Financial Times Highlights the ‘Rise of the Business-Savvy Engineer’

The Financial Times writes in a trend story that while Master of Engineering Management programs “are not particularly widespread – the most notable include combined programmes offered at the business and engineering schools of Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Northwestern and Stanford – they are gaining popularity among students and employers.”

Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science offers two ways to get an MEM degree: through the Master of Engineering Management program, and through the MMM program, which offers a combined MEM and MBA degree.

The 12-course MEM program is designed for engineering and science professionals who want to develop core management and leadership skills while keeping on the cutting edge of technology. With outstanding faculty, a flexible format, and the best of both business and engineering courses, the MEM program enables engineers to communicate more effectively and to move from thinking tactically to thinking strategically.  It combines core courses in business management combined with graduate level classes within the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences.

The MMM program offers a unique, two-year curriculum leading to both an MBA and MEM. In all businesses, manufacturing, service-based or design-focused, both design and operations play critical roles. The combination of superior design and world-class operations provides a formidable competitive advantage by satisfying true customer needs. The MMM program trains tomorrow’s managers in achieving this through integrative thinking about design, operations, and management.

Says the Financial Times article: “The curricula for Mem programmes vary, but most combine advanced engineering courses on integration, manufacturing and supply chain management, with general business classes in subjects such as management, finance and accounting. The result is a well-rounded engineering graduate who can evaluate the commercial potential of innovations in science and technology and also understands financial statements and budgets…”