Just graduated as a Happiness Engineer!
When my first day of college arrived, I couldn’t be happier to be finally studying what I always wanted. I remember being amazed by the big campus but mainly because of the reindeers and peacocks walking by the hallways… literally!
I was a bit nervous to start my day with Physmath (physics + math course), and as a freshman, also excited to meet my new classmates. Minutes before the teacher started with the syllabus, I had a small talk with one of them. — “What do you study?”, he said. — I couldn’t hide my enthusiasm and proudly answered “Innovation and Development Engineering” including a small explanation about the study plan.
“Are you kidding me?!? That can’t even be considered as an Engineering. Why didn’t you chose something more interesting and challenging? You will only end up being a ‘Happiness Engineer’…” he said mocking.
I felt exactly the same way as Buzz when Woody tells him that he is only a toy. However, a few seconds were enough for me to analyze it in a positive way, and it was true! I was studying something in which I had the opportunity develop infinite creative skills added up to a variety of methodologies and tools to come up with solutions that tackle real necessities. Amazing! Isn’t it?
The most satisfying fact was that I started a phase of my academic life in which I was actually studying something I deliberately decided and makes me feel joyful sparkles inside! Who wouldn’t want to study something that makes them happy?
As a new major from Tecnológico de Monterrey, many people and companies don’t know much about it yet. It is a pleasure for me to describe it in a simple way as one of my best friends (A.K.A Dani Peña) commonly explains it… here we go!
Innovation and Development Engineering
There are three main tiers that make up the study plan:
- Engineering: All the courses regarding sciences such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, etc.
- Innovation: Courses to develop creativity and others to learn strategies to exploit ideas including feasibility, viability, innovation methodologies, prototyping, products and services design, etc.
- Electives: Since innovation is such a broad field, there is a need to select the area in which we want to specialize. Most of the study plans at my university consider approximately 4–6 electives. Mine considers 24 courses and no, it’s not a typo! There are 24 electives in which we can focus our studies, and I can tell is a value proposition since there is no one with the same profile as we do.
By merging my passion, skills and interests, today I can proudly say that I‘m an “Innovation and Development Engineer” or as others could name it: “Happiness Engineer”.
