ABOUT GCSP
The History
GCSP was founded in 2009 by engineering Deans Yannis C. Yortsos (USC), Thomas Katsouleas (Duke), and Richard K. Miller (Olin College) in response to the National Academy of Engineering’s 14 Grand Challenges. The three Deans came together to envision an udergraduate program that encouraged and prepared the next generation of engineers to tackle societies most pressing challenges.
Since its conception at the 2009 Engineering Deans summit in Durham, South Carolina, GCSP has grown to include 100+ engineering schools across the globe, graduating the next generation of engineers prepared to tackle societies most pressing challenges. Each year, GCSP institutions come together to celebrate successes, challenges, ideas, practices, and research at the GCSP Annual Meeting. The Grand Challenges Scholars Program offers an in-depth timeline of the creation and progression of GCSP until 2022
The Four Themes of GCSP
SUSTAINABILITY
- Making solar energy economical
- Providing energy from fusion
- Managing the nitrogen cycle
- Providing access to clean water
HEALTH
- Engineering better medicines
- Advancing health informatics
- Reverse engineering the brain
JOY OF LIVING
- Enhancing virtual reality
- Advancing personalized learning
- Engineering the tools of scientific discovery
SECURITY
- Securing cyberspace
- Preventing nuclear terror
- Restoring and improving urban infrastructure
The Five GCSP Mindsets
GCSP revolves around the five Mindsets, or competencies, needed to solve for Grand Challenges using interdisciplinary thinking and collaboration. Students seeking designation as a Grand Challenges Scholar engage in curricular and co-curricular activities relevant to each of the five Mindsets to establish the lens in which they view Grand Challenges. Each GCSP institution will set specific criteria, following the guiding principles and ideology of GCSP, in which they will use to assess their students’ understanding of the five Mindsets and how they relate to Grand Challenges.
TALENT, RESEARCH
Through mentored research and/or creative projects, students develop capacity to create while showcasing their knowledge and technical skills.VIABLE BUSINESS, ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Students acquire understanding of the importance of the business and entrepreneurial considerations needed to bring an idea to reality through coursework and/or co-curricular activities.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Students engage in areas outside of their home field of engineering to explore the interconnectedness of various domains and how an engineering mindset can be leveraged for multidisciplinary collaboration.
MULTICULTURALISM
Students immerse themselves in culture(s) other than their own to understand how differences and similarities can be leveraged when developing and implementing viable solutions specific to a group of people or on a global scale.
SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS
Through involvement in activities related to service and social causes, students learn about the concerns of others and how those concerns must translate over to engineering solutions.