The Institute For Leadership and Technology Management

Program Overview

ILTM Home Page

Both the Management and Engineering programs at Bucknell are aware of the curricular challenges posed by technological and global economic change. Each program is attempting to adjust as necessary and to the extent possible. It is in this context that the opportunity to create the Institute for Leadership in Technology and Management has arisen. The Institute allows selected students, representing both programs, to study in a unique academic context during the summer following their sophomore year, and to participate in a special internship experience prior to graduation.

Bucknell's Institute for Leadership in Technology and Management is unique in many ways:

The goals and objectives of the Institute are to serve the needs of both management and engineering students in an undergraduate, liberal-arts environment.
The academic program is truly interdisciplinary. Faculty are drawn from management, engineering, humanities, and social sciences.
Much of the program involves team-teaching, active and collaborative learning, with an emphasis on teamwork and problem-solving.
Students have the opportunity to take field trips, conduct lab experiments, learn from Executives-in-Residence, do case studies, and work as teams on cases requiring creative problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
Students have the opportunity to consider what leadership really is, what makes a successful leader, examples of leadership, and which leadership traits are most relevant to the challenges of the next century.
The content of the curriculum and the pedagogical approach have been selected to allow the themes of technology and technological change in a rapidly changing global economy to be central to the program.
The student¹s internship allows exposure to daily management realities with the purpose of providing a holistic perspective to the demands of leadership.

A fundamental goal of the Institute is to enhance the development of basic skills that are critical to successful leadership. In this regard, the program structures special sessions on the following: public speaking and communications, technical writing, the presentation of data and information, teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving and leadership.

One of the most important parts of the Institute¹s summer program is the Executive-in-Residence component. The goal is a simple one: To bring several of the most respected leaders of major corporations to campus for one to several days. In their capacity as Executives-in-Residence, they will conduct seminars focusing on the management of complex organizations for both students and faculty. The themes technology, management, and leadership will be discussed in the context of the executive¹s experience. This is a rare and much welcomed opportunity for the student.

Upon successful completion of the six-week summer program, each student participates in an internship at either a domestic or overseas site, following their junior year. These internships at carefully selected corporations and institutions give the student the opportunity to observe first hand, the complex management challenges facing the organization, the integral role that technology plays in the dynamics of the organization, and exposure to the various kinds of decision making processes employed by teams of people trying to address these challenges.

Unlike traditional internship models in which a student is assigned to shadow a business person in routine tasks or to accomplish a set task, this internship experience is intended to give the student exposure to the highest levels of executive management and decision-making in the organization. The student has an opportunity to observe and experience day-to-day problem solving and strategic planning at several levels of the firm. This experience is intended not only to be a unique and privilege opportunity to see the "big picture" through day-to-day operations of the organization, but also to allow the intern to have direct personal access to several of the organization¹s leaders. The internships could be available during the summer as well as during the normal school term if the intern¹s course schedule permits.

Twenty students participate per year on average for the past 5 years . Approximately 12 faculty participate each year, from engineering, management, international relations, and biology. Approximately 6-8 additional speakers, from both on- and off-campus, also participate.

The director of the ILTM is Prof. James Orbison, department of civil engineering.

Departmental Research Programs:

Other Programs: