The systems engineering program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The graduate systems engineering program at the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering (IESE) is founded on the premise of dual competency in both traditional engineering and in the business side of engineering. Students conduct independent systems-oriented research in both the technical and business aspects of engineering and the greater environment in which the engineering process resides. Our program aims to advance modeling, simulation, analysis and decision making for complex engineering and business problems under technical and economic uncertainty. Usually, business, technical and entrepreneurial aspects of engineered systems are taught and researched as separate topics with minimal overlap. However, the need for a new breed of engineers (making sound technical decisions balanced by business considerations) requires the integration and fusion of these streams into a single focus or discipline, providing engineers with a greater systems perspective. Some of the building blocks of the program relate to marketing research, optimization methods, product development, networked systems, integrated systems/subsystems/ component design and analysis, production planning, manufacturing strategies, supply chain management, innovation and entrepreneurship. In this paper we outline our experiences to date in developing and implementing a graduate systems engineering program and discuss future directions and modifications.