Meeting Education Needs of the Boeing 787 Program

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the world's first commercial aircraft constructed largely of composite materials to enhance performance and save weight (thus increasing fuel efficiency).

The transition from metal to composite structures necessitated a change in all Boeing design, technology, and manufacturing processes. To meet this employee training challenge, Boeing considered several academic partners, selecting the University of Washington (UW) over universities including MIT and Stanford for its expertise in composite materials.

The UW's commitment to composites research is substantial. It is home to the Center for Excellence in Advanced Materials for Transport Aircraft Structures, funded by the FAA with additional contributions from the UW and private industry led by Boeing.

Each of the three UW-Boeing Certificate Programs consists of 100 to 110 hours of instruction, plus an estimated 220 additional hours of homework. Taught onsite in classrooms at Boeing facilities by UW faculty, Boeing subject matter experts, and leading professionals from the FAA, courses are tailored to blend theoretical fundamentals with the practical applications critical to Boeing, including hands-on lab and design components.

They are academically rigorous and administered in accordance with UW standards. In some courses, students may apply credits toward a UW graduate degree in engineering. On the UW side of the partnership, the program is administered by UW Educational Outreach, the continuing and professional education division of the university. Like all UWEO programs, it is self-supporting or fee-based rather than supported by public funding.

Since the inception of UW-Boeing Certificate Programs in 2005, 180 Boeing employees have earned certificates. "This is a world-class composites program that doesn't exist anywhere else," says Al Miller, 787 director of technology integration. "This course is not for the faint-hearted. It's difficult and rewarding. And these skills are vital to the 787 and future programs."

Dr. Kuen Y. Lin, UW professor of aeronautics and astronautics and director of the Aircraft Composite Structural Analysis and Design Certificate Program, praised Boeing students for their commitment to the program. "These students show an exceptional level of dedication and commitment," says Lin. A lot of students are already working 50 or 60 hours per week. They took on another 15 hours of study time on top of that."

Successful Corporate Training Model

The UW-Boeing Certificate Programs Model is remarkable for its depth of collaboration between industry and academia. It was co-developed by the UW Departments of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Mechanical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering, and the Boeing Learning, Training, and Development (LTD) group, with input from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) experts. An advisory board consisting of administrative and technical experts from the three organizations joined to review program objectives and course content.

The partnership depended on careful preliminary planning to deal with cultural and contextual differences, develop standards, and set specific and measurable learning goals. Because the program was built around a defined business need, it was necessary to meet a business test of its worth and impact. Because it is offered under the auspices of a university, it had to be academically sound and fulfill the mission of higher education.

"A key component to the design of these programs has been the collaboration of UW faculty, who have brought theoretical and pedagogical expertise, and Boeing senior engineers, who have contributed their knowledge and experience in applying the fundamentals," says Michael Richey, Boeing associate technical fellow, Learning, Training, and Development, Advanced Material & Learning Science. "According to feedback from participants, this combination has been tremendously helpful in the design and manufacturing of aircraft components made from composite materials."

It was Richey's department that calculated Boeing's return on investment at 553% for the certificate program in Aircraft Composite Structural Analysis and Design.

"The result is a convincing and significant model that can be leveraged across industry and higher education," says Jon Schneider, director, Boeing LTD-Engineering. "When educational partnerships change the way something is done or created, they create a competitive value."

As an added measure of success, the UW-Boeing Certificate Program in Aircraft Composite Structural Analysis and Design was honored by the 2007 Corporate University Xchange Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Corporate Learning.

Presented annually by Corporate University Xchange, a leading research and advisory services organization (see www.corpu.com/default.asp), the award cites a successful corporate partnership with a college or university to address critical business challenges.