Essential Education

The Benefits

At Michigan Technological University, we have prepared students to create the future since 1885. From copper mining to data mining and beyond, we're ready for what tomorrow needs.

Essential Education is the next iteration of our commitment to fostering the leaders, innovators, and change-makers of tomorrow. The Essential Abilities will benefit students and employers alike by equipping graduates with the critical skills needed in all sectors of the economy as we enter a more technologically integrated world. As a result, both Huskies and recruiters will see better return on investment and improved transitions into the workplace.

"We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before. We do not yet know just how it will unfold, but one thing is clear: the response to it must be integrated and comprehensive, involving all stakeholders of the global polity, from the public and private sectors to academia and civil society."Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum

The Essential Abilities are the skills tomorrow's workforce needs

According to the World Economic Forum, the top 10 skills for 2025 relate to problem-solving, self-management, working with people, and technology use and development. Essential Education strengthens Michigan Tech's ability to equip students with these critical skills in a meaningful and comprehensive way. By aligning the 12 Essential Abilities to both employer needs and student wants, Michigan Tech aims to be a leader in education for the modern era.

Student speaking with an employer at Career Fair

The Essential Abilities were designed to meet the workforce needs of a rapidly evolving society. By mastering the Essential Abilities through the Essential Education curriculum, students will be able to adapt and grow throughout the course of their careers—making them more competitive, more agile, and more engaged than their peers.

Students, employers, and the greater community benefit from Essential Education in the following ways:

  • Students learn to solve real community problems that have a human dimension using techniques learned in the classroom. They learn to become responsive to problems impacting society, such as sustainability, health and wellness, automation, advanced materials, autonomous vehicles, and more.
  • Students are more competitive in the job market—and their careers are more future proof.
  • Graduates are more easily able to reach higher levels of management, improving their return on investment in college.
  • Graduates perform better in the workplace when compared to their peers from day one.
  • Employers don't need to upskill Michigan Tech graduates, improving their return on investment in recruitment and onboarding.

The ePortfolio helps students showcase their Essential Abilities

Students learn better and deeper when their learning experiences are connected. While Michigan Tech can provide clear goals, offer meaningful opportunities, and suggest thematic connections through Essential Education, each student’s journey is unique and requires them to take the lead in integrating their learning experiences.

In addition to a standard resume, the ePortfolio helps students tell the story of their own learning by reflecting on, understanding, and articulating their academic work both in and out of the classroom. This high-impact practice empowers students to showcase their Essential Abilities, reflect on and demonstrate how they've grown throughout their time at Michigan Tech, and become lifelong learners who continue to develop their skill sets throughout their lifetime.

The ePortfolio is another added benefit to the Essential Education program for both students and employers. By allowing for more opportunities for meaningful storytelling, the ePortfolio will connect students to opportunities that best fit their career goals and interests.

Student on a laptop in the library
People looking at a whiteboard with sticky notes at the IDEAhub.

IDEAhub enhances Tech's ability to be responsive to changing industry needs

Technology is changing our world faster than ever before. And yet, institutions of higher education are traditionally slow to evolve and adapt.

At Tech, we work to remain agile to ensure students are prepared for whatever comes next—and our IDEAhub is a critical component of that work.

IDEAhub (Innovate, Design, Engage, Act) is an idea incubator and touchstone for creative interdisciplinary solutions to complex problems facing Michigan Tech, the community, and the world. It engages faculty, staff, students, and community members to identify and act on opportunities for innovation. Through the Design Thinking process—empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test—members work to ensure that the right problems are being solved and that the solutions are innovative, iterative, and scalable.

IDEAhub plans to remain a resource for educational innovation at Michigan Tech, supporting new academic offerings for Essential Education and providing training and resources to help faculty and academic departments continue to adapt their teaching and programs for a still-emerging future.

"The problems we face in industry don't have an answer key. Michigan Tech graduates are consistently able to tackle these challenges directly and employ hands-on problem solving to develop an answer."Aaron Cedergren, Amcor
"MTU students have a level of dedication and fortitude that isn't easily found. Combine those values with the approach that MTU takes with its hands-on labs, highly educated professors, diversity initiatives, and abundant leadership opportunities through project work and student organizations? Those are the reasons we are one of hundreds of employers that make the trek to the Upper Peninsula every year."Julie Soderberg, Gerdau