technology management: educational trends

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT, VOL. 41. NO 4, NOVEMBER 1994 347 Technology Management: Educational Trends Dundar F. Kocaoglu, Fellow, IEEE Invited Paper Abstruct- Educational institutions are offering an increas- ing number of degree-granting programs to prepare engineers and scientists to move toward management responsibilities while maintaining identity in their technical backgrounds. These pro- grams are offered under various titles including “Engineering Management,” “Engineering and Management,” “Management of Technology,” “Technology Management,” and several others. This paper presents the summary of the findings of a study conducted among those institutions [l], [2]. It is the fifth such study since the mid-1970’s. The previous ones were conducted in 1977, 1981, 1984, and 1990 [3]-[8]. The paper reports on the trends and observations about the past, present and future of the educational aspects of this field. The term “Engineering and Technology Management” (E&TM) is used as the representative title for the programs identified. I. INTRODUCTION HE most dramatic growth pattern we have seen in the T last 40 years of engineering and technology manage- ment (E&TM) has been in educational programs. Based on a worldwide study that we conducted among the educational institutions over a period of 12 months, there are 159 degree granting programs today. One hundred and three of them are in the United States. The remaining 56 are in 25 countries. These are the programs which provided detailed information about their curricula, research areas, organizational characteristics, and resource levels. The information was evaluated on the basis of emphasis in managing innovation, creativity, basic and applied research, development, design, implementation, marketing and transfer of technology. Both strategic and operational levels of technology management were considered in including the programs in the E&TM classification. Ap- proximately 40 other programs provided partial information, but they were not included in the study because the information was not sufficient to determine whether or not they could be considered as Engineering and Technology Management programs. The summary of the preliminary results of the study is presented in this paper. 11. THE GROWTH PATTERN The growth of E&TM Programs is shown in Fig. 1. The figure is based on the dates of establishment of the programs that are currently being offered. The growth curve has not Manuscript received November 1994. This work was supported by the Portland State University Engineering Management Program. The author is with the Engineering Management Program, School of Engineering and Appled Science, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97207475 1 USA. IEEE Log Number 9408976. 160 I m 159 - $ 140 - - 120 2 100 E W 80 60 & 40 n m r 5 20 0 m m m m b o m m r u m m - b * m m a w b r - + ~ ~ ~ m m ? ? Z Z ? Z ? ? ? Z Z ? ? Year of Establishment Growth of engineering and technology management programs Fig. 1. 12 r I B 41 I j 3 5 2 1 0 m m s m k a m m ? Z Z Z Z P m w w E?;$$g@g Year of Establishment Fig. 2. Engineering and technology management programs by year. reached the flat, stable region yet. The number of institutions offering E&TM is continuing to increase. The trend is better observed in Fig. 2, which shows that the development of the E&TM programs was relatively slow from 1949-1970. Then there was a sudden increase in the 1970’s, followed by a stronger pattern in the 1980’s, continuing even stronger in the 1990’s. Ten universities were offering E&TM in 1960. Since then, that number has been doubling roughly every eight years. The sudden growth in the 1970’s can be explained by the need for engineers and scientists to manage technology under pressure from the then-important oil crisis. When the oil crisis subsided, the growth slowed down toward the end of the decade. It was a temporary slowdown, however, as seen by the large number of universities starting their programs in the 1980’s. This second growth was the result of the recognition that we were in an era where technology alone was no longer sufficient for competitive advantage; we needed the ability 0018-9391/94$04.00 0 1994 IEEE

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Page 1: Technology management: educational trends

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT, VOL. 41. NO 4, NOVEMBER 1994 347

Technology Management: Educational Trends Dundar F. Kocaoglu, Fellow, IEEE

Invited Paper

Abstruct- Educational institutions are offering an increas- ing number of degree-granting programs to prepare engineers and scientists to move toward management responsibilities while maintaining identity in their technical backgrounds. These pro- grams are offered under various titles including “Engineering Management,” “Engineering and Management,” “Management of Technology,” “Technology Management,” and several others. This paper presents the summary of the findings of a study conducted among those institutions [l], [2]. It is the fifth such study since the mid-1970’s. The previous ones were conducted in 1977, 1981, 1984, and 1990 [3]-[8]. The paper reports on the trends and observations about the past, present and future of the educational aspects of this field. The term “Engineering and Technology Management” (E&TM) is used as the representative title for the programs identified.

I. INTRODUCTION

HE most dramatic growth pattern we have seen in the T last 40 years of engineering and technology manage- ment (E&TM) has been in educational programs. Based on a worldwide study that we conducted among the educational institutions over a period of 12 months, there are 159 degree granting programs today. One hundred and three of them are in the United States. The remaining 56 are in 25 countries. These are the programs which provided detailed information about their curricula, research areas, organizational characteristics, and resource levels. The information was evaluated on the basis of emphasis in managing innovation, creativity, basic and applied research, development, design, implementation, marketing and transfer of technology. Both strategic and operational levels of technology management were considered in including the programs in the E&TM classification. Ap- proximately 40 other programs provided partial information, but they were not included in the study because the information was not sufficient to determine whether or not they could be considered as Engineering and Technology Management programs. The summary of the preliminary results of the study is presented in this paper.

11. T H E GROWTH PATTERN

The growth of E&TM Programs is shown in Fig. 1. The figure is based on the dates of establishment of the programs that are currently being offered. The growth curve has not

Manuscript received November 1994. This work was supported by the Portland State University Engineering Management Program.

The author is with the Engineering Management Program, School of Engineering and Appled Science, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97207475 1 USA.

IEEE Log Number 9408976.

160 I m 159 - $ 140 - - 120

2 100 E W

80

60

& 40 n

m

r

5 20

0 m m m m b o m m r u m m - b * m m a w b r - + ~ ~ ~ m m ? ? Z Z ? Z ? ? ? Z Z ? ?

Year of Establishment

Growth of engineering and technology management programs Fig. 1.

12 r I

B 4 1 I

j 3

5 2 1

0 m m s m k a m m ? Z Z Z Z P m w w E ? ; $ $ g @ g

Year of Establishment

Fig. 2. Engineering and technology management programs by year.

reached the flat, stable region yet. The number of institutions offering E&TM is continuing to increase.

The trend is better observed in Fig. 2, which shows that the development of the E&TM programs was relatively slow from 1949-1970. Then there was a sudden increase in the 1970’s, followed by a stronger pattern in the 1980’s, continuing even stronger in the 1990’s. Ten universities were offering E&TM in 1960. Since then, that number has been doubling roughly every eight years.

The sudden growth in the 1970’s can be explained by the need for engineers and scientists to manage technology under pressure from the then-important oil crisis. When the oil crisis subsided, the growth slowed down toward the end of the decade. It was a temporary slowdown, however, as seen by the large number of universities starting their programs in the 1980’s. This second growth was the result of the recognition that we were in an era where technology alone was no longer sufficient for competitive advantage; we needed the ability

0018-9391/94$04.00 0 1994 IEEE

Page 2: Technology management: educational trends

348 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT, VOL. 41, NO. 4, NOVEMBER 1994

Australia 9 Austria 1 Belgium 2

Brazil 1 Canada 8

Denmark 2 France 2

Germany 3 Hong Kong 2 Indonesia 1

Ireland 1 Israel 1 Japan 1

Mexico 1 New Zealand 1

Norway 1 Saudi Arabia 1

Scotland 1 Singapore 1

South Africa 4 Sweden 1

Switzerland 3 Taiwan 1

United Kingdom I USA 103 Total 159

Fig. 3. Geographic distribution of the E&TM programs

Engineering Schools Business Schools Joint Between Engineering and Business Schools Other

Fig. 4.

to manage it. While the growth experienced in the 1970’s can be seen as temporary, the growth pattern that we have been observing since the early 1980’s is clearly a permanent phenomenon caused by the fundamental shifts taking place in the educational and industrial infrastructure. The exponential growth will not continue indefinitely, but there is no indication that it has reached the saturation level yet.

Fig. 3 shows the geographic distribution of the programs reported in the study.

What once was a predominantly US phenomenon is spread- ing throughout the world now. The number of non-US uni- versities with E&TM programs has started to grow rapidly, even though the total figure is still a small fraction of the US universities. If this trend continues, we could very well see the growth curve not reaching the saturation level until well into the 21st century.

Academic location of E&TM programs.

111. ACADEMIC LOCATION

The vast majority of the earlier E&TM programs were in the Schools of Engineering with a few joint programs with Business Schools, and fewer located in the Business Schools. Currently, the Engineering Schools still represent more than 50% of the E&TM programs, but the rate of growth is higher for the programs offered jointly, as well as those offered by the Business Schools. The academic locations of the programs are summarized in Fig. 4.

Because of the multi-disciplinary nature of the E&TM programs, most of the educational institutions reported that even when their programs were not offered jointly, the ac- tual operation had many joint activities. The joint activities included cross-listing of courses in multiple units of the university, joint research projects, and participation of faculty

members from various departments or schools in the thesis committees. As this trend continues, we are likely to see the growth of multidisciplinary programs originating in both Engineering Schools and Business Schools.

IV. PROGRAM TITLES

Forty six different titles were reported by the universities offering E&TM programs. The top 10 of the most frequently used titles are listed below:

Engineering Management Management of Technology Master of Engineering Management Technology Management Industrial Management Systems Engineering Engineering Science Manufacturing Management Production Management Diploma in Tech. Management

34 20 13 7 7 4 3 3 3 2.

Clustering similar titles together, the 46 different titles have been reduced to six categories as follows:

Category 1 : Engineering Management 77 Programs Category 2: Management of Technology 42 Programs Category 3: Industrial Management 15 Programs Category 4: Manufacturing Management 8 Programs Category 5: MBA w/Technol. Concentration 5 Programs Category 6: Others 12 Programs

Total 159 Programs The distribution of the title categories to academic locations

shows that the “Engineering Management” category and the “Industrial Management” category are predominantly in the Schools of Engineering. While the “Management of Technol- ogy” category is more prevalent in Business Schools, it is also being used by the Engineering School programs and the joint programs as summarized in Fig. 5.

V. DEGREES

E&TM programs are developing primarily at the graduate level. The degrees offered by the 159 educational institutions are summarized below:

BS only 15 MS only 92 Ph.D. only 5 Total BS: 34 BS and MS 8 Total MS: 132 BS and Ph.D. 1 Total Ph.D.: 38 MS and Ph.D. 22 BS, MS and Ph.D. 10

The comparison between 1990 and 1994 in the number of degree-granting programs at each level is given in Fig. 6.

As the number of degrees offered by the programs has increased by 23%, the shift of emphasis toward the graduate degrees has become visible in the last four years. The under- graduate programs have decreased both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of the total while the graduate programs have increased, with the master’s degree representing the majority of the offerings [1], [7].

Page 3: Technology management: educational trends

KOCAOGLU: TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT: EDUCATIONAL TRENDS 349

Engineering Schools Business Schools Joint Engineering and Business Other Total

Engineering Management 60 3 I 1 3 77 Mgmt. of Technol. 1 1 16 I 1 4 42 Industrial Management I O 7 I 2 15 Manuf. Management 3 1 4 0 8 MBA wl Technology 0 2 2 I 5 Other 4 2 3 3 12 Total 88 26 32 13 I59

Fig. 5. Distribution of E&TM program titles in academic locations.

1990 1994 I Number 52 Number 8

RS ?I( 7 7 ?A 17 I - v _” _, ,

MS 99 60 132 64 Ph.D. 29 17 78 19

I677 1295 3348 MS I254 5841 243 1 4265 13791 Ph.D. 325 107 615 Total 3356 6128 3867 4503 17 754

I Total 166 204

Fig. 6. E&TM degree program\ in 1990 and 1994.

VI. ENROLLMENTS It is estimated that approximately 18 000 students are

currently enrolled in the E&TM programs worldwide. The distribution of the students at various degree levels in the US and non-US universities is shown in Fig. 7.

The estimated number of students enrolled in the E&TM programs was 11 231 in 1960 [7]. That figure has increased 58% in four years. The majority of the students are pursuing the master’s degree on a part-time basis. Approximately 25% of the doctoral students are also part-time students. The undergraduates are mostly full-time students.

VII. CONCLUSIONS

The educational component of technology management is continuing with its strong growth. From a handful of programs 40 years ago, the field has grown to more than 200 educational programs. The growth is taking place primarily at the graduate level. What started out initially as an Engineering School activity is now moving into Business Schools just as strongly. “Engineering Management” is being used as the title almost exclusively in the Engineering Schools. “Management of Tech- nology” is more common in the Business Schools, but it is also gaining popularity in the Engineering Schools and the joint programs. There is no indication that the growth is approaching the saturation point. On the contrary, as the field continues to expand in both the United States and the non-US universities, Engineering & Technology Management is establishing itself with higher degrees of visibility and recognition throughout the world.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT Alfredo Sandoval and Fernando Rivera were the graduate

assistants who helped in conducting the study and analyzing the results. More than 3000 educational institutions were contacted. Their responses were reduced to the preliminary results summarized above. The University’s support, the time and effort of the respondents, and the work done by Alfredo Sandoval and Fernando Rivera are gratefully acknowledged.

7. Enrollment estimates.

REFERENCES

D. F. Kocaoglu and F. Rivera, “Engineering and technology manage- ment,” paper presented at TIMS/ORSA Joint Nut. Meering, Detroit, MI, Oct. 1994. D. F. Kocaoglu and A. Sandoval, “Engineering and technology inanage- ment: Educational characteristics,” paper presented at ORSA/TI’MS Joint Nutional Meering, Phoenix, AZ, Oct./Nov. 1993. D. F. Kocaoglu, “Research and education in engineering management,” presented at the 92ndASEEAnnu. Cot$, Salt Lake City, UT, June 1984. D. F. Kocaogiu, “Engineering management education and research,’’ Proc. lnr. Congress on Tech. und Tech. Exchange, Pittsburgh, PA, Oct. 1984, pp. 481482 . D. F. Kocaoglu, “Engineering management programs as aids in inoving from technical specialty to technical management,” Eng. Mnnuge. Int.. vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 33117, Jan. 1984. D. F. Kocaoglu, “Engineering management: Where it is, where it is going,” Proc.. EMTA86 Irir. Cor$ o n Oz,qineering Manuge. T h e o n cind Applicnrions. Swansea, UK, Sept. 1986, pp. 35 1-358. D. F. Kocaoglu, “Research and educational characteristics of the engi- neering management discipline,” [E€€ Trans. Eng. Mrinuge., vol. 37, pp. 172-176, Aug. 1990. D. F. Kocaoglu, “Education for leadership in management of engineer- ing and technology,” Technology Mnnngement, D. F. Kocaoglu and K. Niwa, Eds., Piscataway, NJ, 1991, pp. 78-83.

Dundar F. Kocaoglu (SM’84-F’91) received the B.S in civil engineering from Robert College, Turkey, in 1960, the M S in structural engineering from Lehigh University in 1962, the M S in industrial engineering and the Ph D in operations research and sys tem management, both from the University of Pittsburgh in 1972 and 1976, respectively

He is Profesor and Director of the Engineering Management Program at Portland State University in Portland, OR Dr Kocaoglu has published

over 40 articles and presented more than 100 papers on engineering and technology management He is the author or editor at three book5 Engineering Manugernent (McGrdw-Hill), Tec hnolog) Manngement (IEEE), and Munngement of R&D cind Engineering (Elqevier) His research interests are in the areas of technology management, project management, multicriteria decision analyvs, and project evdluatiom

Dr Kocaoglu is the editor of IEEE Trnnsncriony on Gigrneering Mnnngerrient and the John Wiley Book Serie5 in Engineering and Technology Management

Dr Kocaoglu is the recipient at the IEEE Centennial Medal He is listed in Who’r Who in the World, Who’, Who in America. m d more than a doren other reference publications