This three-year standard grant to Dennis Weidenaar and Harry Morrison at Purdue University provides support for the development, assessment, and dissemination of a three-week applied management principles training program for some fifty doctoral students drawn broadly from various science and engineering disciplines at that institution. The intent of this model program is to provide business issues training to candidates before they enter the workforce rather than doing so in a post-assignment, continuing education basis that is widespread current practice in industry. This proactive approach to business issues training enables new doctoral graduates to enter industrial positions better prepared for initial assignments. The course, which is built upon Purdue's successful one-week proof-of-concept prototype course that was offered in 1997, will be fully assessed at the end of the three year period and the course materials made available to the community at large to encourage replication on a national scale. This activity is supported by the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate and by the Sloan Foundation.
