Our Mission

To improve the retention and graduation rates of underrepresented undergraduate engineering students.

What is EESI?

The Educating Engineering Students Innovatively (EESI, pronounced “Easy”) Program is designed to inspire and motivate undergraduate engineering students. The program was created in 2017 to engage engineering students, ensuring an “easy” journey to the STEM workforce. It allows students to practice engineering, provide community engagement, and reinforce fundamental engineering in an environment designed to provide a better college experience. The EESI Program allows students to participate in one of four different tracks: Industry, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Community Engagement, or Research.

EESI Tracks

EESI consists of four different tracks that provide experimental learning experiences from student’s sophomore to senior year to aid them in project management, engineering ethics, and user-centered engineering design.

Industry

Similar to a senior design capstone project, students in this track participate in an industry-sponsored project. The students meet with their industry technical advisor to discuss and work on the expected deliverables. This track allows students to experience firsthand how to obtain a job in the industry, about company work culture, and the different company benefits.

Entrepreneurship & Innovation

As the world has evolved, students have evolved with it. Most students do not plan to work for a company after graduation, but rather be self-employed. This track allows students to create their own original solution to an engineering design problem of their interest. Their potential solutions and prototypes consider users and the market using the engineering design process.

Engineering Projects in Community Service

Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS), created at Purdue University, is a program in which students participate in engineering service-learning projects. These projects have shown a great deal of improved retention, especially in female engineering students. They allow students to experience first-hand how engineers benefit mankind.

Research

Similar to other structured research programs, EESI students work in laboratories with faculty on the latest cutting-edge technology. However, the faculty are selected to ensure they have a passion for underrepresented minority student success and provides a safe space for students. Sample research areas are robotics, sustainable and resilient infrastructures, high performance materials, and environmental biotechnology.

EESI Outcomes

The EESI program has shown a great model for producing a diverse engineering workforce. The FAMU year-to-year retention statistics are depicted in Figure [1]. EESI scholars progress from sophomore to senior year at a higher rate than general students. This notable difference in EESI students shows how an experiential learning program mixed with student support provides better retention of underrepresented students than just a freshman engineering support program. Figure [2] exhibits that EESI students are more likely to matriculate than students who do not participate in EESI. Almost double the amount of EESI students have successfully progressed to senior year at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. As stated in our mission statement, EESI works to achieve diversity in the engineering workforce.

EESI Partners

In 2020, the project was awarded a 5-year $1M grant from the National Science Foundation. In addition, the EESI program is supported by donations from several industrial partners: