Team leaders are off to a fast start

Regular classes start next week, but design team leaders at UMR are already learning the tricks of the trade when it comes to team management.

The SDELC is hosting three days of financial and management workshops for newly elected leaders and business managers. Most design teams operate as complex engineering firms with an entrepreneurial focus, and have to deal with investors (donors), sales (marketing and public relations), logistics (team travel) and manufacturing operations -- so new team leaders need to get up to speed on team operations early in the design cycle.

Dr. Paul Hirtz, SDELC assistant director and solar car team alum, has brought in speakers from the UMR communications department and alumni association to teach key principles of fundraising and public relations. Business operations training includes how to understand the university’s accounting systems, how to spend each team’s money, how to track purchases, and how to do project planning.

Shop policies, safety training, vehicle operations and, most important, the allocation of workshop space are covered during the three-day workshop designed to get the teams off to a smooth start during the annual design and production cycle.