SFU, Pre-Master's Diploma, FIC Pre-Master's Program in Engineering

During the 4 month PMP at FIC, students will study the following subjects:

Communication Skills: Practical and Intercultural Issues

To be successful in their careers and in graduate study, students require effective communication skills. It is also important to be able to transfer and adapt current skills to new situations. This course provides an opportunity for students to improve the communication skills that are important to graduate study in the context of a Canadian university. It explores communication through the intercultural domain, meaning that it helps students to build on and extend their current intercultural skills, while ensuring that they are equipped to respond appropriately in the varied and multicultural environments they will experience in Canadian graduate studies. During the course, students will work individually and in teams to improve their verbal, non-verbal and written communication skills.

Introduction to Quantitative Business Analytics: Statistics and Engineering Economics

Today's engineers must have a basic understanding of the economic reality of the world they work in as well as basic business practices to succeed in their careers. In this course, students will be introduced to core concepts in financial accounting, designed to help students understand the “language of business”. This will include understanding the purposes of the financial statements that firms use to describe and analyse the financial state of their operations, how to construct these financial statements, and some simple ratios that capture key elements of firm performance. After completing the course, students should be able to understand many of the fundamental financial accounting issues and challenges faced by managers today. The Business Statistics module aims to give students a foundation in fundamental statistics knowledge, covering basic concepts such as distributions, standard deviations, correlations, and regression analyses. The Engineering Economics module will provide a sound introduction to key concepts in this important field.

Introduction to Collaborative Work Environments

In order to succeed in today’s world, professionals must be able to work collaboratively with others. This often requires that they learn to work with people from different countries with different cultures, customs, and expectations. Further, given the nature of the MPR program, students must work effectively with others in order to succeed in the program. In this course, participants will develop their ability to work collaboratively in a team-based environment.

Academic Literacy in Context: Business & Technical Writing

This course will prepare students for the rigor and requirements of academic writing at the graduate level with a technical focus. It will make students aware of and competent in all aspects of business and technical writing, including memos, reports, briefings and pitches. Students will practice brainstorming, outlining, researching, drafting, revising, and presenting finalized written work. They will learn to use data to support their ideas and express opinions with confidence. In this course, students must be highly engaged and prepared to interact in group discussions and peer-review as well as work independently to complete larger assignments outside of class time.

Product Realization Capstone (CCC)

This capstone course will provide a practice ground for students as they begin to explore the importance of product realization. This course will allow students to practice their skills in a supportive environment, and then present in a realistic setting. Students will have the opportunity to put all the theory they learn in the PME to practice by becoming part of a high-functioning cross-cultural team as they work together to create a functioning prototype. By engaging in this course, students will learn effective time management and presentation skills, and be able to confidently introduce their product while making sound recommendations backed up with careful research and analytics.