Introducing Entrepreneurship and Innovation in a Manufacturing Design Course

Abstract

Engineers and technologists have a crucial role to play in today's world. Future directions are based on the decisions and actions that we make today. System thinking, problem finding, visualizing, improving, creative problem solving, and adaptability are the six types of cognitive abilities that engineering/technology students need to develop, as identified by the British Royal Academy of Engineering. Employers are seeking engineers who are capable of solving problems by creating products from the concept to the market in a short period. It has now become essential for engineers to have an understanding of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Innovation and Entrepreneurship are two closely related words that go hand in hand in this era. Innovation is about applying creativity to different engineering/technology problems. Coming up with unique solutions and entrepreneurship is about applying the same to bring ideas to life by making it feasible to work. It's also about making the business work. To summarize, all entrepreneurs are innovative and but not all innovative products had been feasible. In today's world, engineers need to come with a product or a competitive service in the industry in terms of product performance and also perform equally well in the business perspective. In this paper, the authors introduce "Innovation and entrepreneurship" to an existing design course and equip the next generation engineers/technologists with an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset and related core skills.