COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

The “MPortfolio Experiences” exercise should have gotten you started in thinking about your most memorable and impactful learning
experiences to date and how they embody one or more of the Michigan Engineering. You will now use these same competencies to
describe where you are right now with developing your skill set, as well as how you would like to see yourself develop in these areas.

Michigan Engineering Plus competencies

    Technical Knowledge The ability to apply analytical and critical thinking skills
to discipline-specific problems while developing a multidisciplinary systems
approach to problem solving
    Creativity & Innovation The ability to identify and characterize problems in the face of
uncertainty and imperfect information, and to create new solutions
    Entrepreneurial Mindset The desire and capability to make a difference by championing
and managing needed change, including effective goal-setting,
persistence and an ability to manage risk
    Intercultural Intelligence The ability to interact effectively across cultures and around
the globe, and to understand the role of culture in addressing
technical challenges
    Collaborative Spirit A propensity for working in teams, including an understanding of the opportunities
provided by diversity, and strong interpersonal skills
    Social & Environmental  An understanding of human, social and environmental impacts of technologies, and
Responsibility the ethical tools to make sustainable and
responsible decisions
    Effective Communication The ability to communicate professionally in any setting

INSTRUCTIONS
Use the chart on the following page to connect your top learning experiences to date to the Michigan Engineering competencies listed
above.

Pre-work: Important! Before starting this assignment, you should complete the MPortfolio Experiences exercise worksheet for
5-10 experiences.

Step One: On the attached document, select your current level of proficiency by typing an “X” in the corresponding box. An
explanation for each level of proficiency is included below.

Step Two: Describe in detail your reasons for your selections.

Step Three: Provide specific details on how you plan to increase your level of proficiency in each area. You may want to add
some your responses to your Goals document.

Step Four: Create a work in Seelio called Honors Plan (or something similar) and upload this grid along with your SMART
goals and Focus Area Plan. Make that work private, if desired, and share it only with “Honors Program” in Seelio.
 Proficiency Scale

Developing Proficient Exemplary

Few prior experiences, skills or Substantial prior experiences, skills or A wide array of prior experiences,
knowledge in this area knowledge in this area  strong skills or knowledge in this area 

ex. I've taken ENTR 407 or another
entrepreneurial course, but I still
think I've just started learning about
what constitutes an
"entrepreneurial mindset"
ex. I've expanded my breadth on
intercultural intelligence by taking
three classes on different cultures,
and studying abroad, but I don't know
much about many other cultures in-
depth
ex. participating in MECC over the past
three years has strengthened my
collaboration skills to an exemplary
level

My Current Level of Proficiency Why did I select this What will I do to further
Michigan Engineering proficiency level? develop in this area?
Plus Competency (place an “X” in the box you select)
Developing Proficient Exemplary

Technical Knowledge X Because a lot of my peers do I think joining a project team I

coding in their free time and
have done coding before
coming here, I feel a little
behind in terms of my technical
knowledge in relation to them.
Creativity & Innovation X I am pretty comfortable with
being creative in writing poems
or raps or correlating topics to
things that everyone knows
about. I’ve developed this skill
from informally tutoring and
actually enjoy would be a
good first step in increasing
my technical knowledge, such
as the Bluelab Discovery Team
or the Michigan Data Science
team. I am also thinking about
joining the robotics team.
To develop my creativity and
innovation I can try to start
projects earlier and finish
them later. I know that
creativity is increased when
you have time to mull

Entrepreneurial Mindset X I have never considered myself
Intercultural Intelligence
Collaborative Spirit X I have had a hard time being a
explaining concepts to kids
who may not understand
things the first time it is
presented to them.
an entrepreneur, even though I
have lots of ideas that I want to
see put into action. I joined
Optimize last semester but
then ditched my project
because I didn’t make time for
it. I need to learn how to keep
myself accountable with my
own projects.
X I feel like I’ve tried to
emphasize this category during
my time at Michigan by taking
part in the Global Scholars
Program, going to the
Intercultural Leadership
Seminar, and going to
Colombia and Mexico. All of
these experiences have made
me look at things through a
different cultural lens, which
broadens my area of
understanding.
good collaborator mostly
because growing up, I always
felt the need to prove my
intelligence and so I often took
control of the group and
insisted that my ideas were the
right ones. However right now I
am in a class where I work in a
problems over, but I usually
try to finish assignments all at
once, giving me no time to
brainstorm other approaches.
I think in general, I have a lot
of ideas that could be used as
an entrepreneur but I never
stick with them. So figuring
out how to stick with an idea
would be one day to increase
this ability.
I can increase this by staying
up on the news in different
areas but also just talking to
people with different
backgrounds by going to
dinners sponsored by the
international house and
talking to more people in my
learning community.
I just came back from
Leadershape and was
engrossed in being
collaborative for a week, the
challenge now is to stay that
way. I felt comfortable being
collaborative because we had
group norms that made
everyone’s voice be equally

Social & Environmental
Responsibility
Effective Communication
(Include additional comments here, as needed.)
team of 3 every class period,
and it is forcing me to be a
better collaborator with other
people.
X I am probably the most
developed in this category just
because of how concerned and
knowledgeable I am about
social issues. I was a facilitator
for the common reading
experience and helped pick out
the book for next year, I am in
a class right now about
incarceration, and being in GSP
makes me knowledgeable
about social and environmental
issues such as water access,
economic justice, education,
and housing.
X As a member of GSP I get to
participate in debates and
model UN conferences, I am a
computer consultant for the
EECS IT department, and I am
an UMMA docent, all three of
which help me practice my
ability to explain things to
people.
important, so I want to bring
that idea to my current
situations. I think asking other
people’s opinions who
haven’t shared theirs yet is
one way I can do this.
I am fairly knowledgeable
about what issues there are
but not so much on their
possible solutions, so I think
one way I could develop this
is to read some of the
Michigan research
newsletters or the EECS
newsletters and read about
how technology we are
creating is impacting other
people in a positive way.
I can develop this by putting
myself in public speaking
positions more often, and
whenever I am speaking,
making sure I have intent and
a calm and confident
demeanor.