Bridge to Business makes engineers better leaders

Engineering, Graduate & Professional Studies, Marquette Business

Bridge to Business makes engineers better leaders

Marquette Business executive education program draws rave reviews from promising engineers

Anne Barlas, a research engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, walked into Bridge to Business not knowing much about accounting, sales or risk management, having just graduated from UW-Milwaukee a year prior.

She graduated from the Bridge to Business program well versed in the language of business and ready to bring that knowledge back to her organization.

"This program adds critical perspective for new engineers who may not have considered where engineering fits into the global landscape of a company prior to graduation," Barlas says. "When I was studying engineering, a lot of my work was focused on theory without the context of how engineering work applied to business goals. Attending Bridge to Business was like a whole other world opening to me about how what I learned functions within a company."

Bridge to Business for Engineers is a six-day, non-credit program in the College of Business Administration that gives early-career engineers a crash course in business essentials. Participants learn about everything from leadership skills to supply chain principles over the course of a curriculum designed in partnership with the Opus College of Engineering. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions, Barlas' employer at the time she took the program, is a sponsor.

"The world is becoming more interdisciplinary every day, and engineers who can speak the language of business are going to have an advantage," says Dr. Kevin Walsh, director of the Bridge to Business program and a registered Professional Engineer. "Bridge to Business gives high-potential engineers the tools to realize their ambitions and become effective leaders."

"The Bridge to Business program is a cornerstone of our Executive Education offerings at Marquette University," says Jim Orheim, program director for executive education. "It seamlessly integrates with our diverse portfolio, providing a unique opportunity for professionals to enhance their business acumen and bridge the gap between theory and practical application."

Talent development is an important, yet complicated problem for corporations. Lack of development and advancement potential was one of the biggest reasons why employees left their job, ranking only behind compensation in a Society for Human Resource Management Survey. Companies must invest resources in employees to retain them, but they may not have the money, time or expertise to develop an in-house program.

Marquette offers a solution. Engineering firms can send future leaders to Bridge to Business instead, giving them exposure to world-class faculty without the organizational cost of creating a high-potential course from scratch.

Dr. Alex Milovic, associate professor of practice in marketing, lectures in front of the Bridge to Business students.

Dr. Alex Milovic, associate professor of practice in marketing, has taught in the program for years and thinks it's valuable for engineers with leadership aspirations.

"Everything is inevitably tilted toward business," Milovic says. "It doesn't matter what you're doing; there are always dollars, budgets and customers involved. These companies understand that taking their employees out of a one-discipline silo and giving them a different view of things pays off down the line."

Barlas is living proof of that. At the time she took the program, Barlas was a mechanical engineer at Zurn Elkay working through a rotational program, spending six months at various business units. She had ambitions of starting her own company, which would happen several years after her time in Bridge to Business.

She specifically recalls a marketing class in which the professor pulled up a product on Amazon, then scrolled down to the "frequently bought together" section and led a discussion about the psychology of why certain items are paired together. Before this lesson, Barlas always assumed that the best-designed products would win in the marketplace.

"When I was a little bit further into my rotational program, I had the opportunity to work with the product management team at my company and this new perspective on the importance of marketing was incredibly helpful," Barlas says.

Executive education is housed in the Graduate School of Management, along with other highly regarded programs such as the part-time MBA, which is ranked 73rd in the country by U.S. News and World Report, and the executive MBA, ranked among the nation's 30 best by CEO Magazine. Many of the professors who teach in Bridge to Business, such as Milovic and accounting professor Dr. Michael Browne,offer abbreviated versions of their graduate-level curriculums.

"Bridge to Business is a great way to get a sense for graduate business education and the resulting professional impact."

Karen Rinehart, assistant dean of the Graduate School of Management

Karen Rinehart, assistant dean of the Graduate School of Management, thinks the six-day experience is a valuable introduction to the business world for those who might want to go even further.

"Bridge to Business is a great way to get a sense for graduate business education and the resulting professional impact," Rinehart says. "When Bridge to Business participants experience the growth in their professional understanding and contributions through a short-term program, the career-changing knowledge, skills, and networks achieved through an MBA become even more evident."

Companies get extra value out of the program when employees share the knowledge they gained with their co-workers. Since the enrollees in Bridge to Business are often high-potential candidates who are likely to receive promotions, the cost of sending one person to the sessions could effectively cover upskilling an entire team if that person effectively teaches their fellow employees.

"We as professors are always bridging the gap between education and what's going on in the business world, so companies can trust that when they send their employees here, we can relay information to them in a way that's interesting and relevant so they can share it with others," Milovic says.

Organizations interested in participating in Bridge to Business can visit our website or reach out to Dr. Kevin Walsh at [email protected]. For more details on other executive education programs, contact Jim Orheim at [email protected].

Related Articles