Batten College of Engineering and Technology

Making a Difference

From energy to hunger; pollution to cancer; security to natural disaster, engineering holds the key to solving the world’s greatest challenges. Great engineers are practical dreamers, methodical thinkers and imaginative problem-solvers with a vision of a better world. Our job as educators is to nurture the ideas and dreams of future engineers. By providing engineering students with access to advanced resources, new technology and research-based learning innovations, we help them face and solve society’s greatest challenges with confidence. To this end, we are focused on attracting a talented and diverse student body; enhancing the student experience through a purposeful and experiential-based curriculum; attracting and retaining the finest faculty; upgrading laboratory and teaching facilities; and providing seed funding for novel research initiatives.

Student Makerspace and Innovation

The key functions of academic Makerspaces are to: build a community of learning and making; encourage students to design, prototype, build and test; support design focused course work; and encourage entrepreneurship. This modern teaching and laboratory facility enhances learning and enrich the student experience. Student Innovation (Design Projects and Competition Teams) is the cornerstone of the ODU Engineering undergraduate experience. Students gain valuable hands-on experience as they work collaboratively to innovate multidisciplinary design prototypes and present them at a culminating event to be attended by representatives from local industries. Students tackle engineering challenges with real-world impact.

Academic and Program Support

Engineering students and their success are our primary focus in Batten College of Engineering and Technology at Old Dominion University (BCET). We seek to develop and deliver a suite of programs and initiatives to improve student persistence, increase graduation rates, and narrow the achievement gap for underrepresented students. We plan to offer BCET students outreach and recruitment activities, summer transition programs, a living learning community, advising, peer tutoring, peer mentoring, supplemental instruction groups, and student organization oversight and funding. These activities will be instrumental in facilitating engineering student success; building community within our college; and providing non-threatening environment that provides students with a holistic educational experience.

Student Support (Undergraduate and Graduate)

BCET is committed to maintaining access to high-achieving students desiring world-class opportunities in a STEM related field. Funds will be used to support students with both financial need and proven academic potential. Scholarships are crucial to the recruitment and retention of the most talented and promising students. Fellowships bring top graduate students to ODU’s advanced research initiatives.

Expendable Funds

Gifts will provide flexible and vital funds that can be used as the college needs, such as funding faculty startup packages, other faculty support and scholarship funds. Discretionary funds allow the Dean to allocate resources where they are needed most and respond quickly to opportunities as they arise.