Built to Lead: How Duke Engineers are Building Character from Day One

At the Pratt School of Engineering, shaping successful future engineers extends beyond technical prowess to cultivating well-rounded individuals who will lead with integrity and purpose. A prime example of this commitment is EGR 101: Engineering Design and Communication, a foundational course for aspiring engineers.

In EGR 101, first-semester engineering students are placed on project teams and work to design a solution for a real-world client, often local to issues faced in North Carolina. In this impactful space, Professors Michael Rizk and Ann Saterbak are working alongside Dr. Rich Eva and Mahi Patel of the Character Forward Initiative to integrate innovative character development interventions.

This work is a cornerstone of the broader Character Forward Initiative, which is a partnership between Duke Engineering and The Purpose Project at Duke, a collaboration between the Kenan Institute for Ethics, Duke Divinity School, and the Office of the Provost. ​​Character Forward aims to equip the next generation of engineers with both the skills and the habits to make a positive impact on the world.

Making Character Integration Seamless

As a leader of the efforts to integrate character into EGR 101, Rizk has aimed to develop good engineers and great people throughout his time at Duke. His passion for teaching is not solely rooted in the fascinating content of engineering, but in the profound opportunity to guide students as they discover their aspirations and define their values.

“My motivation for teaching is…to be a part of students’ lives as they figure out what they want to do in life and what’s important to them,” Rizk said. Rizk recognized that the projects in EGR 101 offer a unique opportunity to shape students’ trajectories and the deep habits they’ll develop during their time in Pratt.

A Phased Approach to Character Formation

Rizk and the Character Forward team identified five key phases that naturally occur in EGR 101: team formation, ideation, prototyping, testing and sharing results.

For each phase, the team identified a key character trait that naturally resonated with the tasks at hand. For instance, “respect” is highlighted during team formation, encouraging students to allow all ideas to be heard and bridge gaps between students of various backgrounds. Similarly, “resilience” becomes paramount during prototyping, as students learn to navigate failure and adapt to unexpected design challenges

Instructors provided introductory content and examples of each trait to begin each phase, and students naturally practiced that trait during the phase.

At the end of each phase, students created video reflections, discussing the chosen character trait in the context of their lives and the class. These reflections encouraged self-awareness and an appreciation of these traits in their classmates. Rizk has found the reflections videos to be especially insightful, noting how honest students have been in their reflections.

Finally, the course was bookended by reflections on the guiding question: “What does it take to be a good engineer?” “The character exercises were vital for my group’s cohesion throughout the semester. Although I knew we were all smart people, I was initially concerned about the group dynamics given our various backgrounds and leadership styles,” said Daniel Matten, now a second-year ECE student, about his time in EGR 101. “The character reflections encouraged by the instructors and TAs sparked the conversations that we needed to have as a group and pulled us much closer together.”