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What is systems engineering?
What is systems engineering?
The UVA Department of Systems and Information Engineering describes the systems engineering curriculum as being "designed for students interested in bringing people and technologies together to improve the productivity and effectiveness of organizations and address complex, multidimensional problems in science and industry." In short, systems engineers solve problems by re-working systems. Often coined as one of the most "people-oriented" forms of engineering, systems engineers work to get to the root of problems to figure out why and how those problems had an impact on people in the first place. Then, systems engineers apply their STEM background (which is particularly heavy in data science, applied computer science, and mathematics) to ultimately find optimal solutions.
What kind of classes do systems engineering students take?
Examples of classes in the UVA systems engineering curriculum include:
Stochastic Decision Models
Human-Machine Interface
Discrete Event Simulation
System Evaluation
Deterministic Decision Models
What kind of careers do systems engineering students enter?
The systems engineering discipline is known to offer one of the most variable career pathways. Examples of jobs that systems engineers might take on include:
Project manager
Systems engineer (which seems rather obvious, but a systems engineer could be hired to oversee various projects or systems within a company, NGO, etc.)
Consultant
Business analyst
Policy analyst/adjacent policy official (using systems thinking to solve more public-facing issues via policy)
If you would like to know more, please visit our resources page to find our systems engineering resource database!
What makes BAPS different from a consulting organization?
What makes BAPS different from a consulting organization?
BAPS differs greatly from consulting organizations because it is a service organization led by systems engineers. BAPS does not have a fund that it is trying to build, but rather we work for service organizations for free to help them solve their problems. The main difference between a consultant and a systems engineer is that systems engineers must undergo a heavy STEM-based curriculum, especially focused in optimization methods and data-driven problem-solving approaches.
Who is eligible to join BAPS?
Who is eligible to join BAPS?
1st-year students of any major at UVA
OR
Declared systems engineering students at UVA (2nd through 4th-years)
Is my organization's project guaranteed to get accepted by BAPS?
Is my organization's project guaranteed to get accepted by BAPS?
There is no guarantee that your project will be accepted, but we can guarantee that we will read and consider every project application.
If my organization's project gets accepted, what happens next?
If my organization's project gets accepted, what happens next?
You will receive correspondence from a BAPS member on next steps. A BAPS project team will eventually be assigned to your organization's project, and communication will continue from there between the project team and your organization's point of contact.
What is a project team, and how is it decided where the project team is assigned?
What is a project team, and how is it decided where the project team is assigned?
Project teams are formed at the beginning of each semester. BAPS members fill out a survey to record their skillsets, preferences, etc., then the BAPS Executive Team works to build groups based on the survey responses. The number of students on each team varies. Project assignments are primarily handled by the Director of Project Management, who works with the Director of Outreach to understand the projects and determine which team(s) might be the best fit to work with each organization.
Have other questions not listed here? Please email us at baps@virginia.edu. We would be happy to help!
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