate, and implement engineering projects from concept to market success.

These leaders will demonstrate an exceptional ability to lead engineering teams by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to influence others to achieve their collective goals.

The Method

To close the gaps and realize its mission, GIEL concentrates on the knowledge, skills, and abilities that reside at the intersection of engineering and leadership.

At the end of the program, Gordon Fellows emerge with the awareness, confidence, vision, and technical dexterity to drive positive change within their organizations and society.

Admissions

GIEL candidates must apply for and be admitted to both the Northeastern University Graduate School of Engineering and the Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership.

Students pursue GIEL as part of a Master of Science degree in the engineering discipline of their choice or as a stand-alone graduate certificate. Upon completion of a Master of Science degree, students earn both the Master of Science degree in the discipline of choice and a Graduate Certificate in Engineering Leadership. Students who already hold a graduate degree in engineering or have greater than three years of engineering work experience can complete the program to earn a Graduate Certificate in Engineering Leadership. The core GIEL curriculum takes place during one calendar year (September–July), and additional coursework required for the Master of Science degree can be pursued before, after, or in parallel with GIEL.

Engineering Leadership Courses

ENLR 3121. Engineering Leadership Professional Development. (0 Hours)

Studies what leadership is; why it is so powerful; and how applying leadership knowledge, skills, and abilities increase marketability, job performance, potential, and career advancement. Offers students an opportunity to learn what attributes provide the confidence and ability to influence others in the workplace and beyond to achieve personal goals and desired outcomes. After completing the experiential interaction in a classroom setting, participants work through self-directed modules during co-op to increase responsibility and credibility and enhance the overall co-op experience.Upon completion of modules, participants present to Gordon Institute cadre on their experiences.

ENLR 5121. Engineering Leadership 1. (2 Hours)

Covers elements of engineering practices such as product engineering (system design and engineering, integration, and documentation); engineering leadership (team building, communication, leadership styles, ethical behavior, and conflict resolution); market assessment (engineering economics, business plans, intellectual property, risk assessment, and mitigation); and engineering excellence (quality, reliability, serviceability, manufacturability, procurement, and problem solving). Requires work/training with a sponsoring organization or employer to improve a process or develop a project that is of significant value to the organization and demonstrates a quantifiable market impact while enhancing the student’s technological and engineering depth and fostering the student’s leadership development.

ENLR 5122. Engineering Leadership 2. (2 Hours)

Continues the examination of engineering practices begun in ENLR 5121. Requires work/training with a sponsoring organization or employer to improve a process or develop a project that is of significant value to the organization and demonstrates a quantifiable market impact while enhancing the student’s technological and engineering depth and fostering the student’s leadership development.

Prerequisite(s): ENLR 5121 with a minimum grade of C- or ENLR 5121 with a minimum grade of D-

ENLR 5131. Scientific Foundations of Engineering 1. (2 Hours)

Presents the fundamental science underlying engineering disciplines. Develops a conceptual framework to understand interdisciplinary engineering practice and to make informed, back-of-the-envelope, quantitative estimates. Covers topics such as principles of mechanics and mechanics of materials, wave physics, quantum physics, statistical and thermal physics, fluid physics, Maxwell’s equations and constitutive relations, and topics in chemistry and biology.

ENLR 5132. Scientific Foundations of Engineering 2. (2 Hours)

Continues the examination of fundamental science begun in ENLR 5131.

Prerequisite(s): ENLR 5131 with a minimum grade of C- or ENLR 5131 with a minimum grade of D-

ENLR 6962. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

ENLR 7440. Engineering Leadership Challenge Project 1. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity to develop and present a plan for the demonstration of a marketable technology product or prototype. This course is the first half of a thesis-scale project in technology commercialization. Requires work/training with a sponsoring organization or employer to improve a process or develop a project that is of significant value to the organization and demonstrates a quantifiable market impact while enhancing the student’s technological and engineering depth and fostering the student’s leadership development.

ENLR 7442. Engineering Leadership Challenge Project 2. (4 Hours)

Continues ENLR 7440, a thesis-scale project in technology commercialization. Offers students an opportunity to demonstrate their development of a marketable technology product or prototype and produce a written documentary report on the project to the satisfaction of an advising committee. Requires work/training with a sponsoring organization or employer to improve a process or develop a project that is of significant value to the organization and demonstrates a quantifiable market impact while enhancing the student’s technological and engineering depth and fostering the student’s leadership development.

Prerequisite(s): ENLR 7440 with a minimum grade of C-

ENLR 7444. Engineering Leadership Challenge Project Continuation. (0 Hours)

Continues ENLR 7442, a thesis-scale project in technology commercialization. Requires work/training with a sponsoring organization or employer to improve a process or develop a project that is of significant value to the organization and demonstrates a quantifiable market impact while enhancing the student’s technological and engineering depth and fostering the student’s leadership development.

Technology Leadership Courses

TELR 1990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

TELR 2990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

TELR 3990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

TELR 4990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

TELR 5121. Technology Leadership 1. (2 Hours)

Covers elements of technology practices such as technology engineering (system design and engineering, integration, and documentation); technology leadership (team building, communication, leadership styles, ethical behavior, and conflict resolution); market assessment (economics, business plans, intellectual property, risk assessment, and mitigation); and technology excellence (quality, reliability, serviceability, manufacturability, procurement, and problem solving). Requires work/training with a sponsoring organization or employer to improve a process or develop a project that is of significant value to the organization and demonstrates a quantifiable market impact while enhancing the student’s technological depth and fostering the student’s leadership development.

TELR 5122. Technology Leadership 2. (2 Hours)

Continues the examination of technology practices begun in TELR 5121. Requires work/training with a sponsoring organization or employer to improve a process or develop a project that is of significant value to the organization and demonstrates a quantifiable market impact while enhancing the student’s technological depth and fostering the student’s leadership development.

Prerequisite(s): TELR 5121 with a minimum grade of B

TELR 5131. Scientific Foundations of Technology 1. (2 Hours)

Presents a review of the fundamental science underlying technology disciplines. Develops a conceptual framework to understand interdisciplinary engineering practice and to make informed, back-of-the-envelope, quantitative estimates. Provides a review of topics such as principles of mechanics and mechanics of materials, wave physics, quantum physics, statistical and thermal physics, fluid physics, Maxwell’s equations and constitutive relations, and topics in chemistry and biology.

TELR 5132. Scientific Foundations of Technology 2. (2 Hours)

Continues the examination of fundamental science begun in TELR 5131.

Prerequisite(s): TELR 5131 with a minimum grade of B

TELR 6962. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

TELR 7440. Technology Leadership Challenge Project 1. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity to develop and present a plan for the demonstration of a marketable technology product or prototype. This course is the first half of a thesis-scale project in technology commercialization. Requires work/training with a sponsoring organization or employer to improve a process or develop a project that is of significant value to the organization and demonstrates a quantifiable market impact while enhancing the student’s technological depth and fostering the student’s leadership development.

TELR 7442. Technology Leadership Challenge Project 2. (4 Hours)

Continues TELR 7440, a thesis-scale project in technology commercialization. Offers students an opportunity to demonstrate their development of a marketable technology product or prototype and to produce a written documentary report on the project to the satisfaction of an advising committee. Requires work/training with a sponsoring organization or employer to improve a process or develop a project that is of significant value to the organization and demonstrates a quantifiable market impact while enhancing the student’s technological depth and fostering the student’s leadership development.

Prerequisite(s): TELR 7440 with a minimum grade of B

Academic Catalog 2024-2025

Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership

The Challenge

The Mission

The Method

Admissions

Graduate Certificates

Engineering Leadership Courses

Technology Leadership Courses

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