Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education & Practice (ISTEP)


ISTEP

Director: Professor Greg Evans
Website: istep.utoronto.ca

Established in 2018, the Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education & Practice (ISTEP) is the first institute of its kind in Canada, bringing together U of T Engineering’s strengths in leadership, technical communication, business and entrepreneurship, socio-technical thinking, and learning for life. ISTEP provides holistic and innovative transdisciplinary engineering education, supporting students to amplify their positive impact after graduation and better tackle the world’s increasingly complex technical challenges. ISTEP is the academic home for the Engineering Communication Program (ECP), Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (Troost ILead), Collaborative Specialization in Engineering Education (EngEd), Certificate in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Small Business, Engineering Business Minor, and some first-year instruction.   

At the undergraduate level, ISTEP’s faculty deliver courses to support and enrich student learning which can culminate in minors and certificates such as the Engineering Business Minor; the Certificate in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Small Business; the Certificate in Communication; the Certificate in Engineering Leadership; and the Certificate in Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Engineering. ISTEP works to integrate more opportunities for students to learn transdisciplinary competencies throughout the core curriculum of all the undergraduate engineering programs.

At the graduate level, ISTEP’s faculty deliver the Collaborative Specialization in Engineering Education, the Prospective Professors in Training, the Graduate Communication Initiative, and OPTIONS programs along with courses in leadership and engineering education.

In addition, ISTEP undertakes student co-curricular programming, academic and industry-focused research, as well as outreach to engineering educators and engineering-intensive enterprises.
 


ISTEP Courses

ISTEP

TEP234H1 - Entrepreneurship and Small Business

TEP234H1 - Entrepreneurship and Small Business
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 51.2L/12.8T

Complementary Studies elective

Part 1 of the 2 Part Entrepreneurship Program

The age of enterprise has arrived. Strategic use of technology in all sorts of businesses makes the difference between success and failure for these firms. Wealth creation is a real option for many and the business atmosphere is ready for you! Increasingly, people are seeing the advantages of doing their own thing, in their own way, in their own time. Entrepreneurs can control their own lives, structure their own progress and be accountable for their own success - they can fail, but they cannot be fired! After all, engineers are the most capable people to be in the forefront of this drive to the business life of the 21st century.

This course is the first of a series of two dealing with entrepreneurship and management of a small company. It is intended the student would take the follow-up course TEP432 as they progress toward their engineering degree. Therefore, it is advisable that the descriptions of both courses be studied, prior enrolling in this one.

This is a limited enrolment course. If the number of students electing to take the course exceeds the class size limit, selection of the final group will be made on the basis of the "Entrepreneur's Test". A certificate will be awarded upon the successful completion of both courses, attesting to the student having passed this Entrepreneurial Course Series at the University of Toronto.

The course is based on real life issues, not theoretical developments or untried options. Topics covered include: Who is an entrepreneur; Canadian business environment; Acquisitions; Different business types (retail, wholesale, manufacturing, and services); Franchising; Human resources, Leadership, Business Law; and many others. Several invited visitors provide the student with the opportunity to meet real entrepreneurs. There will be several assignments and a session project. Please note, the 5 hours per week would be used for whatever is needed at the time. Tutorials will not normally happen as the calendar indicates them.

Exclusion: CHE488H1/CIV488H1/ECE488H1/MIE488H1/MSE488H1/APS281H1
Total AUs: 54.9 (Fall), 54.9 (Winter), 109.8 (Full Year)

TEP320H1 - Representing Science on Stage

TEP320H1 - Representing Science on Stage
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 25.6L/25.6T

Humanities and Social Science elective

An examination of representations of science/scientists in theatre. Reading and/or viewing of works by contemporary playwrights and related materials on science and culture. Critical essays; in-class discussion and scene study.

Total AUs: 36.6 (Fall), 36.6 (Winter), 73.2 (Full Year)

TEP321H1 - Introduction to Science Communication

TEP321H1 - Introduction to Science Communication
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 25.6L/25.6T

Humanities and Social Science elective

Introduces students to the history, theory and practice of communicating science to the public. We first establish a theoretical foundation for understanding the complex relationship between science, scientists, and the public, closely examining techniques and strategies for communicating about science to non-technical readers with a variety of backgrounds and ideological perspectives. We apply these concepts to contemporary case studies in multiple media, focusing on (mis)representations of climate, environmental, and biomedical sciences, breakthroughs in engineering. In doing so, we explore how the shift from traditional news to new media – including videos, podcasts, and social media – has changed how science is communicated to the public, plus the implications of this shift for scientists and engineers.

Total AUs: 36.6 (Fall), 36.6 (Winter), 73.2 (Full Year)

TEP322H1 - Language and Power

TEP322H1 - Language and Power
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 25.6L/25.6T

Humanities and Social Science elective

This course explores Rhetoric historically to understand its development and practically to understand how ideas are constructed, disseminated, shared or imposed. The course explores worldview - the organizing structure by which we view the world - to position the student as rhetorically effective in multiple contexts. Students analyze political, cultural, and scientific discourse from great speeches to advertising to research papers. Students develop their rhetorical, communication, and persuasive abilities.

Total AUs: 36.6 (Fall), 36.6 (Winter), 73.2 (Full Year)

TEP323H1 - Writing Lab

TEP323H1 - Writing Lab
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 25.6L/25.6T

This course uses writing in various modes as an exploratory process.Students strengthen their communication skills by exploring different expressive voices, each with a different potential to uncover and communicate ideas. A synthesis of various voices strengthens each of them; hence, by exploring their poetic, story-telling, scientific and analytic voices, students becomes better analytic, scientific or creative writers.

Total AUs: 36.6 (Fall), 36.6 (Winter), 73.2 (Full Year)

TEP324H1 - Engineering and Social Justice

TEP324H1 - Engineering and Social Justice
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 36.6L

The purpose of this course is to enable future engineers to initiate, facilitate and moderate discussion between stakeholders with differing and/or opposing values and ideologies. The relationship between engineering and the concepts of social justice to develop the skills needed to take practical action in a complex world is explored. This course facilitates building personal responses to ideas of justice, bias and marginalization. These ideas affect Engineers and Engineering in general, domestically and globally, in projects and in contexts, such as the workplace and academic environment. Readings will be drawn from current writers on Engineering and Social Justice. Students will rehearse action through theatre techniques, developed to enable communities to practice and critique action.

Total AUs: 36.6 (Fall), 36.6 (Winter), 73.2 (Full Year)

TEP326H1 - Special Topics in Creative Writing

TEP326H1 - Special Topics in Creative Writing
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 25.6L/25.6T

In this course, students will explore the creative writing process, with an emphasis on the giving and receiving of critical feedback. This exploration will reinforce the iterative principles of the engineering design process and will provide students with flexible and transferable tools for them to apply to future engineering work. They will examine up to two genres of creative writing (fiction, science fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, screenwriting, playwriting, etc.) in order to hone their own creative and critical thinking skills. Students will be introduced to relevant elements of craft, will analyze representative literary examples, will create original creative work both in generative weekly exercises and in longer at-home assignments, will give and receive feedback from their peers through structured in-class workshops, and will apply this feedback to their own writing.

Total AUs: 36.6 (Fall), 36.6 (Winter), 73.2 (Full Year)

TEP327H1 - Engineering and Law

TEP327H1 - Engineering and Law
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 38.4L

Upon graduating university and entering the workforce, engineering students have little idea about how frequently in their professional lives their interactions, decisions, and actions will touch on various areas of law. This course is designed to highlight the amount of overlap between these two pillars in today's society. Some examples include: acting as an expert witness, preparing a patent, creating a contract for supplies and more. By the end of this course, students will have a working understanding of the intersection between Engineering and Law, and be able to navigate the legal complexities in their professional and business lives.

Total AUs: 36.6 (Fall), 36.6 (Winter), 73.2 (Full Year)

TEP343H1 - Engineering Leadership

TEP343H1 - Engineering Leadership
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 12.2L/24.4P

Complementary Studies elective

Develop a practical approach to being a more productive engineer, based on the premise that for technology to become a reality, it must be translated through people. A key is understanding engineers lead in ways that reflect their skills and mind set. Learning frameworks and personal working styles inventories provide practical tools to assist the student to understand human nature and to become a competent leader of self and of teams. The student prepares to become a competent leader by first developing a deeper understanding of self and then undertaking to learn (understand and integrate) key skills, character attributes,and purposeful behaviours. Strategies for development of high-performance teams are also presented. The material is delivered through lectures, readings, in-class discussion and a team project. Attendance is mandatory to enable learning through experiential activities and critical reflection.The project is based on the team interviewing a senior leader at an engineering-intensive company or senior leader in the community

Total AUs: 24.4 (Fall), 24.4 (Winter), 48.8 (Full Year)

TEP435H1 - The Measure of All Things: Sensors and Data for Sustainable Development

TEP435H1 - The Measure of All Things: Sensors and Data for Sustainable Development
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 36.6L/12.2T

We live in a data driven world, with the total volume of global data projected to be 181 zettabytes by 2025. New ways of measuring and analyzing data in the field of global development are opening the door to a better understanding of global challenges and data-driven innovations have significant economic and societal potential. For example in the healthcare sector, the use of new devices and analytics can improve diagnosis and triage of disease, improve health system efficiency, and reduce costs. However, there have also been many instances of sensing technologies and algorithms that perpetuate or enhance inequalities rather than reducing them. Through the use of lectures, case studies, readings, and guest speakers working at the health-water-climate nexus of global challenges, students will learn about innovations in sensing, and data analytics that are helping to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals. They will learn to analyze and assess historical data and data that is currently being collected in the global development and engineering space and will critically examine examples of biases and flaws with the ways we develop sensors/measurements and train algorithms. Students will have a practical opportunity to develop entrepreneurship skills through proposing and researching a sensing or data analytics innovation for tackling global challenges, developing a business case for this innovation, and pitching their solution to their peers.

Enrolment Limits: 30 students total: 15 UG and 15 Grad (TEP1435H)
Total AUs: 42.8 (Fall), 42.8 (Winter), 85.6 (Full Year)

TEP440H1 - To Engineer is Human

TEP440H1 - To Engineer is Human
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 35.6L/12.2T

Behind every engineering feat is a human story. Students will learn to examine this often-overlooked perspective of engineering and its implications for engineering work. Engineering is at its core a human activity geared at helping to attain human goals, which requires the integration of many viewpoints, technical and non-technical. Drawing on perspectives from humanities and social science disciplines (e.g., sociology, anthropology, psychology, history, and political science) students will explore aspects of the human condition as it relates to engineering work: particularly the complexity of individuals, the contexts in which they operate, and how this shapes collaborative work. They will develop an appreciation for and skills to engage in the interdisciplinary work that engineering entails by examining conceptions of engineering, as well as the humanities and social and their intersections with engineering. Students will integrate these themes in projects that investigate the human stories behind various technologies.

Prerequisite: 4.0 full courses
Enrolment Limits: 48
Total AUs: 42.7 (Fall), 42.7 (Winter), 85.4 (Full Year)

TEP442H1 - Cognitive and Psychological Foundations of Effective Leadership

TEP442H1 - Cognitive and Psychological Foundations of Effective Leadership
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 38.4L

Complementary Studies elective

This course investigates the cognitive and psychological foundations of effective leadership. Students will explore current theories driving effective leadership practice, including: models of leadership, neurophysiological correlates of leadership, and psychodynamic approaches to leadership. Students will learn and apply skills, including: mental modeling, decision-making, teamwork and self-evaluation techniques. This course is aimed at helping Engineering students to gain practical skills, which will enhance their impact as leaders throughout their careers.

Total AUs: 36.6 (Fall), 36.6 (Winter), 73.2 (Full Year)

TEP444H1 - Positive Psychology for Engineers

TEP444H1 - Positive Psychology for Engineers
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 38.4L

Humanities and Social Science elective

Many disciplines have explored happiness - philosophy, anthropology, psychology, sociology, neurobiology, film, art and literature - to name a few. Why not engineering? During the first part of the course, we will play catch-up, examining the scholarly and creative ways that people have attempted to understand what makes for a happy life. Then we turn our attention to our own domain-expertise, applying engineering concepts like: "balance", "flow", "amplitude", "dynamic equilibrium", "momentum" and others, to explore the ways your technical knowledge can contribute to a deep understanding of happiness. This course is designed to challenge you academically as we analyze texts from a variety of disciplines. It is also designed to challenge you personally, to explore happiness as it relates to yourself, your own personal development and your success and fulfillment as an engineer.

Total AUs: 36.6 (Fall), 36.6 (Winter), 73.2 (Full Year)

TEP445H1 - The Power of Story: Discovering Your Leadership Narrative

TEP445H1 - The Power of Story: Discovering Your Leadership Narrative
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 25.6L/12.8T

Humanities and Social Science elective

This course offers an introduction to relational, authentic and transformational leadership theory, by focusing on narrative and the power of storytelling. Students will practice storytelling techniques by: learning about the mechanics of stories; improve their public speaking by engaging in regular storytelling practice; explore their personal history by reflecting on their identities; and develop critical thinking skills regarding the stories (meta-narratives) that surround us; particularly as they relate to engineering problems/ethics. This is a highly experiential course with a focus on reading, discussion, practice and reflection.

Total AUs: 36.6 (Fall), 36.6 (Winter), 73.2 (Full Year)

TEP447H1 - The Art of Ethical & Equitable Decision Making in Engineering

TEP447H1 - The Art of Ethical & Equitable Decision Making in Engineering
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 38.4L

The primary objective of this course is to help engineering students navigate the ambiguous world of engineering ethics and equity using case studies drawn from the careers of Canadian engineers. This course tackles complex ethics and equity challenges by focusing on multiple levels of practice: from design work to organizational practice and governance. By applying a systems lens, students will learn to develop the knowledge and skills needed for short-term and long-term action strategies. In addition to being exposed to a range of ethical theories, the PEO code of ethics, and the legal context of engineering ethics, students enrolled in this course will engage in ethical decision-making on a weekly basis.

Total AUs: 36.6 (Fall), 36.6 (Winter), 73.2 (Full Year)

TEP448H1 - System Mapping

TEP448H1 - System Mapping
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 25.6L/25.6T

Engineers are taught to think in systems, but often these are limited in scope to the technical realm. Yet, many of today’s “wicked problems” are as much dictated by social and environmental considerations as by any technical considerations. System mapping is a system thinking tool frequently used in fields such as public health and environmental policy to describe complex, multi-stakeholder problems. Students will apply system mapping techniques to describe complex problems with technical, social and environmental aspects. Students will explore fields outside of engineering critical to these challenges, including: public policy, sociology, and law. Students will complete a team project to develop a system map of a complex problem. The emphasis will be on problem definition, not problem solution, though it is expected maps will point to potential paths for solution.

Enrolment Limits: 36
Total AUs: 36.6 (Fall), 36.6 (Winter), 73.2 (Full Year)

TEP449H1 - Intercultural Communication and Leadership

TEP449H1 - Intercultural Communication and Leadership
Credit Value: 0.50
Hours: 25.6L/25.6T

A highly experiential but theoretically grounded exploration of intercultural communication developments and practices. The focus on intercultural communication will be applied to the practice of leadership in the many intercultural contexts students engage in as students and as junior engineers. Students will deepen their understanding of culture and leadership through developing a nuanced understanding of culture and cultural practices beyond national, linguistic and ethnic boundaries. Concepts of cultural sensitivity, cultural competence and cultural humility will be related to models of leadership (authentic, collaborative, transformational, and ethical) to enable students to increase their cultural sensitivity, and humility beyond the classroom, in both multi- and intercultural contexts.
Enrolment Limits: 40
Total AUs: 36.6 (Fall), 36.6 (Winter), 73.2 (Full Year)

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