Development of the Engineering Student Entrepreneurial Mindset Assessment (ESEMA)

The increasing presence of entrepreneurship within many engineering curricula requires a complementary tool to assess the impact on learners. An instrument was developed based on the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network's 3Cs - Curiosity, Connections, and Creation of Value - framework to assess entrepreneurial mindset. The instrument was designed to target twelve total mindsets. Items were pilot tested four times with undergraduate students at a large southwestern public institution. Results in this paper are given for the last of four pilots in Spring 2017. Exploratory factor analysis was utilized to identify the number of emergent factors and overall importance of each item. The ensuing instrument contained 34 items within seven factors. The developed instrument and results of this study provide a foundation to support the accurate assessment of engineering student entrepreneurial mindsets before, during, and after an entrepreneurial experience.