TY - GEN
T1 - INFUSING ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET into ENGINEERING EDUCATION
T2 - ASME 2020 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, IMECE 2020
AU - Lichtenstein, Gary
AU - Collofello, James S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Entrepreneurship education is a higher education reform that has been steadily taking hold in engineering education for the past 20 years. A two-year grant from the Kern Family Foundation to the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering (FSE) at Arizona State University sought to infuse entrepreneurial mindset (EM) content and assessment in each of 17, ABET-accredited programs throughout the college. Project leaders strategized to make the initiative palatable to an already overburdened faculty implementing an already packed curriculum. This paper answers: What is the history of entrepreneurship education in engineering education? What strategies were used to implement the ambitious grant objectives in two years? Were the strategies successful? What are lessons learned and continuing challenges?
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 ASME.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering (FSE) received a two-year grant to institutionalize entrepreneurial mindset (EM) throughout the college. This paper summarizes the history of entrepreneurial education in engineering, then reviews metrics of initial implementation success across 17, ABET-accredited programs. Five strategies were deployed during the implementation stage of the initiative, which strived to engage 66 faculty who taught one of three EM-focus courses in each undergraduate program: a first-year engineering course, a required design or technical course in the second or third year, and Capstone. Strategies were: 1) Adopting a 21st Century Engineer orientation to entrepreneurial education; 2) Operationalizing EM using a single, consistent framework across all courses and programs; 3) Modeling implementation based on ABET accreditation processes; 4) Infusing the initiative with substantial faculty support; and 5) Incentivizing faculty with stipends to promote initial implementation. Challenges revolve around sustaining implementation while improving effectiveness of EM instruction and assessment, particularly after grant funding. Lessons learned are that 1) institutionalization of the initiative needs to be strategized during initial implementation and 2) faculty are more likely to support an initiative that includes activities and outcomes about which they have always cared, including student success, professional development, and collegial interaction.
AB - The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering (FSE) received a two-year grant to institutionalize entrepreneurial mindset (EM) throughout the college. This paper summarizes the history of entrepreneurial education in engineering, then reviews metrics of initial implementation success across 17, ABET-accredited programs. Five strategies were deployed during the implementation stage of the initiative, which strived to engage 66 faculty who taught one of three EM-focus courses in each undergraduate program: a first-year engineering course, a required design or technical course in the second or third year, and Capstone. Strategies were: 1) Adopting a 21st Century Engineer orientation to entrepreneurial education; 2) Operationalizing EM using a single, consistent framework across all courses and programs; 3) Modeling implementation based on ABET accreditation processes; 4) Infusing the initiative with substantial faculty support; and 5) Incentivizing faculty with stipends to promote initial implementation. Challenges revolve around sustaining implementation while improving effectiveness of EM instruction and assessment, particularly after grant funding. Lessons learned are that 1) institutionalization of the initiative needs to be strategized during initial implementation and 2) faculty are more likely to support an initiative that includes activities and outcomes about which they have always cared, including student success, professional development, and collegial interaction.
KW - engineering education
KW - entrepreneurial mindset
KW - entrepreneurship
KW - institutionalization
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U2 - 10.1115/IMECE2020-24644
DO - 10.1115/IMECE2020-24644
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85101210760
T3 - ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Proceedings (IMECE)
BT - Engineering Education
PB - American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Y2 - 16 November 2020 through 19 November 2020
ER -