COLOGNE, Germany — When Michael K. J. Milligan, Ph.D., learned he had been chosen for one of engineering education’s most distinguished international honors, he thought first of his team.
“I was surprised to hear that I was considered,” said Dr. Milligan, Chief Executive Officer of ABET. “I never really view accomplishments as singular events, but rather as team-focused. So to hear that I was an award winner this year — it was a great feeling of accomplishment for ABET.”
The International Society for Engineering Pedagogy, known as IGIP, presented Dr. Milligan with the Nikola Tesla Chain on October 1. The society’s highest honor recognizes outstanding international achievements in engineering education and pedagogy. Named for the inventor whose work helped shape the modern electrical world we live in today, recipients receive a gold chain and medal, a certificate and an invitation to deliver a keynote at the IGIP conference.
The presentation took place at ICL2026, the 29th International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning and 55th IGIP International Conference on Engineering Pedagogy. The conference drew researchers, educators and industry partners from around the world to Cologne, Germany. Dr. Milligan was also joined by his family: wife Alison, sons Matthew, Kyle and Austin, and family friend Deanna.
Dr. Milligan’s nomination recognized his exceptional contributions to engineering education, international accreditation and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) leadership. It noted his role in helping academic programs worldwide give students the skills, ethics and knowledge to build a safer, more efficient and more sustainable world.
Dr. Milligan sees that impact as a shared one. “I see it as a reflection of the great work ABET has accomplished over the past 10 to 15 years, where we’ve been able to really expand our influence on STEM education worldwide — improving the educational experiences for many thousands of students,” he said.
The award also places Dr. Milligan among colleagues he knows well. Past recipients include Stephanie Farrell of the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering at Rowan University, Susan Lord of the University of San Diego, Hans Hoyer of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES), Krishna Vedula of the Universal Collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE) and Xavier Fouger the Senior Director, Global Academia Programs at Dassault Systèmes.
“I know many of the previous award winners and have the highest respect for them and the impact they’ve had on higher education,” he said. “To be included in this group of Nikola Tesla Chain award winners is truly special.”
A Personal Connection
For Dr. Milligan, the award’s namesake carries special meaning.
“The connection to Nikola Tesla feels personal to me,” he said.
Dr. Milligan and his family spent 10 years in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where Tesla built a high-altitude laboratory in 1899. There, Tesla studied the conductive nature of low-pressure air and tested the largest Tesla coil ever built. He told reporters he planned to send signals from Pikes Peak to Paris.
“He envisioned an interconnected world long before the digital age helped pave the way for the globalized society we live in today,” Dr. Milligan said.
A few years ago, Dr. Milligan visited the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, Serbia. The museum holds the world’s largest collection of Tesla’s original documents, personal items, technical drawings and inventions, as well as the golden sphere that contains his ashes.
“It’s impossible not to feel deeply inspired by his life’s work,” he said.
Dr. Milligan’s keynote, “Sustainability as a Human Journey: Rethinking Progress, Responsibility and Our Shared Future,” presented sustainability not just as a human challenge but also a technical one. He said changing human behavior and building purposeful partnerships across sectors is essential to progress. He carried that theme into a roundtable on “Educating for the Green and Digital Workforce in Smart and Sustainable Industries.”
Tesla once wrote that [the work of the scientist] “is like that of the planter — for the future,” [laying] “the foundation for those who are to come.” Dr. Milligan sees the same calling in engineering education.
“As educators and engineers, our entire mission is to inspire innovation, but it is people — the students we mentor and the educators who guide them — who drive real progress,” he said. “To be recognized for outstanding achievements in the field of engineering education and pedagogy is both deeply humbling and a reminder of the vital work we all share in preparing the next generation of great problem solvers who will address today’s challenges and solve the many problems we have yet to imagine.”