Session One: 8 – 9:45 a.m.

Sell It!...Proven Technical Sales & Communication Best Practices – Eric Lien, MSOE

Selling is all about telling an authentic story that directly connects with your target audience and their pain points. That audience can be internal stakeholders or external customer influencers. Discussions focus on what selling techniques work and how to leverage in your engineering & technical backgrounds to sell. Key learning’s will come from engaging discussions, actual case studies, sharing of best practices and leveraging of proven techniques. This class is the product of 30 years of sales & marketing experiences at companies like GE, Rockwell, PKWARE plus numerous SMBs, start-ups and consulting clients.

Outcomes:

• Expanded knowledge of the latest sales tools and techniques that work
• Better understanding of technical communication best practices
• List of successful case studies from technical companies such as GE, AB/Rockwell and others
• Techniques that work for pitching ideas or driving sales processes
• Higher level of respect and practical insights regarding the value of selling as an engineer

Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics and Machine Learning – Dr. Jeff Blessing, Professor, MSOE

In this course participants are shown how to perform supervised and unsupervised learning techniques on data sets taken from manufacturing and healthcare domains to make informed decisions based on hard data from those fields. The use of popular tools and programming environments will be demonstrated in the hands-on portion of the class. Participants can bring their own laptops on which to try out the tools or use the instructor’s computer in a set of co-creation exercises to arrive at solutions to problems posed by the instructor.

Attendees will leave this course with an in-depth understanding of how to use the tools that are popular in Data Science to perform Machine Learning using the Python programming language, the data analytics tools from the NumPy and SciPy libraries, the data visualization tools from MatPlotLib and the supervised and unsupervised learning tools in SciKit-Learn.

New Course Offering! Leading Through Digital Disruption - Kyle Buerger, MSOE

Digital technologies are disrupting organizations of every size and shape. Leaders need to respond in a way that helps their organizations stay competitive. This session focuses on company culture, challenging leaders to assess themselves and their organizations to make the changes necessary to harness the power of technology.

Session Two: 10 – 11:45 a.m.

Lean Decision Making – Choosing by Advantages – Mark Rounds, P.E., MSOE

Making a decision sometimes can be very hard. Especially if there are several good choices to choose from. How do you make good, sound decisions? There is a little known, yet very powerful decision-making tool available: Choosing By Advantages (CBA). This class will introduce the student to CBA and show how it is superior to other methods used to make decisions.

• Discover why common decision-making techniques usually fail
• Understand how to select the right criteria for a decision
• Learn the difference between “criteria” and “attribute”
• Able to weigh advantages in selecting a choice
• Solve complexities with multiple choice options
• Use “advantages” to make better decisions

Recent Adventures in Engineering Ethics – Dr. Andrew McAninch, Assistant Professor, MSOE

Recent Adventures in Engineering Ethics introduces students to some of the central issues in engineering ethics through a critical discussion of recent case studies. Topics and cases may include:

• ethical issues in construction, development, and their social and environmental impact
• ethical issues in defense contracting and arms manufacturing
• ethical issues in tech and big data
• ethical issues in AI and autonomous technology (e.g., replacement of human labor, ethics of driverless cars)

Participants will explore these topics and cases interactively, studying both their theoretical context and practical implications. The goal of the course is to engage participants in continued reflection on key issues in engineering ethics and to encourage them to apply the guiding ethical principles that emerge to their own fields.

New Course Offering! Construction Change Orders & RFIs – Pearl Lawson, Lecturer, MSOE

Taking an in-depth understanding of why RFIs and Change Orders exist and how we should react to them. There are protocol steps dealing with RFIs and Change Orders but often times we do not follow them. In this course we will explore those consequences and:

• Reason we had to create an RFI.
• How are RFIs answered and do they all turn into Change Orders.
• Do RFIs and Change Orders really affect the schedules.

Lunch Break: 12:00 p.m. – 12:50 p.m.

Lunch will be served in Room R202

Session Three: 1 – 2:45 p.m.

NextGEN Storytelling - Leveraging AI, Augmented Reality and Digital Automation to grow your company – Eric Lien, MSOE

All businesses must be able to tell their story in a way that authentically connects to their audience and conveys value. If done correctly and consistently, this will help to drive the growth of a company and solve customers’ problems. Today great storytelling is accomplished through the use of methodologies and innovative techniques that leverage new technology including AI/AR/VR. During this class we will explore some digital tools and best practice methodologies that will give attendees fresh ideas to take back and use in their companies. Class consists of presentation, handouts and breakout sessions.

Getting the Best from FMEA using a Requirements-Based Approach – Bernard Krauska, P.E.

FMEA is a frequently used analysis and regulatory requirement for many products and industries. Classical Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) approaches such as top-down, bottom-up, functional, service and systems focus will be reviewed and practiced with participants. Requirements-based approaches will also be investigated and shown how this tool can be used in LEAN enterprises.                                                                                               Lessons learned, effectiveness and impact upon the product or process will be compared and shared in a lecture and interactive format.

New Course Offering! Interpersonal Communication with Minorities & Women in Construction – Pearl Lawson, Lecturer, MSOE

Recent Adventures in Engineering Ethics introduces students to some of the central issues in engineering ethics through a critical discussion of recent case studies. Topics and cases may include:

• ethical issues in construction, development, and their social and environmental impact
• ethical issues in defense contracting and arms manufacturing 
• ethical issues in tech and big data
• ethical issues in AI and autonomous technology (e.g., replacement of human labor, ethics of driverless
  cars)

Participants will explore these topics and cases interactively, studying both their theoretical context and practical implications. The goal of the course is to engage participants in continued reflection on key issues in engineering ethics and to encourage them to apply the guiding ethical principles that emerge to their own fields.

Session Four: 3 – 4:45 p.m.

New Course Offering! Improving Your Serve – Mark Rounds, P.E., Assistant Professor, MSOE

Your EQ is just as important as your IQ, especially when you are seeking success and happiness in life. During this session you will understand how to manage your own emotions in positive ways to communicate effectively, empathize with others, and defuse conflict. You will leave the session with an understanding of how to build stronger relationships and achieve your goals. This workshop will address Increase awareness of relationship management, social awareness, self-awareness, and self-management

New Course Offering! Ethics of New Product Development – Bernard Krauska, P.E.

In this course you will review and discuss how competition, incentives, institutional practices, cultural mindsets and technology challenge stakeholders to evaluate risks and make decisions. Engineers and executives across organizations are continually challenged to make critical observations and evaluate plans at breakneck speed. We are often confronted with resource, financial performance and capacity to serve customers with ignored, incomplete or improperly analyzed information. Compliance standards, tools and business protocols can provide the illusion that we are doing the right thing. This course will enhance your awareness to better diagnose and set the direction for your ethics journey.

New Course Offering! Coaching to Optimize Performance - Kyle Buerger, MSOE

By developing a stronger coaching mindset and culture, leaders can maximize the performance of their team. This session will focus on effective strategies for coaching that builds on existing skills, optimizes performance, deepens relationships and engages team members.