Exploring what we don't know about entrepreneurship education for engineers

Abstract

What do we still need to learn about entrepreneurship education for engineers? Who better to answer this question than a group of engineering educators, educational researchers, practicing entrepreneurs and innovators, and engineering students? Such a group was convened in August 2014 to examine and reflect on current knowledge of students' entrepreneurial development and pathways, entrepreneurship programming models, and the efficacy of various curricular approaches. The event, known as the Epicenter Research Summit, was held at Stanford University and co-hosted by scholars at three universities; 70 attendees from 29 different institutions and organizations contributed to panel and poster sessions over two days. These sessions and the continuous dialogue, along with a series of individual and group exercises, allowed this community to identify gaps in knowledge about educational environments and pedagogies that support engineering students in becoming creative, innovative and entrepreneurial thinkers. Findings from the interactive exercises led to the identification of three major research areas for future work: Linking Outcomes to Reform, Understanding Student Diversity, and Examining Contexts. Each of these areas includes a wide range of questions that could be collaboratively pursued in the coming years to direct the course of entrepreneurship and innovation education in engineering. This paper reviews such questions and makes recommendations for the next phase of both research and community building in this emergent space.