Engineering Change Lab-USA (ECL-USA) is a catalyst for change within the engineering community, helping it reach its highest potential on behalf of society
We are living in a world that is facing an unprecedented combination of technological change…
and rapidly evolving societal needs, driven in large part by environmental imperatives. As this uncertain future unfolds, maintaining the status quo is not an option for the engineering community. The imperative for change and adaptation has driven the formation of ECL-USA.
Learn More about ECL-USASummits
ECL-USA convenes two to three times a year to share perspectives, deepen our understanding of engineering’s emerging future, and to launch experiments and focused initiatives designed both to foster change across the entire engineering system from education to practice to research to licensure.
Upcoming SummitsOur Way Forward
Our way forward is through action inspired by the Engineering Change Lab-USA’s mission. ECL-USA was started in 2017, with the mission of becoming a catalyst for change within the engineering profession, by helping the profession reach its highest potential on behalf of society.
To achieve our mission, we will:
- Bring together stakeholders, innovative thinkers, and change agents to explore and generate new knowledge about the role of engineering in an emerging future.
- Self-organize as an independent (non-aligned) entity – complementing existing stakeholder organizations (professional societies and associations), not attempting to duplicate their efforts.
- Become a communications hub, linking and sharing knowledge between stakeholders engaged in creating the future of the engineering community (profession).
- Engage in and lead collaborative initiatives designed to transform the engineering community (profession) to help it thrive in an evolving world.
Recent News
Future Programming Schedule 2020/2021
Engineering Change Lab - USA (ECL-USA) will continue to explore the future of engineering in the coming months. In recognition of the ongoing reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, we will utilize virtual programming through mid-2021. Until our in-person summits are resumed, we will offer a series of half-day, virtual mini-summits at intervals of about every two months. Each of these min-summits will continue the “deep dive” aspects of our summits.
Beginning in October, we will also experiment with informal, virtual open houses between the mini-summits to continue the discussions began at summits and to maintain the connections between participants that are an important element of our work.
We are also beginning planning for an in-person Engineering Ideas Institute II in Summer 2021.
Here is the schedule for our upcoming events.
- November 2, 2020 – ECL-USA Virtual Open House. Maintain connections from Summit 9 or catch up with previous connections! Join us for our first virtual open house. Click on the button below and scroll to the registration form titled "ECL-USA Virtual Open House". It is the second form window in the browser.
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- December 16, 2020 – Summit 10, Licensure Models for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Summit 10 will feature a half-day deep dive into the need for engineering licensure models to adapt to the transformational technological developments of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Presented in partnership with the National Society of Professional Engineers and the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying.
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- January 2021 – ECL-USA Virtual Open House
- February 2021 – Summit 11, Developing a Climate Change Public Policy Strategy for the Engineering Community (Tentative)
- March 2021 – ECL-USA Virtual Open House
- April 2021 – Summit 12, Consulting Engineering in a Post-COVID World (Tentative)
- May – June 2021, ECL-USA Virtual Open House
- July – August 2021, The Engineering Ideas Institute II (Topics to be determined)
THE ENGINEERING IDEAS INSTITUTE WRAP-UP
ECL-USA’s first Engineering Ideas Institute is complete. You can now review the reports for all four sessions (Session 1 Report) (Session 2 Report) (Session 3 Report) (Session 4 Report). Recordings of all four sessions are also available (Session 1) (Session 2) (Session 3) (Session 4).
The reports highlight the provocateur presentations and the group discussions on four topics that are highly important to the future of engineering. Each report summarizes the key takeaways from the sessions.
Session 1 included an exploration of the complex entanglement between society and technology and the role that the engineering community can play in an emergent future to help society anticipate, untangle, and adapt. Group discussion was centered around provocateur Darshan Karwat’s self-reflection questions for activist engineers.
Session 2 revealed the unique leadership responsibility of the engineering community to commit to a deep understanding of the systems that are impacted by our work captured in this framework.
Session 3 challenged participants to work for justice, equity, diversity and inclusivity in the engineering community through a broad-based approach that encompasses personal mastery, interpersonal relationships, organizational culture, and structural barriers.
Session 4 examined how engineering and science can be used to more effectively set policy and how engineers can move beyond simply providing technical advice and counsel to higher level engagement in public policy.
Look for an announcement soon on our upcoming programming.
Session 2 revealed the unique leadership responsibility of the engineering community to commit to a deep understanding of the systems that are impacted by our work captured in this framework.
Session 3 challenged participants to work for justice, equity, diversity and inclusivity in the engineering community through a broad-based approach that encompasses personal mastery, interpersonal relationships, organizational culture, and structural barriers.
Session 4 examined how engineering and science can be used to more effectively set policy and how engineers can move beyond simply providing technical advice and counsel to higher level engagement in public policy.
Look for an announcement soon on our upcoming programming.THE ENGINEERING IDEAS INSTITUTE
ECL-USA’s Summit 9, The Engineering Ideas Institute, is in the books. Session 1 included an exploration of the complex entanglement between society and technology and the role that the engineering community can play in an emergent future to help society anticipate, untangle, and adapt. The theme of Session 2 was Environmentally Responsible Engineering: Building Capacities for Leading ERE Work / Leading the Change. This session explored what it takes to lead the work of ERE through the stories of the session provocateurs who are actively engaged in this type of work. Session 3 focused on the subject of Diversity Challenges: Exploring Barriers and Enablers for Women and Under Represented Minorities in Engineering. The session explored why the system is stuck with respect to the percentage of women and under-represented minorities in the engineering workforce and possible leverage points for unsticking it (removing barriers, fostering enablers, changing mindsets and unconscious biases, etc.). Session 4's theme was Public Policy: Enabling Engineering Leadership in the Public Policy Arena. This session examined how engineering and science can be used to more effectively set policy and how engineers can move beyond simply providing technical advice and counsel to higher level engagement in public policy. Detailed reports on all four sessions will be available soon.
