Impact of Entrepreneurial Mindset Module Connecting Societal Consideration, Medical Interventions and Engineering Physiology

Abstract

Entrepreneurial mindset (EM) enables an engineer to analyze, sense and develop a solution to open ended problems based on the environment and needs of the society. Primarily, engineering education focuses only on technical skills that students can apply during employment. However, employers have identified a gap in the skillset that points towards limited EM skills in their engineering recruits. There is a need for introducing EM in engineering students due to the ever-changing demands of the job market. Engineering institutions and educators are now incorporating EM into their curriculum as a full course or embedded module. In this work, a four-stage EM module was developed focusing on 3Cs (curiosity, connections, creating value) based on the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) model. The module was implemented in a lecture intensive course with an objective to inculcate EM through active learning techniques to improve student engagement. Students worked in groups to identify an opportunity and customer's needs, create a business model, brainstorm and communicate an engineering solution to an open-ended question. The quantitative results from student surveys showed significant advancement in technical and most of the EM skills. The qualitative responses indicated improved student engagement through hands-on product analysis. Therefore, improving the students' ability to solve problems of societal relevance and work cohesively as a team. After a successful implementation of this module, it is expected to make it more stakeholder centric for other engineering courses and universities.