Normandale Engineering

To help make education available to all who seek it, Minnesota State University Mankato has launched new engineering programs within the past year at Normandale Community College in Bloomington and at the campus in Edina. The two-year Twin Cities engineering program is designed to engage students who might not be able to attend other schools in the Twin Cities area.  “We are trying to provide an option, a choice for those who otherwise may never be able to fulfill their dream,” says Dr. Vijendra Agarwal, dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology at Minnesota State University Mankato. Agarwal especially hopes to provide opportunities to students of underrepresented minorities such as members of the Hmong, Somali, African American and Latino community.The program, which features project-based learning, accepts students after they have completed two years of pre-engineering courses at a community college.  “Everything students do is hands-on,” Agarwal says. “They are expected to learn how to collaborate, work as a team and present their findings back to the industry." While the students earn a general bachelor of science in engineering, the program focuses on a hybrid curriculum of electrical and mechanical engineering.