Developing Entrepreneurially Minded Engineers by Incorporating Technical Entrepreneurship Case Studies

Abstract

The University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) has developed a number of technical entrepreneurship case studies that are designed to be integrated into existing engineering fundamentals courses. These case studies are intended to illustrate ways that entrepreneurs have capitalized on their knowledge of specific engineering topics covered in typical undergraduate courses to create successful business ventures. The aim is to repeatedly showcase successful engineering entrepreneurs and to provide routine exposures to principles of entrepreneurship throughout the curriculum. The ideal, long- term vision is to have one or more case studies for each engineering course. This paper summarizes the thirteen cases that have been developed thus far (several more are under development) and some assessment work conducted on student learning. The materials have been developed using rich media and are freely available online. Initial feedback has been very positive and the results of some preliminary assessment work is summarized. This work is sponsored by the Kern Family Foundation through its Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN).