The T-shaped Engineer

Dr. David Flanigan, CSEP - President-Elect-2021

Recently, an alumnus from our school had asked about an older white paper describing the "T-shaped engineer" model.  Although we didn't find the exact reference, this spurred a search for more recent literature for this model and how different organizations and domains will use this approach, and how systems engineering may benefit.

The term "T-shaped people" is often credited to David Guest in his 1991 article for the Independent, entitled "The hunt is on for the Renaissance Man of computing" [1].  This searches for a hybrid manager that combines business expertise with IT skills in order to see the larger picture as well as be responsive and relatable to people.  This T-shaped person is equally comfortable in different domains, both in the technical and managerial areas.  Tim Brown, the CEO and president of IDEO had popularized this term in describing an individual having a principal technical (vertical) skill in engineering or design, while able to explore different insights and perspectives as the horizontal connection to other skills [2].  Figure 1 provides a good representation of these two legs of the T-shaped model.

Figure 1: T-shaped Model [3]

Searching through the literature uncovers several domains that utilize the T-shape model, to include academia, industry, and healthcare.

ACADEMIA

Rogers and Freuler utilize this T-shape approach in their undergraduate curriculum in order to produce well-rounded students to combine engineering and business learning, as well as using different teaching modalities and applying real-world practices to problems [3].  Within their research, they note other T-shaped engineering summits that are held around the country, an example of topics include [4]:

• Higher education and employer partnerships that develop T-shaped competencies

• Employer practices that advance T-shaped competencies

• Higher education partnerships that promote T-shaped education

• Metrics and competencies that define the “T”

• Cultivating entrepreneurs and innovators

Academia has a keen stake in ensuring these T-shaped skills are cultivated in their graduates, so they can succeed in their post-school employment.  Their research note key skills such as critical thinking, written, and oral communication skills that employers found as needing improvement with their recent college hires [4].  Rogers and Freuler conclude their paper with a listing of schools that offer a broader education as described by the T-shaped model.  Faculty developing a T-shaped experience may also experience similar benefits, as described by Tranquillo from Bucknell University [5], such as collaborating with faculty in dissimilar domains and departments.  Gerson and Ramond [6] perform a similar analysis in their universities in France and the Netherlands, noting similar lessons learned while implementing this model.

INDUSTRY

Other organizations look at the other side for when the graduate comes to the workplace. Kokoç and Ersöz [7] look at additional skills that new engineers should acquire.  A sampling of these “soft skills” may include: applied knowledge, communication, interpersonal relations, problem solving, responsibility, teamwork and collaboration, and working individually.  Their research also notes that similar skills are used to shape job advertisements for future employees.

Healthcare also has the desire to incorporate these T-shaped professionals into their domain.  Gaps between clinical practice, medical teaching, and research have contributed towards a desire towards emphasizing research-driven medicine and knowledge creation [8].  Medical schools are starting to augment their curriculum with horizontal integration between disciplines, vertical integration between basic and clinical sciences, and increased emphasis on communication skills, ethics, and personal and professional development.

WHAT’S NEXT?

We can see the benefits of preparing future engineers to become more multi-disciplinary and better-rounded in order to meet the increasing demands and complexities in the workforce, as numerous studies confirm this strategy.  Delicado, Salado, and Mompó [9] have suggested a T-shaped competency model after research in several major engineering firms to suggest that deep expertise in a single or several technical areas combined with the ability to work in broad areas may enable collaboration within the company.  Figure 2 provides this competency model.

Figure 2: T-Shaped Engineer Competency Model [9]

We may also be able to help chart the progress of our systems engineering growth and expertise using this T-shaped model by increasing our expertise in terms of scope, complexity, and size during our time in the company.  We offer the following from Kossiakoff et al. [10] with a vision of the future systems engineer with overlaying the T-shaped model on a career that progresses and matures, shown in Figure 3.  We can seek additional challenges in our career by adding to our technical expertise (depth) as well as technical breadth in terms of responsibilities, domains, customers, teams, or combinations of all.

Figure 3: T-Shaped Model for Systems Engineering Careers [10]

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References

[1] "The hunt is on for the Renaissance Man of computing," The Independent, September 17, 1991.

[2] M. T. Hansen, "IDEO CEO Tim Brown: T-Shaped Stars," Chief Executive.net, 2014. [Online]. Available: http://web.archive.org/web/20110329003842/http://www.chiefexecutive.net/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications::Article&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=F42A23CB49174C5E9426C43CB0A0BC46.

[3] Rogers, P., & Freuler, R. J. (2015, June). The “T-shaped” engineer. In American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, June.

[4] Michigan State University, "T-Summit 2015," 2015.

[5] Tranquillo, J. (2017). The t-shaped engineer. Journal of Engineering Education Transformations, 30(4), 12-24.

[6] Gerson, P., & Ramond, B. (2007). Educating great t-shaped engineers. In DS 43: Proceedings of E&PDE 2007, the 9th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, University of Northumbria, Newcastle, UK, 13.-14.09. 2007.

[7] Kokoç, M., & Ersöz, S. (2020). T-SHAPED ENGINEER: HORIZONTAL COMPONENT COMPRISING OF SOFT SKILLS. Endüstri Mühendisliği, 31(2), 180-197.

[8] Donofrio, N., Spohrer, J., & Zadeh, H. S. (2009). Research-Driven Medical Education and Practice: A Case for T-shaped Professional. MJA Viewpoint. Collegiate Employment Research Institute.

[9] Delicado, B. A., Salado, A., & Mompó, R. (2018). Conceptualization of a T‐Shaped engineering competency model in collaborative organizational settings: Problem and status in the Spanish aircraft industry. Systems Engineering, 21(6), 534-554.

[10] Kossiakoff, A., Seymour, S. J., Flanigan, D. A., & Biemer, S. M. (2020). Systems engineering: Principles and practices. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.