UTDesign took home the Tech Titans of the Future – Community College/University award at the Tech Titans Gala 2024. The award, which included a cash prize, recognizes educational institutions that inspire and support students in choosing engineering and technology as their preferred career paths.
Among a competitive field of finalists, UTDesign stood out for its commitment to fostering hands-on innovation and shaping future technology leaders.
In his acceptance speech, Rod Wetterskog, assistant dean of corporate relations at UT Dallas, highlighted the pivotal role that UTDesign’s industry partners play in the program’s success. “This award would not be possible without the support of our industry partners,” Wetterskog said. “They provide our students with real-world challenges and critical mentorship that fuel their growth, while owning 100% of the project outcomes and hiring many of these talented students.”
UTDesign is a family of programs that includes Makerspace, EPICS, Capstone, Startup, and Master’s, with an annual enrollment of over 1400 students in UTDesign classes, averaging nearly 175 sponsored capstone and EPICS projects per year, plus over 400 students per week engaged in makerspace workshops and events. The UTDesign Capstone program has won 11 national championships and 7 second-place awards in national competitions against the best universities in the United States since 2014. The EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) program in the fall 2024 semester has a record 150 students and 28 community partners working together to improve the lives of North Texas residents.
UTDesign: Leading Innovation in Education
This award category specifically celebrates DFW-area institutions that lead in developing tech-related curricula and initiatives aimed at transferring critical technology knowledge. UTDesign has distinguished itself by integrating real-world challenges into its academic framework, providing students with industry-relevant, experiential learning opportunities that set them up for success in their future careers in fields such as AI, robotics, healthcare devices, and software engineering.
Other finalists for this award included Dallas College’s STEM Institute, the University of North Texas (UNT) Center for Information & Cybersecurity, UNT Security Lab, and UTD’s Jindal School of Management Graduate Program. Despite the strong competition, UTDesign’s unique approach to combining academic rigor with industry collaboration won it top recognition.
Support the Next Generation of Innovators
Are you passionate about shaping the future of technology? Get involved with UTDesign by:
- Mentoring students in the Makerspace
- Nominating a non-profit to have an EPICS team address their technical challenges
- Sponsoring a Computer Science or Engineering Senior or Master’s Capstone project for the Spring 2025 semester
Contact us today to sponsor a project: Contact – UTDesign Capstone – UT Dallas
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