Strategic Objective

Provide section members with professional development opportunities by offering interesting and relevant meetings,
tours, and events that incorporate a variety of interests.

Interested in helping run programs?

Contact us at pd@swe-mn.org with any questions or to volunteer on this exciting committee.


FY10 Events
September 14, 2009 - SWE-MN Open House
October 22, 2009 - Weisman Art Museum tour
December 3, 2009 - SWE National Conference Recap & Profesional Ethics Speaker - POSTPONED
December 8, 2009 - Caribou Coffee Facility Tour, 5pm
December 14, 2009 - PD Commitee Meeting - Spring Seminar Planning
January 6, 2010 - Caribou Coffee Facility Tour
January 19, 2010 - Winter Open House
February 9, 2010 - "Beyond Bulletpoints" presentation at Short Elliot Hendrickson, Inc.
February 23, 2010 - PD Committee Meeting
March 13, 2010 - SWE-MN Spring Seminar at the University of St. Thomas
April 21, 2010 - Positioning Yourself and Your Company for Revenue Growth, Dale Carnegie in Edina
May 2010 - Nordicware Tour, more details to follow

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17th Annual Professional Development Spring Seminar Recap
  The 17th Annual Spring Professional Development Seminar was held at the University of St. Thomas on Saturday, March 13, 2010. This year’s theme was Sustaining Ourselves and Our Skills and the Seminar consisted of sessions covering a variety of professional development topics. Approximately 65 people attended the event.

The day started with Breakfast and a Keynote presentation by Kaye Smith, University of St. Thomas Engineering Professor. Her presentation on Work Life Balance – Redefining Success set the tone for an exciting day. A pair of hour-long sessions followed the keynote presentation. Each session featured four topics for the attendees to choose from. The morning session covered technical topics such as Six Sigma, Engineering Ethics, and Intellectual Property and Patent Law. Intermixed with the technical sessions were a variety of sessions on such topics as Balancing the Demands of Work and Life, a discussion on Diversity of Engineering Functions in Industry, Tooting Your Own Horn, Effective Personal Communications, and a deeper look at the Athena Factor Study.  

After the first two sessions, lunch was served for the attendees and speakers, providing time for networking. At the end of lunch, a brief SWE-MN business meeting was held.

The two sessions following lunch were as interesting as the morning sessions. The afternoon sessions included a presentation about understanding cardiovascular disease, an overview of the fundamental skills of Systems Engineering, an investigation into the 35W Bridge collapse, and a collegiate look at women in engineering and professionalism. The last session of the day featured a unique look at incorporating yoga and mediation into the workday in addition to three professional sessions delving into the topics of transitioning to management, gauging the maturity of organizational change, and deciding between the workforce and/or grad studies.

After the final session, names were drawn for door prizes and attendees provided feedback on the Spring Seminar by filling out evaluation forms. We hope that those that attended the Seminar learned something new, while having fun at the same time. We especially would like to thank the University of St. Thomas for hosting the event, as well as SWE-MN sponsors for supporting SWE-MN Professional Development. We also give a HUGE thanks to the volunteers that helped us on the day of the event!

We hope that you will attend the 18th Annual Spring Professional Development Seminar next year! Thank you to all those that attended!  Available presentations can be found on the SWE-MN PD Spring Seminar website at http://www.swe-mn.org/springseminar2010.html.

SEH “Beyond Bulletpoints” Presentation Recap     
 The SWE Professional Development Committee had a presentation by Chaunce Stanton at Short Elliot Hendrickson Inc. (SEH) on February 9, 2010.  The event was given as a training module and we were able to learn about ways to prepare for giving a presentation.  Chaunce addressed several aspects of presenting including: the purpose of the presentation, the audience, the message itself, and the delivery of the presentation. Breaking into teams, we were even provided with an opportunity to practice our new found skills. Besides the technical components of presenting, such as word choice, outlines, and effective visuals, Chaunce also discussed the physical “symptoms” of presentation nervousness and how to conquer those symptoms. SWE-MN would like to thank Chaunce Stanton and SEH for taking the time to provide our members with the opportunity to learn about valuable presentation skills.


Event Recap: SWE-MN Open House
On September 14, 2009, the annual SWE-MN Open House was held at Boston Scientific in Maple Grove. The main purpose was to inform new and old SWE-MN members and friends, as well as prospective members about the exciting event and volunteer opportunities that are coming up during the next year. The event started with seating assigned by the type of candy bar each person chose at the sign-in table and an ice breaker to facilitate meeting new people and was followed by a delicious dinner sponsored by Boston Scientific. After dinner, the SWE-MN President, Lisa Schmalhurst, gave a presentation that included an overview of SWE-MN and she introduced the FY10 Executive Council. This year, the format was changed a little from previous years and each committee in SWE-MN had information sheets available in various areas around the room. This allowed members to move around the room and ask questions while learning about some of the SWE-MN committees to see if they have an interest in being part of a committee. Some of the committees brought examples of some of the things they do for members to see as well.The evening ended with tasty dessert, also provided by Boston Scientific, and a few giveaways from SWE-MN. The event had a great turnout this year with almost 50 attendees! SWE-MN would like to thank Boston Scientific for hosting and sponsoring the event and would also like to thank everyone who attended the Open House. We hope that everyone had fun and will continue to attend future events!


Event Recap: SWE-MN PD Event at Emerson Process Management
The April SWE-MN Professional Development Event was held at Emerson Process Management in Chanhassen. The event started with dinner and an ice breaker, which gave everyone a chance to talk and get to know each other. After dinner Bob Karschnia, VP of Wireless Technology, spoke about how Emerson used creativity during a time when technology was changing their customer base to develop a technology that would continue to be useful in the future. The insight into how Emerson applied new technologies in a different way was something that all attendees could apply to their own careers. Thank you to Emerson Process for sponsoring the event and supporting SWE-MN Professional Development programs throughout FY09.