Developing Leadership Competencies for STEM Fields: The Case of Purdue Polytechnic Leadership Academy

The Problem Employers view today’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program graduates as deficient in interpersonal skills that are essential for team and organizational performance. However, STEM programs continue to effectively engage in interpersonal skills development in college level, instead placing the responsibility of such development on employers. The Solution A competency modeling framework should inform the design of such education programs, and this article describes such a framework and an educational program that used the framework to identify needed interpersonal skills and successfully develop them in STEM students. The framework will help HRD (human resource development) professionals take an active role in identifying the competencies needed for STEM program graduate success. The Stakeholders The article provides HRD academics with a framework to identify competencies needed for workplace success in a given academic field. As education programs such as described here are developed, STEM organizations may receive workers who are more productive and less in need of leadership development expenditure.