Society of Women Engineers

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), lead by Club CICs Cadet Emeline Hood and Jessica Davis, attended the annual Systems Thinking Conference, sponsored by the System Design and Management (SDM) Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 22-23 October.  This conference is devoted to showcasing the new ways of thinking, working, and leading required to address today’s complex challenges.  Focused on energy, sustainability, health care, and service systems, this two day conference has been carefully designed to provide practical information on how to use systems thinking to integrate technology, management, and social sciences to achieve success.  Speakers included experts from MIT and industry, each who described an interdisciplinary “systems thinking” approach that can be applied across industries and around the world.  SWE members had the opportunity to engage with several renowned individuals from academia and industry such as Professor John Sterman – the Jay W. Forrester Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management who addressed “Systems Thinking and Modeling for Climate Policy, Professor Michael Davis who is a Senior Lecturer at MIT and head of the Systems Leadership and Management Lab (SLaM Lab), Professor Deborah Nightingale – Professor of the Practice of Aeronautics and Astronautics & Engineering Systems who addressed the “Service Systems Innovation for Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome in the U.S. Military” and also the VP of Development for the 787 Program at Boeing – Mr. Mark Jenks discussed “Boeing’s 787 and the Challenges of Complex Global Systems” and the importance of technical competency, systems perspective, and cultural awareness when leading global projects.  This conference reinforced the importance of engineering fundamentals and the demand for systems thinkers across industries, to include the Army.  It also gave the cadets insight into opportunities for graduate level education and how they can apply the systems thinking skills now and to their immediate future as Army Officers.  Furthermore, the content of the West Point engineering courses and the systems thinking approach greatly prepare the cadets for the challenge of solving complex problems, integrating technology, and also managing and leading soldiers in the Army.