Posted on September 16, 2026 by Sean M. Wood
Dr. Eric Brey stands with students and industry leaders as part of the Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design’s new first-year experience.
Nearly 800 new students enrolled in the Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design will experience the school differently than their predecessors. They are the first students enrolled in the new Klesse Experience. The four-year program has familiar elements, but the first semester is new and focused on establishing the skills they will need to succeed professionally.
“The motivation for the first-year experience was to engage students from the minute they walk in as Klesse students,” Klesse College Dean Eric Brey said. “We will help them start building their identity and establishing skills we know the industry is looking for: collaboration across disciplines, problem-solving, hands-on work. Also, by engaging with industry and professional practice from the first semester they start to think about themselves as future professionals and how to get to the careers they aspire to.”
Brey is teaching the first semester of the first class, Foundations in Collaboration and Project-Based Learning. The second semester will be a collaborative projects-based course that is designed to introduce students to the skills and core principles which will be essential throughout their academic and professional careers.
Second- and third-year Klesse College students will gain hands-on experience through mini-projects and industry-based assignments integrated into their courses. Industry professionals may teach courses, collaborate with faculty to develop projects, or design mini-projects that give students the opportunity to apply their knowledge to real-world challenges.
The third year is ideally focused on signature experiences. All students in the college are required to complete a signature experience, and the emphasis is on internships. Klesse is focused on helping students to secure relevant internship opportunities to further grow and develop in a professional environment.
The focus of the fourth year will be the Senior Design project. This capstone course will challenge students to apply the knowledge and skills gained from the previous three years, while stretching their minds and prioritizing results-based thinking. Companies sponsor many of the projects where students work on questions or needs of those companies.
“The first course establishes our goals for the overall Klesse Experience that students will participate in from day one through graduation,” Brey said. “The concepts of collaboration, communication, hands-on projects, and industry engagement are provided throughout their education.”
— Sean M. Wood
