Northwestern's EMDC Program: Transform your senior-level AEC experience

Summary

The video discusses the transformative journey of individuals in the Master of Science in Executive Management for Design and Construction (EMDC) program. It highlights the program's focus on blending architecture, science, and art, while offering specialized courses in leadership, legal, accounting, and construction management. The program’s hybrid learning model allows flexibility, providing a supportive network of students, professors, and industry professionals. Students gain vital skills in design, finance, and organizational leadership, preparing them for future executive roles in the construction industry.

Takeaways

• 🏗️ The speaker's passion for architecture began with a bridge project, inspiring them to pursue a career that blends architecture, science, and art.
• 👷‍♂️ They worked their way up in an electrical subcontractor role and sought education to complement their work experience.
• 🎓 The Executive Management for Design and Construction (EMDC) program provides focused classes on topics like legal, accounting, and leadership specific to the design and construction industry.
• 💼 EMDC students are typically interested in building leadership skills that are hard to acquire while working in the field.
• 📊 The program helps professionals understand how executives think and how to communicate with them effectively in their language.
• 🧑‍💻 The hybrid learning environment allows students to balance work, personal life, and studies through a combination of on-campus weekends and online coursework.
• 🤝 The program offers access to a vast network of students, professors, administration, and industry relations, providing valuable professional connections.
• 🏗️ Students from diverse backgrounds in the built environment sector enrich the learning experience by contributing different perspectives.
• 📚 The instructors are tenured professionals in design, architecture, construction, and development, providing high-quality education.
• 🌱 The program helps students fill knowledge gaps in areas like design, accounting, finance, and overall business strategies, supporting both personal and professional growth.

Q & A

What inspired the speaker to pursue a career in architecture?

The speaker was inspired by the blend of architecture, science, and art during their first bridge project, which made them realize that architecture would be their career path.

What kind of work experience does the speaker have?

The speaker has worked their way up in an electrical subcontractor company, gaining extensive practical experience before seeking further education.

Why did the speaker decide to join the EMDC program?

The speaker joined the EMDC program to gain a deeper understanding of business aspects beyond construction, such as legal, accounting, and leadership, which were essential for their career growth.

What is the primary focus of the EMDC program?

The EMDC program focuses on teaching skills related to design, construction, and organizational leadership, with specialized courses on legal, accounting, and leadership topics in the building industry.

How does the hybrid learning environment of the EMDC program benefit students?

The hybrid learning environment allows students to balance their personal and professional lives by spending long weekends on campus and completing the rest of their coursework online.

What is a key benefit of the EMDC program according to the speaker?

A key benefit of the EMDC program is the access to a professional network, which includes fellow students, professors, administrators, and industry events.

What kind of professionals teach in the EMDC program?

The courses in the EMDC program are taught by tenured professionals from fields like design, architecture, construction, and development.

How does the EMDC program contribute to career advancement?

The EMDC program helps students advance their careers by filling gaps in understanding areas like design, accounting, and finance, while also preparing them to communicate with company executives.

What personal advantages does the speaker mention about the program format?

The speaker appreciates the program format because it allows them to balance their work life, personal life, and education without interference, benefiting both their family and career.

What makes the EMDC program more than just an academic experience?

The EMDC program is more than academics; it focuses on personal, professional, and strategic growth. The program's structure, combined with the value added by students and instructors, makes it a holistic learning experience.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Discovering the Beauty of Architecture

The speaker shares their initial passion for architecture, describing their first project on a bridge. They realized the blend of art and science within architecture, which led them to pursue a career in the field. This passion grew as they worked their way up in an electrical subcontractor role, gaining both experience and the desire for further education.

📚 Expanding Knowledge with the EMDC Program

The speaker reflects on their need to learn more about non-construction aspects of the business, such as legal, accounting, and leadership skills. This led them to enroll in the Master of Science in Executive Management for Design and Construction (EMDC) program, which focuses on these key areas.

🏗 Building a Strong Skill Set Through EMDC

The EMDC program is designed for students who want to enhance their leadership skills while working in the construction industry. It provides tools to build organizational leadership skills, with an emphasis on learning how executives think and make decisions in the design and construction sector.

🖥 Hybrid Learning for Busy Professionals

The EMDC program offers a hybrid learning model, where students spend a weekend on campus and complete the rest of their coursework online. This flexibility allows students to maintain their professional and personal lives while advancing their education.

🌐 Networking and Industry Exposure

One of the key benefits of the EMDC program is access to a vast network of professionals, including fellow students, professors, and industry leaders. The program also offers opportunities to attend seminars and events that provide deeper insights into the built environment.

👨‍🏫 Learning from Industry Experts

Courses in the EMDC program are taught by experienced professionals in design, architecture, construction, and development. This level of instruction provides students with practical insights and a well-rounded education, helping them advance in their careers.

💡 Gaining a Holistic Business Perspective

The speaker highlights the EMDC program's ability to fill gaps in their knowledge, specifically in areas like design, accounting, and finance. This holistic education is essential for understanding the complexities of the business and advancing in their career.

🎓 A Program that Goes Beyond Academics

The EMDC program offers more than just academic learning. It focuses on personal and professional growth, helping students strategize their career paths. The collaborative nature of the program, with input from students and instructors, makes each class valuable.

Keywords

💡Architecture

Architecture in this context refers to the design and construction of buildings and structures. The speaker expresses a passion for architecture, emphasizing how it bridges science and art, making it a core part of their career. Architecture plays a central role in the theme of combining creativity with technical expertise.

💡Design

Design refers to the process of creating plans or drawings for buildings and structures. It is mentioned in the video as a critical skill in the construction and architecture industry, highlighting the importance of understanding design not just as an artistic endeavor, but also in terms of practical and technical application in construction.

💡Construction

Construction involves the physical process of building structures. The speaker has worked in the construction field and discusses how the EMDC program broadens understanding beyond just construction, incorporating business aspects like legal, financial, and leadership skills. It is a key focus of the speaker’s professional background.

💡EMDC program

The Master of Science in Executive Management for Design and Construction (EMDC) program is a specialized educational program designed for professionals in the architecture and construction industries. It provides a blend of management, legal, and financial training tailored to the needs of the built environment sector, helping students gain a holistic view of the industry.

💡Leadership

Leadership in the context of this video refers to the ability to guide and manage organizations, especially within the construction and design sectors. The EMDC program focuses on developing leadership skills that help professionals communicate effectively with decision-makers and take on executive roles within their firms.

💡Hybrid learning

Hybrid learning is an educational approach combining both in-person and online instruction. In the video, the EMDC program is described as having a hybrid format, allowing students to come to campus for a few days and complete the rest of the coursework online, making it flexible for working professionals.

💡Business skills

Business skills refer to the competencies related to management, accounting, legal issues, and organizational leadership. These skills are highlighted as essential for professionals in the design and construction sectors who want to advance their careers and lead organizations, and the EMDC program offers targeted training in these areas.

💡Networking

Networking refers to building relationships with professionals within the same industry. The speaker emphasizes that one of the key benefits of the EMDC program is access to a vast network, including fellow students, professors, and industry leaders, which is crucial for career advancement and collaboration in the construction and design fields.

💡Organizational leadership

Organizational leadership involves managing and leading a company or firm effectively, especially in guiding teams and making executive decisions. In the video, the speaker notes that the EMDC program helps professionals understand how to think and operate like executives, providing them with the tools needed to take on leadership roles.

💡Built environment

The built environment refers to the human-made surroundings in which people live and work, including buildings, parks, and other infrastructure. The video underscores that students in the EMDC program come from various parts of the built environment sector, learning to navigate the complexities of designing, constructing, and managing these spaces.

Highlights

The beauty between architecture and science is art, which inspired a career in architecture.

Starting in construction as an electrical subcontractor, the speaker worked their way up and sought education to complement work experience.

The EMDC program offers focused classes in legal, accounting, and leadership specifically for design and construction.

The program helps students build skills that are tough to gain while on the job, particularly in organizational leadership.

Leaders in construction firms often don't have time to train everyone in leadership, making programs like EMDC vital for future leaders.

The program teaches how executives think, helping participants communicate effectively with decision-makers.

The hybrid learning environment allows students to come to campus for intensive weekends while completing most coursework online.

The program format allows students to balance work, personal life, and education seamlessly.

One benefit of the EMDC program is access to a valuable network of fellow students, professors, administration, and industry professionals.

Participants come from all sectors of the built environment, enriching the learning experience with diverse perspectives.

Courses are taught by tenured professionals from design, architecture, construction, and development, offering deep industry insight.

The program helps advance careers by filling knowledge gaps in design, accounting, finance, and industry trends.

EMDC focuses on personal and professional growth, strategically helping participants define where they are and where they want to be.

Every class participant adds value to the learning experience by collaborating and sharing diverse insights.

The program is more than just academics; it fosters community and collaboration, creating possibilities for future success.

Transcripts

[Music]

I love the idea that anything can be

built anything can be changed when I

worked on my first project it was a

Bridge Project the minute I stepped on

site I was hooked once I realized that

the beauty between architecture and

science is Art I decided that a career

in architecture would be my path I work

for an electrical subcontractor really

worked my way up really wanted to find

the education to go along with the work

experience that I have I got to the

point where I needed to get some more

understanding of the other aspects of

the business that weren't just

construction so that led me to the emdc

program because it does have very

focused classes whether it is legal or

accounting or leadership that's very

specific to design and construction in

our building industry the master of

science and executive management for

design and construction program or emdc

is a really incredible program students

typically enter into the amdc program

because they're interested in building a

skill set that's tough to build while

you're on the job the leaders of their

firms want them to be ready to tackle

the challenges of organizational

leadership but there's not always time

when you're running a company to be able

to teach everybody to be a leader inside

the company through this executive

Management program you learn how the

executives think those decisions makers

think and it helps you be able to talk

to them in language that they understand

or language quite frankly that they Len

listen to in our new hybrid learning

environment our students get the

opportunity to come to campus and

they'll spend a long weekend with their

classmates and then for the rest of the

quarter they have all of their

coursework delivered in an online

learning environment I love the format

of the program it allows me to continue

my life my work life my personal life in

a way that doesn't interfere works well

for my wife it works well for my son so

it works well for me benefits that I've

seen as being a part of this emdc

program is the access to this network

that extends from your fellow students

to the professors to the administration

to the organizations industry relations

industry seminars industry events the

students coming into our program are

excited about being able to learn with

individuals who have a view from every

aspect of the built environment sector

when you look at the courses and who's

going to be teaching these courses

they're tenured professionals from uh

design and architecture and uh

construction and development that's when

you start realizing that this is the

right kind of program and that's the

type of teaching that can help Advance

your career in the future as well

getting a better understanding of design

getting an understanding of accounting

and finance getting a better

understanding of the things that are

affecting our business was really

important to me and the emdc program

helped me fill those gaps it's more than

academics it's about you personally it's

about you professionally it's about

strategically where are you where do you

want to be you know it's it's the people

it's the students it's the instructors

it's the way the courses are designed

you know when you step into a class it's

every single person that's in that class

adds value to it and by working together

you can really figure out you know what

is

[Music]

possible