Berkeley MEng celebrates 300 graduates
On Thursday, May 20, 2021, the UC Berkeley College of Engineering hosted a virtual Celebration of Graduates in lieu of the traditional in-person ceremony due to pandemic restrictions.
Kristin Johnsen (B.S.’88, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research; Board Member & Global Business Leader), delivered the keynote address for the master’s commencement. An excerpt from her keynote is below:
“I’m a big believer in the power of teams. Shawn Achor, professor and researcher on happiness, has shown that people working in a well functioning team are happier and more able to take on big challenges together. The mere presence of others makes the challenges you’re facing seem smaller and more doable. You’ve had the opportunity to practice your teaming skills at Berkeley and take on bigger challenges. Embrace the power of working together. All of my biggest accomplishments were achieved with teams. I never could have done it alone. As you move out into the world, you have the opportunity to leverage these three foundational elements: Values, love of learning, and embracing teamwork and collaboration. And point your energy towards a purpose, through big programs. The world is full of hard problems waiting to be solved.”
College of Engineering Dean Tsu-Jae King Liu shared:
“On behalf of the College of Engineering, I would like to congratulate all of our graduating students for reaching this important milestone. You can be very proud of your achievement, earned through hard work and perseverance during an especially challenging time.
The troubling events of the past year cause us to reflect on the role we can play in addressing challenges faced by individuals and communities within our society. As you embark on the next stage of your studies or professional career, I hope you will draw upon your learning and experiences at Berkeley to effect positive change in the world. Remember that the most successful leaders bring out the best in others so their teams can achieve beyond expectations, and that organizations that include and value a diversity of perspectives and thinking achieve better outcomes. I am optimistic that, if each of us fosters inclusive excellence in our academic and professional endeavors, we will collectively shape a better future for all.
Wherever your life takes you, I hope that you will stay connected to the larger Berkeley Engineering community, which includes more than 71,000 alumni around the world. Online networking groups, including the @cal Alumni Network, will link you to fellow alums and can lead to new relationships and opportunities in your journey. I am wishing you all the best — and many more celebrations of your accomplishments in the years to come!”
Earlier in the week, UC Berkeley Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership staff, teaching team, and department partners shared their congratulatory remarks during a casual graduation reception on the OhYay! platform. In his remarks, faculty director Lee Fleming shared: “A huge congratulations to the Class of 2021! You are the 10th MEng class and you deserve this congratulations more than any other. We thought it was hard finishing up 2020 online — it was way harder to finish up an entire master’s degree online, especially when that master’s has to do with leadership. You’ve persevered through so many challenges: the pandemic, online learning, working with others remotely. I’m so impressed with each of you. Congratulations and good luck!”
Executive director Stephany Prince followed Lee’s remarks by sharing, “Wow! Can you believe you completed your master’s degree in the middle of a pandemic? I hope you can look back at this for years to come as proof that you can do anything no matter how great or small those challenges may be. While this is the end of your journey for your master’s program, we hope that it will not be the end of your time with us as a part of the Fung Institute community and family. Come back as amazing alums and share your experiences with future students and stay connected.”
The Berkeley MEng Class of 2021 celebrates 300 graduates*
*220 full-time, 9 part-time, 13 MBA/MEng graduates; 56 December 2020 grads; 55 MEng students who requested third semester extensions
Accomplishments include:
- Graduates represent 21+ countries and regions, including China, India, France, Taiwan, and more. Among the cohort, 115 undergraduate schools represented and 8% hold master’s degrees.
- Career development accomplishments from the past year included launching multiple startups, hosting a cross-disciplinary ideathon, publishing industry newsletters, leading our inaugural MEng affinity groups, and much more!
- MEng graduates will move on to work at top companies like Accenture, Amazon, Apple, Applied Materials, Bloomberg, Energport, Fehr & Peers, Ford Motor Company, Google, Huawei, Intuitive Surgical, Iota Biosciences, Lockheed Martin, MasterClass, McKinsey & Company, PayPal, Pixar, and Tesla.
- The Class of 2021 had 70 capstone teams, 19 — interdisciplinary, 17— partner-advised. Among this cohort, capstone accomplishments include: helping engineers to design more environmentally conscious processes for cell therapy production; analyzing the feasibility of advanced oxidative water treatment at home; and designing an automated microneedle device.
- In May, we hosted the 10th annual capstone showcase with over 700 registrants and 400 attendees from all over the world. The 2021 Capstone Showcase web page features project abstracts, project briefs, and award winners.
Pledge of Ethical Conduct for Engineers
We, the graduating engineering Class of 2021, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, pledge to commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct. Throughout our careers, we will consider the ethical implications and the impact on safety, health and welfare of the public and the environment of the work we do before we take action. While the demands placed upon us may be great, we make this declaration because we recognize that individual responsibility is the first step on the path to a better world for all.
— Adopted by the Student Relations Committee, Engineering Student Council and some 85 student societies of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering
Learn more about the Fung Institute at funginstitute.berkeley.edu.
Written by Ashley Villanueva
