We are very pleased to announce an important partnership between the Lockheed Martin SkunkWorks and the SMU Lyle School of Engineering.  This partnership represents the first time that the SkunkWorks has partnered with a university in its more than six-decade remarkable history.

The SMU SkunkWorks Program is housed in the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education at SMU. The program will involve small, focused groups of students and faculty who work together under tight schedules to solve challenging real-world problems. The philosophy of the SMU SkunkWorks moves beyond the usual organizational processes in universities to better understand how to provide rapid innovation.

There are four initial components to the SMU SkunkWorks Program:

• Innovation curriculum modules/podcasts for incorporation into freshman lecture classes 
• SMU SkunkWorks Lecture Series (Fall & Spring events)
• Visiting professors/fellows from academia, industry, government labs 
• Immersion Design Experiences (IDE) real projects for real customers during summer, semester break, and spring break (10-day rapid prototype projects).

Our SMU students will be able to integrate the SkunkWorks design philosophy into their engineering programs. This process will allow our students to become more creative and innovative so they can change the world.