Lessons learned in building cross-disciplinary partnerships in entrepreneurship education through Integrated Product Development (IPD)

Abstract

Since 1994 a team of Lehigh faculty have been developing and implementing a multi-disciplinary educational environment to enable undergraduates and graduate students to experience the challenges and creative exhilaration of technical entrepreneurship through new product development. Lehigh's Integrated Product Development (IPD) program provides a campus focus for cross-disciplinary collaboration. With top-level administrative support, additional degree programs are under development. These include Integrated Business and Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Design Arts, Masters of Business Administration and Engineering and an entrepreneurial ventures track in the MBA program. Through planning, trial and error and (now) a formal comprehensive assessment process, the IPD faculty team has developed basic lessons learned from this curricula development experience. These lessons and the skills needed to succeed closely mimics those learned in any new venture process, with the caveat that colleges and universities are unique organizations with unique incentive, organizational and individual behavior issues. The categories of lessons learned include: vision and mission, customer focus, teaming, interpersonal relationships, leadership, resource development and allocations, recognition and rewards, infrastructure development, managing curricula development and managing a constantly changing administration.