Building the Engineering/Tech Pipeline: Enhancing the SAE Brand as an Innovator (B)

Founded in 1905, SAE International, a global association of over 200,000 engineers, technical experts and volunteers, is a leader in technical learning for the mobility industry. Ongoing feedback from industry partners indicated that companies struggled to find engineering graduates with knowledge and skills required to work in robotics and automated vehicles. Many employers cited participants in SAE’s Collegiate Design Challenge as delivering candidates that are ahead of the curve, having succeeded in designing, testing and racing their vehicles as part of a team. SAE’s challenge was to find an innovative way to meet industry skills gaps and build the pipeline of engineers. These cases explore the vision of the Chief Growth Officer and the research and partnerships that fueled the development of a robotics boot camp program whose pilot was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.