Preparing and encouraging students for their global impact
Experience Engineering
Classrooms are great places to learn. Experiences help you practice what you learned. Click the icons below to learn more about our incredible opportunities.
The mission of the Weidman Center for Global Leadership is to createand provide support for experiences that help refine students’ leadership skills and global competence, preparing you for careers of influence in multi-national organizations. The Weidman Center will use resources to help you develop the three Global Leadership Core Competencies: Exceptional Problem Solving, Effective Teamwork, and Clear Oral & Written Communication.
Competitions
Supporting student participation in competitions through funding and mentoring is a key Weidman Center strategy for developing leadership skills in our engineering students. Competitions provide opportunities for you and your fellow students to apply the principles you learn in classrooms to solve realistic problems, lead under pressure, and be mentored by faculty advisors and others. Below are some of the competitions other students have participated in.
Each year, Lockheed Martin hosts a national ethics in engineering competition. Students are presented with an ethical dilemma and required to present their explanations of the most ethical solution. For example, one year's ethical dilemmas were based around artificial intelligence, machine learning technology, and large-scale analytics. BYU's teams have won this competition in the past - coming out ahead of 21 other universities.
In early 2020, the Weidman Center sponsored forty-seven skilled undergraduate students to travel to California and participate in a 4-day high-stress, high-reward construction competition. After 12 hours of technical work and an entire night devoted to preparing a presentation, BYU students emerged triumphant. Four of six BYU teams that competed won awards: BYU’s Mixed-Use team and Commercial team won first place in their sectors. The Design Building team placed second, and the Heavy Civil team received a third-place award. Competitions like these are an excellent way to test your knowledge and apply your skills.
Study abroad programs allow you to experience how different cultures and socio-economic conditions impact engineering design and decision-making. BYU Engineering departments offer technical programs each year. They are directed by college faculty, and the Weidman Center provides scholarships for all engineering majors who participate. The scholarship amounts vary by program and do not require an extra application process —students accepted will receive the scholarship that relates to that program.
If you find an engineering-specific international internship, you may apply for a Weidman Center International Internship Scholarship.
These BYU Engineering students' study abroad program to Singapore helped them think differently and solve real problems in a global environment.
There are a wide range of Study Abroad opportunities for you to explore. For example: for nearly a decade, BYU students have visited the Dominican Republic. Students have worked to develop and implement hydro-informatics, expand Dominicans' water management capabilities, and improve their resilience against floods and droughts. In 2019, 17 students continued this legacy and visited the Dominican Republic for a week to conduct research and develop hydro-informatics systems.
The Weidman Center offers workshops each semester for you and your fellow engineering students to learn new leadership skills. Experts from campus and elsewhere share principles and experiences in a relaxed environment where you can ask questions and participate in interactive exercises. Workshops are free. An RSVP is required.
Leadership Workshop Series for 2023-2024:
Develop exceptional problem solving, effective teamwork and clear communication by attending the Leadership Workshop series this fall and winter. These workshops also count toward Requirement 2 of the Leadership Certificate.*
All workshops will take place in the EB Event Space
The Weidman Center promotes innovation by providing opportunities for students to engage in the design process. This is accomplished through hosting events like Student Innovator of the Year.
Student Innovator of the Year (SIOY)
The BYU College of Engineering hosts a student competition each year in partnership with the BYU Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology. The annual SIOY competition has kickstarted now-successful companies Khione, MyoStorm and more across its 10-year history. Competitors can receive up to $400 in funding to help with prototyping, research, etc. and are in the running for part of the total $50K in prize money.
Interested in setting yourself apart? Then, develop your leadership skills along with your technical know-how. The BYU Engineering Leadership Certificate is an extra-curricular program designed to complement your academic coursework and encourage you to get involved in out-of-classroom experiences. You can take up to three years to complete the requirements, so it is doable even for a busy engineering student like you. Click below for details.
The Weidman Center has set aside funding to help you develop into a leader. Choose from a variety of funding opportunities to broaden your scope of what engineering really is as you get your hands dirty in real experiences that will sharpen your problem-solving, teamwork and communication skills. We look forward to helping you on your way. Click below to see what is available.
