Dave Ellis Leadership Conference

Over the weekend of September 15^th, 16^th, and 17^th, Iron Range Engineering sent six students to the internationally acclaimed Dave Ellis Leadership Conference in St. Paul Minnesota.  Dave is a best-selling author, successful businessman, entrepreneur, and CEO of a nonprofit.  The program, titled Coaching Practices for 21st Century Leadership, focused on developing leadership skills among students, industry professionals, and leaders of non-profit organizations.  We learned a variety of skills including a new kind of note taking with 3x5 inch index cards, brilliant listening, and coaching as opposed to giving someone advice.  Note taking on the index cards emphasized taking brief notes, one per card, to help organize thoughts and tasks while maintaining a simple approach.  Mr. Ellis recommended including on these cards a priority rating, deadline/timeline for the goal or task, areas of support or potential collaborators, and potential subcategories.  Brilliant listening entailed being a better listener-giving both verbal and nonverbal feedback, not interrupting or issuing assurances, and then reciting what you heard from the speaker.  The main difference he wanted us to understand between coaching and giving advice is that while coaching, you are there to help the other person think-not to think for them.  Often times, if we ask the right questions or probe the person with a problem, and allow them to articulate their thoughts, they will formulate a solution on their own, which is much more valuable than simply being told another person’s solution.  Coaches facilitate thinking and problem solving.  They do not do it for you. These skills can be used in a variety of situations pertinent to IRE students, particularly in the areas of time and task management, group work, and leading a project team.  

Things are changing at IRE

There are many things changing this fall at Iron Range Engineering, and here are some highlights:

First, we must welcome three new people to IRE. We have a new business instructor, Elizabeth McBride, a new laboratory supervisor, Noel Olander, and a new technology coordinator, Jim Boyd. Welcome to our program, and we look forward to working with you!

This fall our new building located on the Mesabi Range Technical College campus is going up before our eyes. As of today, the concrete foundations have been poured and back-filled, and several walls have been constructed. Hopefully by this spring the new project rooms and laboratory spaces will be completed and ready for our use. 

In our old spaces, a model building and laboratory room has been created and outfitted over the summer, along with a large classroom and a common space. All are located within a short distance of project rooms and faculty offices for ease of access. Additionally, the Blandin Foundation has generously donated a large sum of money allowing us to outfit our new spaces with state of the art tools and equipment.

Finally, thanks to our friends at the Eveleth campus, new facilities are available to us for construction of project related material. These include a wood working and metal shop. We also have use of their overhead gantry crane and forklifts if needed. The availability of these facilities allows us to build high quality experiments and project models.

Thanks to everyone who has supported this program, and we look forward to even more changes in the future.

Iron Range Miners' Expo Tool & Equipment Showcase

The Iron Range Miners' Expo Tool & Equipment Showcase is being held this Thursday and Friday at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm, MN. There will be an Iron Range Engineering booth held there along with many other companies that are key players in the mining industry. The students will be taking part in this event by actually being behind the booth and giving their story. Out of the 14 students participating, two student groups will take two hour shifts throughout the day and will answer any questions attendees of the conference may have.  This is a great chance for the students to tell their story and to represent their school in the public! The students also have the opportunity to walk around the event, allowing valuable connections to be made with other exhibitors and to learn more about the mining industry.