Educating Leaders for the 21st Century

Strategic Framework 2017Renowned Spirit, Unrivaled Excellence

January 2015

contentsStrategic Framework 2017 1

Message from the Dean 1

1. Our Vision 2

2. Our Values 2

3. Our Strategic Themes 2

3.1 Educating Leaders 2

3.2 Tradition of Spirit and Loyalty 3

3.3 Distinctive Learning Experience 3

3.4 Frontiers of Engineering Innovation 3

3.5 Financial Stability 3

4. From 2007-2014 4

5. The Challenges 6

6. The Way Forward: The Next Three Years 6

6.1 Educating Leaders 6

6.2 Embracing Our Tradition of Spirit and Loyalty 7

6.3 Enhancing Our Distinctive Learning Experience 8

6.4 Pushing the Frontiers of Engineering Innovation 8

6.5 Financial Stability 9

5. Conclusion 10

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Our Vision 1.

Strategic Framework 2017 This plan builds on the strategic framework developed in 2008 and focuses on a number of initiatives to reflect the realities of the postsecondary environment in 2014. Over the last four years, the postsecondary system in Ontario has witnessed a revolution in the way teaching is delivered, an increasing demand for engineering programs, and a continued decline in funding in the face of mounting costs. In response to very high demand, the Faculty has increased its enrolment at the undergraduate level to over 2700 students, made a significant investment in infrastructure renewal, introduced new programs at both the graduate and undergraduate levels through the generosity of alumni, and continued its renewal of faculty positions.

Now the Faculty is at a crossroad. In order to continue to maintain its high quality programming, it must develop new and diversified revenue streams while continuing to reduce its costs in the face of increasing competition and changing demographics.

Message from the DeanThe Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science has a long and proud history. Its roots stretch back to 1893 with the charter of the School of Mining and Agriculture in Kingston. From its inception, the school’s founders—engineers such as Sir Sandford Fleming, Dr. W.L. Goodwin and Dean Nathan F. Dupuis—had a clear vision of the institution that the country needed and of the institution that they would create. In 1894, the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Queen’s University was created as a degree-granting institution and, with its amalgamation with the School of Mining and Agriculture in 1916, the Faculty we now know was born.

Since that time, the Faculty has maintained a reputation for excellence—a reputation as a leader in the delivery of the very best engineering education available. We are justifiably proud of that reputation, and are committed to preserving and enhancing it as we move forward.

Confronting us today is an economic climate in which we face declining government funding, a challenging financial climate and increasing competition from other universities. If we are to maintain our position at the forefront of educational excellence in Canada, we must adapt. We must explore new revenue-generating opportunities, and we must continually renew our curriculum to

prepare our students to take their place as leaders who can shape the future. We must focus on new areas of study while building on our core strengths in traditional fields.

We must continue to build on our relationships with alumni, as they are a great source of strength and passion.

This framework continues the focus of our 2008 strategic framework: building on our history of excellence in teaching and research, and adapting to the challenges of today in order to create a Faculty that will nurture graduates ready to take on the challenges of the future.

Kimberly A. Woodhouse, PhD., P. Eng., FCAE, FBSE

Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science

Our Values2.

Our Strategic Themes3.

Educating Leaders: The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Queen’s University builds on a tradition of spirit and loyalty to provide a distinctive learning experience at the frontiers of engineering innovation.

The overall strategy for achieving this vision is one of balanced focus. To be a Faculty with influence in the global academy and to continue to attract high quality faculty members, we need to enhance our research intensiveness while continuing to enrich the undergraduate programs—programs at the heart of the Faculty since its inception.

A thread that occurs throughout the strategic framework is that of leadership and innovation. The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science focuses on the development of technically strong but well-rounded individuals, with an interest in a balanced educational experience. Its community believes that leaders will be exposed to international opportunities and that international students bring a valued perspective to the Faculty.

n Quality and excellence

n Collaboration with integrity

n Respect for others

n Ethics

These themes guide the development of our key, long-term strategic goals and continue from our original strategic framework. They can be integrated into Queen’s strategic framework through the university-wide strategic drivers of student learning experience, research prominence, internationalization and financial sustainability.

3.1 Educating Leaders

Our faculty and students will

n share a global perspective;

n crave creativity and innovation;

n solve new problems with critical thinking and traditional skills;

n be sensitive to the needs of policy and changing politics;

n bring an understanding of applied sustainability;

n have a deep understanding of business;

n be effective communicators with strong interpersonal skills;

n work well within a team environment and project management structure, while maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit; and

n be independent and self-directed learners.

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Over the past seven years, the strategic framework has helped guide the Faculty through extraordinary change. Through the dedication of staff, faculty members and students we have achieved outstanding success against our goals and our drive to meet our vision.

In the first seven years of the strategic framework, the Faculty evaluated all aspects of its programs with a particular focus on enhancing the design and experiential learning component of the curriculum. The curriculum renewal at the undergraduate level has been extensive. We have put in place design courses across all four years and have become recognized both nationally and internationally as a leading contributor to engineering education. Our curriculum is unique and provides opportunities for hands on experiential learning throughout all four years and across all ten programs. This curriculum renewal was achieved while the Faculty completed its transition to outcomes-based accreditation. Queen’s Engineering is the lead organization facilitating this national change in accreditation requirements.

We have increased the already significant diversity within the Faculty at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. We currently have one of the highest participation rates for women of any engineering Faculty in the country at 28.4% at the undergraduate level, and over 4% of our undergraduates are international students.

In 2008, the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science formed a unique partnership with the Queen’s School of Business that has resulted in the Queen’s Innovation Connector (QIC), a university-wide initiative to build an eastern Ontario innovation hub that is set to expand across the region. Through the generous support of alumni, the QIC has become a launching pad for entrepreneurship and corporate and social innovation within the region. The surrounding communities are engaged in our student-run Maker Spaces, start-ups and pitch competitions. The unique Queen’s Summer Innovation Initiative brings students from across the university together in a fast paced internship that blends engineering, business and innovation in a real-world setting.

In 2009, we started the Queen’s Aboriginal Access to Engineering (AAE) program. It provides culturally relevant student support services to Aboriginal students enrolled in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. Working in partnership with the Four Directions Aboriginal Student Centre, AAE strives to support the academic, physical and spiritual needs of students. Through AAE, students have access to tutoring and exam prep sessions; mentoring opportunities with practicing Aboriginal engineers; and liaisons with industries particularly interested in the development of Aboriginal engineers through summer employment, internships and permanent positions. A key outreach element of AAE is the support we provide for Aboriginal youth and their teachers. Visit our Aboriginal Access to Engineering educational site (aboriginalaccess.ca) for culturally relevant educational materials, games, puzzles, videos, workbooks and other online resources to help promote science and engineering to Aboriginal youth.

Our Strategic Themes continued3.

3.2 Tradition of Spirit and Loyalty Our faculty and students are

n keenly aware of our sense of accomplishment and the pride that accomplishment engenders;

n committed to student involvement, independence and ownership;

n cohesive, cooperative and collegial;

n committed to the community and the residential experience that Kingston has to offer;

n connected to the rich tapestry of our alumni network; and

n committed to breaking down barriers, whether in scholarship, research or project management.

3.3 Distinctive Learning Experience Our faculty and students choose us because we

n offer a unique undergraduate and graduate experience compared to other national and international universities;

n offer a flexible and responsive curriculum centered on a core set of principles;

n encourage faculty and students to engage in active learning and project-driven activities within and across disciplines;

n embrace innovative teaching techniques through the use of high-quality facilities;

n are inclusive, and therefore able to adapt and respond to the dynamic needs of a changing student population;

n engage in creating independent thinkers and self-taught leaders; and

n learn from each other in a unique community environment where individuals interact as citizens, collaborators and leaders as much as they do as teachers and students.

3.4 Frontiers of Engineering Innovation Our faculty and graduates will be on the frontiers of engineering innovation because we

n understand the need for interaction between engineering, technology, social sciences, physical sciences, health and biological sciences, humanities, business/commerce, and law;

n strive to ensure that our teaching and research is relevant, both now and in the future;

n are sensitive to the global climate in which we live;

n embrace emerging technologies;

n enhance our strengths in energy, natural resources, bioeconomy, communications, advanced materials, biomechanics and nanotechnology research; and

n maintain a core curriculum which can be readily and rapidly adapted to meet society’s changing need for expertise.

3.5 Financial Stability Our Faculty will achieve sustainability in quality of program as it attains financial stability through

n high-quality programming;

n reduced reliance on government funding;

n new revenue pathways to sustain our programs; and

n utilization of technology to increase the quality of teaching and reduce costs.

From 2007-2014 4.

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The Faculty has been awarded funding from the government to expand its online and blended learning initiatives across the postsecondary sector. The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, in collaboration with Northern College, will be offering a Bachelor of Technology in Mining almost entirely online. At the graduate level, our 4+1 programming has been implemented in the Engineering Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering programs. We are poised to rapidly expand our novel Master’s of Engineering degree, which incorporates an internship. Under the previous framework we launched two new master’s degrees and repositioned the research master’s to a Master’s of Applied Science.

Since 2007, we have added five new Canada Research Chairs, an Ontario Research Chair in Green Chemistry, and three endowed chairs and professorships to our community of researchers. We have hired over twenty faculty members at the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

Two new research centres, the Centre for Energy and Power Electronics Research (ePower) and the Water Research Centre, have joined the Fuel Cell Research Centre, the GeoEngineering Centre and the Human Mobility Research Centre as hubs

of internationally-recognized, collaborative research undertaken by members of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied and others from across the university. In 2007, we had approximately $20 million in research funding, and by 2012, we had over $26 million in industry and government contracts, grants and partnerships.

The Faculty has made a significant effort to strengthen its communications with prospective and current students, staff, faculty and alumni. We publish The Complete Engineer twice a year. Our media squad has been producing outstanding videos and graphics, and our social media engagement is one of the strongest of all the engineering faculties in the country. We are in the second refresh of our websites and now have a strong mobile presence.

Through all the change and initiatives that we have undertaken, our alumni have supported us by teaching courses, giving workshops, judging start-up competitions and by directly supporting the Faculty through donations. With the help of an outstanding volunteer cabinet, the Faculty launched the largest fundraising effort in Queen’s Engineering history. The $85 million Inspiring Greatness: The Campaign for Queen’s Engineering, part of Queen’s Initiative Campaign, is ensuring that the Faculty continues to grow, evolve and deliver the innovative learning experiences that define Queen’s Engineering.

The last seven years have been busy, exciting and demanding. We renamed the Faculty, expanded our enrolment to allow access for the ever increasing numbers of students who wish to come to Queen’s, won design team competition after competition, and invested in our infrastructure. The Queen’s Engineering community is justifiably proud of what we have accomplished.

From 2007-2014 continued4.

The Faculty is facing increasing pressure to continue to differentiate itself through new curriculum, outstanding research and high-quality teaching. The Faculty is also under significant external competitive pressure primarily from the expansion of engineering programs across the country at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. This creates unprecedented competition for highly qualified students at the same time as the demographic in Ontario is changing.

For the first time in a number of years, university applications from Ontario high school students were down across the system in 2014. While applications to Queen’s Engineering remain high, we will need to continue to provide high-quality, differentiated programs to attract today’s student. We must continue to reach across Canada and increase our international reputation to enhance the diversity of our undergraduate population.

We face a particular challenge in the graduate area. We are currently constrained by infrastructure limitations in both the quality and quantity of research space. The Faculty is still dealing with laboratory and research infrastructure that is not appropriate for leading edge research initiatives, despite four years of intensive investment in renovations for both research and undergraduate facilities.

At present, the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science is maintaining a balanced budget, but its capacity to continue to do so will be dependent on its ability to generate revenue outside the envelope of government funding. Placing the Faculty on a sustainable financial footing while maintaining the high quality of its programs continues to be a key focus for the years ahead

The Challenges 5.

6.1 Educating Leaders

Today’s leaders need to be innovators, have an understanding of the global workplace and be willing to embrace rapid changes. To help our students prepare for the fast-paced, rapidly-changing world of today we will provide expanded programming at both the undergraduate and graduate level through the Queen’s Innovation Connector and the Aboriginal Access to Engineering program. Started in the first seven years of this strategic framework, these unique initiatives are establishing Queen’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science as a leader in engineering education.

6.1.1 We will support the participation of engineering students in QIC into 2017.

6.1.2 We will have 25 students in the Aboriginal Access to Engineering initiative by 2017.

6.1.3 We will increase undergraduate student participation in internships by 10% each year through 2017.

There is strong support by industry for internship programs so that students may obtain real work experience while they complete their degree. This provides students graduating with an internship a very real advantage in finding permanent employment. It also provides them with an opportunity to learn more about a particular

The Way Forward: The Next Three Years

6.

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company or industry. Queen’s has had an internship program for a number of years. However, a large number of Queen’s Engineering students do not take advantage of the opportunity, potentially placing themselves at a disadvantage in the current competitive job market. Some companies have moved to only hiring interns as permanent employees. We will improve the profile of the program and the opportunities in order to increase the participation rate.

6.1.4 We will have implemented a full 2+2 program at the undergraduate level with one international university by 2016.

Implementing joint 2 + 2 programs with international universities will help build our international reputation, enhance the opportunities for Queen’s students to gain global experience, and increase the diversity with the student population at the undergraduate level without impacting the domestic student enrolment in our highly constrained first year. These programs require a long-term investment and take time to develop. The Faculty will be strategic in its selection of partners.

6.1.5 We will increase our international enrolment at the undergraduate level to 6% by 2017.

6.2 Embracing Our Tradition of Spirit and Loyalty

6.2.1 We will maintain our service-learning initiatives throughout the curriculum through to 2017.

One of the challenges that the Faculty and the university face is nurturing our relationship with the local community. Service learning within the curriculum will both help to improve those relationships and enhance the educational experience of the students. Our new professional spine will help to expand our efforts in this area.

6.2.2 We will continue to provide our highly successful Faculty magazine, The Complete Engineer, two times per year to alumni and other stakeholders through to 2017.

Alumni and other stakeholders care passionately about the Faculty and its future. We will continue to make communication one of our highest priorities.

6.2.3 We will expand our social and print media offerings to enhance our connection with all stakeholders by June 2015.

Our use of social media has expanded significantly in the last number of years. It will continue to be a focus for the Faculty both to recruit new students and to communicate with other stakeholders.

6.2.4 We will fully implement and maintain our 10 point student success model by 2015.

Over the next several years, the Faculty will be pulling all of the student support programs together under a comprehensive “Student Success Model.” Existing programs such as J-section, which helps students who have academic difficulties in fall term of first year, will be supplemented with new initiatives to form cohesive packages of services. Among the new services being introduced are an in-house mental health counsellor and “EngBounceBack”—a Learning Strategies Development program tailored to Engineering students which provides coaching on topics such as effective study habits, time management skills and dealing with stress.

The Way forward continued6.

6.2.5 We will meet our Inspiring Greatness campaign goal of $85 million by 2016.

6.3 Enhancing Our Distinctive Learning Experience

6.3.1 We will have 50 students in distance learning and/or professional programs by 2017.

Queen’s Engineering was recently awarded funding from the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT) for a collaboration with Northern College on a Bachelor of Technology in Mining degree for college students. Through this initiative and others like it, the Faculty will enhance its expertise in online education and provide a unique opportunity for students from colleges and other Universities to obtain courses online. While fundamentally different from the traditional Queen’s residential experience, online and blended learning initiatives will provide a larger community of students the opportunity to engage with the Faculty.

6.3.2 We will provide two new certificate programs at either the undergraduate or graduate level by 2017.

Certificate programs are a way for the Faculty to provide expanded opportunities for students to enhance their knowledge in specific areas. We will design and develop programs that utilize faculty expertise and meet student demand.

6.3.3 We will continue the expansion of our successful 4 + 1 accelerated research masters programs to include a third department by 2016.

In 2011, we piloted an accelerated research master’s where the student has the opportunity to start their Master’s of Applied Science degree while completing their Bachelor of Science (engineering). Started for students in engineering physics, this has now been expanded in the electrical and computer engineering programs. This 4+1 strategy allows those students who know they wish to go on to graduate school to save a year in obtaining the two degrees.

6.3.4 We will have 70 Master’s of Engineering graduate students by 2017.

The Faculty recently launched a MEng with the option of internship to provide a new opportunity to those students who wish to increase their knowledge in a specific area but do not want to undertake a two year research intensive degree. This course-driven master’s is supported by enhanced staff in career services to facilitate internships for both Canadian and international students.

6.3.5 We will complete our planned renovations for project and team design space by 2016.

Design and competitive design teams are one of the cornerstones in our engineering programs. We are in the preliminary planning stages of three new project and design team spaces. We will complete these by 2016 to support the experiential learning so important to engineers.

6.4 Pushing the Frontiers of Engineering Innovation

6.4.1 We will initiate the construction of the Queen’s Innovation Commons building by 2018.

The building will be designed and built consistent with our emphasis on innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration. It will incorporate interdisciplinary research clusters while preserving departmental identity by having undergraduate and graduate common space contiguous with departmental offices.

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6.4.2 In collaboration with the Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science will launch the Earth and Energy Resources Leadership program by 2017.

6.4.3 We will have two new research chairs by 2017.

Obtaining research, industrial or endowed chairs for current or future members of our faculty is an important way to recognize our outstanding researchers and to attract new faculty members to Queen’s. We have talented and internationally acclaimed researchers who work extensively with industry and may be eligible for industrial professorships and qualified for chair positions.

6.4.4 We will maintain a research grant level of $200,000 per faculty member through 2017.

6.4.5 We will spend up to $500,000 per year in infrastructure improvements to 2017.

The Faculty will continue to renew its facilities to support new educational initiatives, expanded enrolment and our research intensiveness.

6.5 Financial Stability

6.5.1 We will have 50 students in distance learning and/or professional programs by 2017.

The next three years will see moderate growth of the Faculty at the undergraduate level.

6.5.2 We will maintain an applicant pool of at least 4,500 applicants per year over the next three years.

The significant changes we have made in our recruiting, our quality of programming and the unique opportunities of the Queen’s experience have resulted in unprecedented demand for our programs. However, the demographics in Ontario, the province where the majority of our students reside, are changing, and the university-aged population is declining. We will need to continue to work hard to attract and retain outstanding students to Queens.

6.5.3 We will maintain a graduate population of 500 through to 2017.

We have made a significant change to our recruiting strategy at the graduate level over the last seven years. We will continue to strengthen our recruitment in this area, with a focus on programs to support Queen’s students who wish to undertake graduate studies and through increasing our international activities.

The Way forward continued6.

The Faculty’s future is bright.

Its strengths are formidable:

n a faculty of talented and dedicated teachers and researchers;

n a student body drawn from the very best and brightest;

n a group of the most passionate and committed alumni;

n a team of highly skilled and experienced support staff; and

n one of the most honoured and respected histories of any engineering institution in the country.

It is now time to build on those strengths and adapt to meet the challenges posed by a new century.

And we will.

Queen’s engineers will continue to take their place as leaders, both at home and abroad, building a bright, sustainable future for the benefit of all.

Conclusion 7.

Beamish-Munro Hall, Room 20045 Union StreetKingston, OntarioK7L 3N6(613) 533-2055