Professional development (PD) refers to accumulated skills and knowledge that contribute to personal and career advancement. It includes, but is not limited to, understanding professional responsibilities, understanding corporate and government organizations and their conduct, professional skills such as communication and effective personal interactions, and learning new professional skills through workshops and short courses. PD is crucial for the engineering student’s overall development and adds to his/her value after graduation and level of satisfaction and enjoyment during college. For example, PD activities in the College of Engineering and the engineering departments at Villanova would include active leadership positions in student chapters of the professional societies, activities that improve interpersonal and management skills, developing an effective resume, learning how to make a positive impact during an interview, actively participating in technical or organizational lectures, and workshops to improve understanding of a technical field or how a company conducts its business. PD is wide and its activities are many.

The Program

All freshman engineering students, as part of EGR 1200 (fall) and EGR 1205 (spring), are required to participate in a minimum of three PD activities each semester. View the list of Acceptable Professional Development Activities here. The three activities are in addition to the Ward/Cunningham Lecture Series talks given once each fall and spring. Please see www.villanova.edu/engineering/newsevents/ for information on this series. All freshmen engineering students are required to attend these. 

EGR 1200 Requirements

• Attend two Professional Development events. View the list of Acceptable Professional Development Activities here. 
• Attend mandatory Resume Writing Workshop (attendance will be taken) based on the following:
  • Friday, November 9, 2012 - miniprojects 1, 2, 3
  • Friday, November 16, 2012 - miniprojects 4, 5, 6
  • If you fail to attend a workshop listed above, you must attend a workshop offered by Career Center, or  meet one on one with a Career Center representative
• Submit a draft copy of your resume to Gayle Doyle after attending the workshop. The draft can be printed and delivered, or emailed to gayle.doyle@villanova.edu.

EGR 1205 Requirements

• Attend two Professional Development events
• Submit a Career Center Approved Resume based on the following due dates:
  • January 25, 2013 - miniprojects 1 & 2 (Robotics and Smartbeam).
  • February 1, 2013 - miniprojects 3 & 4 (Blood Pressure and Electric Car).
  • February 15, 2013 - miniprojects 5 & 6 (adsorption and Biofuel).
• Attend the Ward/Cunningham Lecture

For each activity, a report on the official PD report template needs to be submitted for the student to earn credit for that activity. You should download and complete the template following the instructions below and fill in the blank spaces as indicated. In the body of the report, please include the following:

1. The main points of the talk or activity,
2. How the main points relate to what you have already learned in your engineering experiences,
3. How the main points either stimulated or did not stimulate you to learn more about the topic(s),
4. How the activity fits into your professional development plan.

The administrator for the PD program is Ms. Gayle Doyle (gayle.doyle@villanova.edu), Administrator of Student Support Programs, Rm 309 CEER.  Please submit a copy of your report to Ms. Doyle.  The report should be printed and hand delivered, or scanned and emailed to her as a pdf file after completion. The report is due no later than 2 weeks after the event has ended.  No reports are required for the Ward/Cunningham Lecture Series.