Pedro E. Arce and Joseph J. Biernacki. Chemical Engineering, Tennessee Technological University, Department of Chemical Engineering, P.O. Box 5013, Cookeville, TN 38505
Teamwork skills remain at the top of the list of important characteristics that employers seek in new graduates. None-the-less, most employers continue to report that new hires are unprepared to work effectively on teams. This should come as no surprise, since most engineering programs have traditionally not offered teamwork training as an explicit activity. At Tennessee Technological University (TTU) the Department of Chemical Engineering has implemented a rigorous program in teamwork training that enables students to discover the importance of teamwork and how successful teams are formed in industry and other environments and offers them numerous opportunities throughout the curriculum to practice teamwork. The TTU team training environments is an integral part of our new integrated laboratory-lecture curriculum wherein the majority of lab activities are integral parts of previously classroom-oriented courses.