Historically, Applied Technology Institute has delivered technical courses to scientists and engineers to help them keep current in their fields. As stated in our mission statement, we have offered courses in satellite communications, space, defense, radar, sonar and acoustics, signal processing, and systems engineering. Although we plan to continue doing exactly that in 2022, we are also going to be offering some new courses that will be unlike what we have offered before.
As reported in the Harvard Business School’s Business Insights Blog, “To stay competitive in the job market, aspiring engineers and those who want to advance need a strong, diverse set of skills.” The article continues saying “To meet job demand, it’s important they round out their experience and add important business basics to their skill set.” And, “As engineers advance to senior positions, they acquire responsibilities like managing teams, projects, and budgets. To reach those positions and perform their duties effectively, they need to have a strong set of business skills.” This article states precisely why ATI has decided to start offering courses to help scientists and engineers supplement the technical skills in their toolbox with other critical skills for success in today’s world.
The HBS Blog identifies seven areas that should be addressed in an engineer’s business training; Communication, Management, Creativity, Finance, Observation, Negotiation, and Ethics. ATI will begin by offering two courses related to this discussion in 2022.
The first course introduces many of the topics mentioned by the HBS Blog. The course will be “Business Management for Engineers” taught by Dr. Alan Tribble, author of the book by the same title. As stated by Dr. Tribble, “This two-day course is intended to accelerate professional growth by helping individuals with a technical background develop an appreciation for, and understanding of, the types of business knowledge used by senior leadership.” A full description, as well as the schedule for upcoming offerings of this course can be found here on the ATI web page.
The second course will be more focused on one of the skills highlighted in the HBS blog. The course will be “Technical Presentation Skills for STEM Professionals”, taught by Lt Col, USAF (Ret) Frank DiBartolomeo, Jr, author of the book “Speak Well and Prosper”. As stated by Frank, “This two-day course for scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians (STEM) covers all the basics of sound technical presentation preparation and delivery.” A full description, as well as the schedule for upcoming offerings of this course can be found here on the ATI web page. This course will also be the subject of a free short session overview which is scheduled to occur in the lead up to the class.
Again, ATI will continue to offer the technical courses you have come to expect from us, but we are excited about these new courses that will give scientists and engineers the ability to broaden their horizons even more. Please check back soon for additional business-related courses, and as always, please let us know if there are business topics you would like us to focus on next.