Title: Managing technology in the information age: Stanford's new department of management science and engineering

Authors: M. Elisabeth Pate-Cornell

Addresses: Department of Management Science and Engineering, Terman Engineering, Building, Room 348, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Abstract: Stanford University has faced the challenges of global trends in the ||management of technology in the information age|| by creating, in its School of Engineering, a new department of Management Science and Engineering (MS&E). Competition and globalisation demand that the students be prepared to operate in a fast-changing world with sound bases, flexibility, financial savvy and an appreciation for diversity. Nested in the centre of the Silicon Valley, this MS&E department involves 32 regular faculty members and covers eight areas: Organisations, Technology and Entrepreneurship; Economics and Finance; Decision Analysis and Risk Analysis; Production and Operations Management; Systems Modelling and Optimisation; Probability and Stochastic Processes; Technology Policy and Strategy; Information Science and Technology. Such a department thus faces a challenge in the construction of academic programmes that are both coherent and relevant, and are built around centres of excellence, existing domains of expertise and specific problems. This requires that cross-discipline synergies be exploited to remain at the cutting edge of academic research and industrial needs. This paper describes the mission of this department, the history and the process by which it was created and the philosophy and structure of its graduate and undergraduate programmes.

Keywords: engineering; education; engineering systems; technology management; technology policy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTPM.2001.001752

International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management, 2001 Vol.1 No.2, pp.160-173

Published online: 18 Aug 2003 *

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