The Importance of a Business Program for Engineering Majors The Integrated Engineering and Business Practices Program gives students what they term "a competitive advantage." Whether learning how to write a more effective resume or developing better public speaking and presentation skills, students in these courses have been very vocal and very excited about their experiences. "I took the first course in the first semester of my junior year," says Nikolas Larsen, a chemical engineering major, "and enrolled in the second course as a senior." By December 2003, more than half of the University's engineering graduates -- Classes 2002, 2003, and 2004 -- had taken the fundamentals course. Like Larsen, many of the students who took the first course enrolled in the second. Why? According the Larsen and Shana Blair, a student in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, the courses provide management concepts, knowledge, and skills not typically introduced in undergraduate engineering curricula. "I have always believed that an engineer wishing to end up in a management position should have some kind of background in business," says Blair. "These courses helped me become more confident in myself and in my understanding of business practices so that I can offer extremely competitive technical and business skills to a company. ... I can be a more valuable asset to my company."