Christian Artmann is completing his second Master degrees, a joint Degree in Industrial Engineering and Business Administration at the Technical University of Karlsruhe, Germany. He is planning a career in consulting.

He joined the ETM department as an exchange student with the Oregon-Baden-Wuerttemberg Program. Through this opportunity, he enhanced his project management, teambuilding and strategic planning skills.

"The combination of solid, theoretical lectures with actual training and applications helped me apply the theory via real world examples. I improved my soft skills like problem solving and presentation techniques. And that is what I will need later on the job."

Tim Dugan, a former product developer, developed a business plan for a new venture in an ETM class and received funding from West Century Engineering.

"I was a student under the leadership of Bob Harmon, who unleashed tremendous creative energy for the disciplines of engineering management and business. This was a lively class, filled with futuristic stuff and basic elements such as how to develop a solid business plan," explained Tim Dugan. "What happened to me during the class was that I gathered the theories discussed, looked at trends in my industry (utilities) and came up with a business plan to use the Internet as a component to distribute remote compression monitoring. Harmon's class was the inspiration for my entrepreneurial outlook and gave me the insight to look at larger trends while grounding me in solid project management skills."

Karen Eden is an assistant professor at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU), one of the best medical schools in the United States. She is an experienced healthcare research specialist and educator with absolutely no engineering background. So why select ETM for continuing her master's and Ph.D. education?

"ETM opened up the way I approach decisions. By understanding the basics of decision analysis, one of the key principles of technology management, I was able to apply the same techniques to deciding whether to screen a population for disease or perform a particular diagnostic test. Upon graduation from the program, I confidently began my new position as faculty at a medical university."

Stacey Ewton is the Director of e-Business Strategies for Portland General Electric. Such a position likely didn't exist five years ago. Stacey is in charge of PGE 's entire e-business strategy - from concept through deployment. Planned E- business initiatives are in the $70 million a year range.

"The ETM program broadened my skill set and enabled me to command a senior level executive employment position. My advisor in the ETM program identified the Internet as a potential TOPic for my dissertation. This suggestion catapulted my career and provided the knowledge to command a premium salary," explained Stacey.

Nike Application Architect Janice Forrester is responsible for technical, integration, and application architecture for the supply chain planning tools from initial forecast of the demand to the global transportation of finished product. All major corporate divisions use these tools.

"The core of my ETM education was in project management and systems thinking with technology roots. This combination is perfect for fostering successful technology executives."

Forrester wanted to move towards a more strategically focused and managerial oriented position. The ETM program provided her with the skills to move into her current position.

Rob Gragnier is a member of Wacker Siltronic's International Engineering Support team, based in Germany. The goal of the team is to look at key engineering processes and compare the differences and similarities, find best practices, and improve the communication between the more than 20 worldwide sites.

"Before, during, and after receiving my Masters degree in Engineering Management from ETM, I continued to work for Wacker Siltronic. It was fairly exhausting at time, but my professors understood my goals and appreciated my ambitions. I am very excited about my new position. My work experience and my master's education degree from Portland State University have greatly contributed to my success."

Paul Hamilton is one of Intel's Senior Test Engineers. He plans, performs and documents system level hardware testing on technologies under development. Earlier in his career, he was a supervisor at another high tech company. His ETM experience lead to a profound and more hands-on change in his career.

"The program provides insight into the many factors of economy, technology, personnel management, and decision making that influence management. The perspective makes it easier to understand the possible bases of decisions that effect me personally at work."

Valentin Havugiyaremye is a current student from Rwanda, Africa. Encouraged by the department's "roadmap for academic training," he is pleased that ETM teaches the value of being taught to "think technologically" and the importance of being trained academically and humanely.

"In this Department, students feel valued and wanted. I will say that this is what we need as students to be able to successfully pursue our studies. This style needs to be maintained. There is no uncertainty in this department. Students get any help they ask for and get even what they can't imagine for. My experience has been positive. I am proud of being an ETM student."

Guven Iyigun is a corporate audit manager at Unilever for the United Kingdom and Ireland. He is charged with providing independent and comprehensive risk management recommendations to the company's Board of Directors in the area of information strategy management. Project and risk management skills are a key ingredient in his success.

"ETM impressed me with commitment to exceptional standards of performance and willingness to embrace new ideas. It gave me the perspective to analyze and understand the totality of a business situation and the ability to demonstrate flexibility of thinking which can be turned into realistic plans. I also developed an accurate and objective assessment of what needs to be done even in complex and difficult situations, and to take initiatives involving calculated risks."

Kusha Janati is pursing an internship led by Dr. Yong -In Shin working on productivity issues and IT expenditures for Intel. The goal is to develop a decision support system to assist IT managers in their budget allocation efforts.

Literature search and cataloging skills that he developed while completing ETM coursework have helped tremendously. His familiarity with management science tools for productivity; cost/benefit analysis and decision making have been critical to his successful project contributions.

"I cannot think of a better way for ETM students to have an opportunity to gain industry experience than interning at a local company."

Greg Jones, a Director of Development for Portland General Electric, oversees financing, economic analysis, marketing and sales. A current project is a $500 million broadband (fiber/coax) system. A thorough personal and career analysis revealed critical gaps in his formal education.

"I already had a masters in engineering. As my career progressed I became more aware of the opportunities in development. To round out my formal education I needed to update my skill set in advanced decision making, project management, strategic analysis, and finance. The ETM program allowed me to structure my formal education around a career path."

Dogush Kuran is an Industry Account Manager for Cisco Systems in Turkey. He's responsible for managing major industry accounts and developing new accounts in the competitive Industry sectors.

"ETM's project management courses helped me secure my first job as a project coordinator at ALCATEL. There, I was able to apply most of the skills I'd absorbed in ETM. Combining these skills with real life experience paved the way for upper levels of management. Later, I transferred to Cisco Systems."

Dr. Jim Lill has had a distinctive career in chemistry and physics - including stints at the University of Chicago, Pomona College, the University of Houston and the Naval Research Laboratory.

"To complement my technical background in materials science and numerical simulation and attract the attention of technology corporations in the Pacific Northwest, I have enrolled in the Department of Engineering and Technology Management."

The Department fills the need for experts trained in the latest management practices. The diverse nature of the student body - comprising both Americans and students from many countries provides an opportunity to experience cross-cultural teamwork.

Felix Ngoussou used to work for the International Airport of Chad. Also a current student, he managed the communication system between pilot and the controller during clearance and take off. His professional goal is to return to his job with a firmer grasp of how to implement, maintain, and improve project management and team building concepts to increase productivity, quality and customer satisfaction.

"The program is teaching me the effects of the world's rapidly shifting technological advancements and how to manage these changes. It prepares me for the challenges created by this ever-changing global marketplace by balancing my attention as well as my career direction with a fresh and innovative framework. One can learn team building and project management theories from books but ETM provides a professional presentation of the real world, showing what works and what doesn't in many industries."

Nergis Numanoglu, a Program Manager with Microsoft, is responsible for product design and feature specifications for Home Imaging and Publishing products. Smooth communications with product planning to understand market needs and usability features are critical responsibilities.

Before the ETM program, she expected a career in a mature industry -- mechanical design or manufacturing. ETM was an eye opener. She saw many advantages of being a technical person in the changing economy. ETM introduced her to the concept of business based on change.

"I think I gained more insight at ETM than I would have gained during the same time spent only at work. I no longer thought of myself limited to mechanical engineering. I became aware of key social skills. The ETM experience encouraged me to expand my versatility."

Natannon Pronanun is an assistant Projects Manager for Tyco International (Thailand) Ltd. He's responsible for team project implementation -- measurable by financial, performance results. Because he came to U.S. from Thailand, he faced several educational challenges --language, experience and tradition -- in addition to her studies.

"The ETM experience gave me the fundamental experience to apply to my working life. I've set up a standard process and documentation for Project Engineers to follow - allowing for individual flexibility. The biggest challenge is that people lack knowledge in project management and time management. I'm optimistic that improvement will come steadily."

Razif Abdul Razak is a lecturer at Malaysia' s University of Technology. He is focused on training, research, developing new courses and administration.

"When I was a Ph.D. student in ETM, I juggled study, work, family and finances. It was a major challenge. The professors, staff and my fellow students were helpful and supportive. I' ve continued to keep in touch with my friends as they advance in academic, business and technology positions all over the world. My educational experience at ETM profoundly changed the way I evaluate situations -- more positively. I will always be part of ETM."

Fernando E. Rivera is the Director of Technology at Arthur Anderson, a global management and information technology consulting firm. He is responsible for all technical activities for the Chilean office, including intra, extra and Internet, communications and telecommunications. Before considering ETM, his goal was to rise to a management position. With his technical background, he knew this would be difficult.

"The exposition to an international environment and the leading edge topics covered in the ETM course load allowed me to expand my career horizons. I am now able to provide a unique combination of a very strong technical/computer background with management skills and real hands-on training. I am positive that my professional life would be totally different without my degree from ETM."

Rodolphe Sepz is an Information Systems Management consultant for DP Europe. He is responsible for new trading systems in Europe, America and Asia.

"The ETM program was an opportunity to develop managerial and communication skills. The major values of the program were overall quality, teaching expertise and the multicultural environment," said Sepz. "I'll always remember a team project with classmates from Thailand, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. At the beginning it was difficult because of the language barrier. We learned to know, understand and enjoy each other to reach a level of real teamwork."

Intel's Craig Volz is a Design Manager/Sr. Project Manager for the NW Regional Office - Aloha Construction Projects & Engineering group. The NWRO is responsible for Intel sites in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Utah. Both the technical and cultural fit of the position is excellent.

Thanks to the ETM program I am now much better prepared for success, with a strong managerial/technical foundation and a valuable "toolbox" for solving a wide variety of problems. In addition to the learning component, the program was extremely valuable from a networking standpoint."

My association with ETM's students Jose Rodriguez and Massoud Massarat was instrumental in helping me achieve my new position," explained Volz.

Scott Walsh is a Materials Program Manager for Xerox ' Office Printing Business. He 's responsible for coordinating global supply chain activities and logistics for office color printer programs.

"I was a professional when I entered the ETM program. I've stayed with the same company and advanced gradually. Classes in my degree program provided analytical tools useful in project and program management. Multicultural exposure in classes and on project teams prepared me for the international scope of my current position."

Working with students from other cultures and industries gave him a global perspective. While exposure to the ETM student population widened his horizons.

Sida Zhou is a Staff Component Engineer at Intel Corporation, responsible for CAD methodology on performance verification, microprocessor design and developing new CAD tools such as noise analysis.

The ETM experience helped Sida think more broadly and make more intelligent/scientific decisions. "If I had not become an ETM student, I would not have reached the position I embrace today. I benefited tremendously from interaction with students already active in the workplace dealing with the same issues I deal with daily - how to marry technical skills and management skills to help your organization run more profitably, save time and increase productivity."