Pop Culture: Can We Compete?

Abstract

“Motorsports Day” was recently held on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IU-PUI), where I teach. A famous race car driver visited, and several cars were available for photo opportunities. The event attracted many potential students to the motorsports engineering major. Yet, employment with this degree is not usually as exciting or glamorous as being a race car driver. The field needs skilled engineers, technicians, and project managers. Sound familiar?Our motorsports major has large state appropriations and IUPUI even sponsored car 67 in the Indianapolis 500 (too bad she crashed). Faced with this competition, how can a biomedical equipment technician (BMET) major seem attractive, even with excellent pay and the promise of a great job waiting after graduation? There are only about 100 race teams in the country, but an estimated 5,000 hospitals. You do the math in terms of job possibilities. Our university campus has five hospitals, and another 10 are within a 30-minute drive. Almost all have openings for entry-level BMETs.We've got a lot going for us as a profession, but BMET programs cannot compete with popular culture. Students on many campuses, including IUPUI, are flocking to new fields, such as video gaming technology and entrepreneurship. How can we enhance the “cool” factor—the attractiveness of the major—for our field?When times are bad economically, higher education prospers. The current economic slowdown has dramatically increased enrollment at higher education campuses, but there is no line at my door. As an admissions officer, I have not seen a rise in applications. This year I had a typical number of new students. Many were career changers or those seeking a second degree. Only one student came directly from high school. One is not a sustainable number! Our school is not alone. A recent survey conducted by AAMI's Technology Management Council (TMC) reported that many schools are very concerned about how to attract new students.To attract high school students to the field, we need to change the way we advertise. Brochures do not reach this demographic. We need slick, interactive web-sites, YouTube videos, My Space pages, and podcasts. Colleges, universities, and AAMI need to collaborate and work with marketing firms to make this happen. The engineering profession in general has done some work in this area (check out www.discoverengineering.org). While biomedical engineering is mentioned on this website, it is unlikely to lead students to our school's associate's or bachelor's degree programs in biomedical engineering technology. Career awareness is vital, and my program depends on attracting more students. Employers beg me to produce more graduates. How can this be done?BMET and motorsports programs may be like apples and oranges. But they are both fruit. How can I help students check out the citrus fruit section of college offerings? BMET employment outlook is tremendous, but most teenagers I know would prefer the lure of video games over the study of electronics and human anatomy. How can we help students see the value in a stable career with excellent prospects? Society has many programs in place to encourage students to be prepared to enter college. Now, they're here, but just not majoring in what we had hoped.