Bringing "real world business" into the classroom: Introducing entrepreneurship to engineering and technology students

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

1-1-2006

Abstract

What is the difference between engineers and entrepreneurs? Historically, on some level, there has been a difference. However, with a growing global economy and feverish foreign competition the roles of engineer and entrepreneur have merged. For a variety of reasons many engineering and technical academic programs have not embraced the merger of engineer and entrepreneur. Consequently many engineers and technicians have a steep learning curve when they begin their careers. They do not fully understand or appreciate how the manufacturing enterprise works and how the engineering function integrates with the enterprise. As a consequence engineers become disconnected from the many non-engineering aspects of the manufacturing enterprise. In general, new graduates lack the ability to create opportunities and take advantage of them. Climbing the "corporate ladder" is not a possibility anymore. When an organization is operating in a "lean" state, there is no ladder to climb since there is no higher level to attain. To build a successful career, engineers need to become "rock climbers", i.e. think like an entrepreneur and adopt an entrepreneurial spirit. The Manufacturing Engineering Technology program at Eastern Michigan University provides technical students with an education that merges engineering technology and entrepreneurship. A required a three-course capstone sequence emulates the product realization journey of a small business. The first course in the sequence develops a product concept, the second course plans its production and the last course actually produces and sells the product. The capstone sequence is a valuable experience for the students. The development of a product from conception through to production helps them realize how strongly engineering decisions affect the enterprise as a whole. The goals of this presentation are to identify why entrepreneurship is important for engineers, discuss the pedagogy of teaching engineers and technicians about entrepreneurship, and discuss how the Manufacturing Engineering Technology Program at Eastern Michigan University merges entrepreneurship and engineering technology education. In addition to the author, there are several coauthors, with varying backgrounds, providing their perspective of entrepreneurship in engineering and technology education. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2006.

Identifier

85029083019 (Scopus)

Publication Title

ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Conference Proceedings

e-ISSN

21535965

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