Michael Hansen Stays on Top of Change
Electrical Engineering Professional Master's Program
Why would a successful telecommunication wireless staff engineer with nearly 30 years of experience go back to school? Michael Hansen says it's "all about change." Not changing professions or employer — he has a terrific job at Intermec Technologies, world innovator and leader in bar code applications. The technology is evolving into powerful, computer-like cells, small but rugged mobile wireless units integrated with local area networks. They are ubiquitous in shipping yards, warehouses, mailing facilities, retail, and any business that needs to keep track of inventory.
"The most exciting thing about my field is change," Hansen said. "For the last 20 years telephone companies drove the telecommunications field. Now social media, wireless communications, and smart products are driving technology. I need to stay on top of developments, especially because my role at Intermec is to introduce new technology into the wireless unit."
In his early academic life, Hansen earned a diploma in electronics technology and later a bachelors of engineering in digital communications at the University of Victoria.
Hansen chose Electrical Engineering's Professional Master's Program (PMP) because he had reached the classic "fork in the road" for senior engineers — either go into program management or dive deeper into the technical side. He chose the latter, even though he is already on a technical management track. Intermec is covering part of his tuition.
"The push point for me is that as a leader you need to put in time to keep up with technology and academic advances so you can supervise technical staff and make good decisions, with solid fundamentals," he said.
Hansen is finishing year two of his three-year his program, glad that it began with a course reviewing calculus and statistics but pleased to go on to courses in networking and multimedia networking. This year he has been studying electromagnetic computations and wireless networking. He’s also especially enjoyed the one-credit seminars on special topics such as software that abstracts and compresses data to turn huge files into small and efficient ones, a topic especially useful for his work at Intermec.
"I'm amazed at the quality of the professors," he said. "They talk about their academic research and are just top-notch."
He's even enthusiastic about the homework — each evening about two hours of reading he calls enjoyable, plus take-home lab and report assignments he tackles on Sundays. Class time plus homework add up to about 30 hours a week.
Although the EE PMP program is not set up for the usual master's research and thesis defense, next year Hansen will do a thesis project in wireless communications under the guidance of Professor Sumit Roy. The project relates to his work at Intermec so it will have practical application. And the future?
"With a master's degree I will have the ability to take on an even more challenging role and the increasing responsibility that goes with it," Hansen said. "It might mean taking a slightly different path within Intermec, perhaps involving more system-level design work that pulls together multiple disciplines. Innovation is at the core of everything we do, so the EE PMP fits my interests and needs."
Electrical Engineering Professional Master's Program
Earn a master's degree by taking one four-credit evening class and a one-credit seminar during fall, winter, and spring quarters. Most students complete the 45-credit program over three academic years. Students may choose courses from any combination of the following subject areas:
- Electromagnetics (EM)
- Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)
- Signal, Image, and Video Processing (SIP)
- Smart Grid Technologies and Management
- Wireless Communications (COMM)
Visit the EE website for more information on courses and application requirements.
Looking for Courses for Engineers?
Learning is life-long. If you are considering advanced training to enhance your career goals, investigate UW Engineering's programs. Read more about the programs and the experiences of current students and graduates.