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In an era of scientific and engineering advancement, we need engineers who have a diversified skillset. More specifically, in order to solve many of the complex problems faced today, industry is calling for engineers who combine their technical expertise with leadership qualities. These qualities can be developed in engineering students’ formative years as undergraduates. However, how leadership qualities are developed in engineering students is still not well understood in engineering education community. As part of a larger project, this work reviews the development of a pilot intervention with freshman engineering students aimed at furthering that understanding. This intervention was informed by a combination of quantitative data analysis, qualitative exploration, and engineering leadership identity theory. Quantitative analysis was based on two national data sets; Qualitative exploration was based on 20 engineering focus groups involving 17 majors from three universities. The goal of this research was to identify an intervention that would impact students in ways that cultivated an engineering leadership identity. To develop this intervention, characteristics of impactful experiences in the development of engineering leadership identity were explored using the data described previously. A transcendental phenomenological approach was used to explore both the content of the experiences (textural) and the context of those experiences (structural). By focusing on the most impactful experiences, a three-pronged intervention was identified. The data indicate that the development of an engineering leadership identity is largely influenced by a bifurcation between technical and interpersonal (or professional) aspects of the profession. Moreover, the data indicates that well-executed group projects and corresponding support activities are instrumental in engineering student leadership development. 

Undergraduate research is a common method for students to gain experience in fields related to their major during their time in college. While involvement in research has many possible outcomes for undergraduates, the study of its effect on engineering, leadership, and engineering leadership identity development is underdeveloped and inconclusive. To contribute to this area of study the experiences of four undergraduate engineering students who were involved in research were examined through combined collective case study and autoethnographic methods. The research the students participated in centered on understanding the development of the identities of interest in engineering students more broadly, giving the four students repeated opportunities to engage with the subject. This combination of involvement in research and exposure to engineering, leadership, and engineering leadership concepts was found to have mixed results. The impact on the student's own identity development was inconsistent, ranging from positive to negligible to negative. It is hypothesized that this discrepancy can be attributed to diversity of individual experience both before and during involvement in research.