Conference Session

Learning from Entrepreneurship Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Phil Weilerstein, National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance; Angela Shartrand, National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

AC 2008-600: A DECADE OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION: ARETROSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE FIRST DECADE OF THE NCIIAPhil Weilerstein, National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance Phil Weilerstein began his career as an entrepreneur while still a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts. He and his colleagues launched a start-up biotech company which eventually went public. This experience, followed by several other entrepreneurial ventures, brought him a lifelong passion for entrepreneurship, which he has pursued through his work as Executive Director of the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance or NCIIA. Phil’s tenure at the NCIIA is marked by his skill for network

Conference Session

Opportunities for Entrepreneurship Programs and Program Assessment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Green, University of Maryland; Georgina Johnston, University of Maryland

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

management, risk management, and skills. strategic management. Launching & Career Activities Student Satisfaction Long-term outcomes associated with Customer (student) satisfaction and new venture creation are measured, and career activities are also measured to include number of companies launched, ensure holistic program evaluation and revenues, profitability, employees, etc. quality assurance. Career activities of students to include graduate school and employment are also measured.Developing the Performance Measurement System for the Hinman CEOs ProgramA six-stage process was used to develop the performance

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education: Unique Approaches

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shawn S Jordan, Purdue Univeristy; Robin Adams, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

brief discussion of future directions forresearch. Figure 1: Picture of the author’s paper-shredding Rube Goldberg machine Page 13.1.3Background and contextReuben Lucius Goldberg (1883 – 1970) started his engineering career designing sewer systems.In 1914 after six months, he left engineering practice to become a cartoonist. His cartoons took asatirist point of view on technology, with his major underlying message being that technologymisapplied often makes life unnecessarily complicated. According to Goldberg, his cartoonsrepresent “a symbol of man’s capacity for exerting maximum effort to achieve minimal results.”He conveyed this

Conference Session

Learning from Entrepreneurship Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey Blessing, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Kristen Mekemson, Kern Family Foundation; David Pistrui, Illinois Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

. Prior to his academic career, has worked for three Fortune 500 companies and has owned and operated two small businesses.Kristen Mekemson, Kern Family Foundation Kristen Mekemson joined the Kern Family Foundation in April 2007. She works with senior program staff to oversee, monitor, and evaluate grants and projects. She also conducts program research, site visits, and other investigative activities in support of program development, program exploration, and grant making. Kristen received a B.A. in Writing-Intensive English and French and M.A. in British and American Literature from Marquette University. She was on the development staff at Lawrence University for two years. Prior to her

Conference Session

Learning from Entrepreneurship Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen Thornton, University of Maryland; Jacqueline Rogers, University of Maryland (Retired); Nathan Myers, University of Maryland; Monica Neukomm, University of Maryland

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

internships because either their workschedules did not allow for time off, they had to complete summer classes, or they were notaware of internship opportunities that were financially feasible. Given that many of the HillmanEntrepreneurs are non-traditional students at different stages of their professional lives, findinginternship opportunities that meet their varied career and financial needs may continue to be adifficult process.For the summer of 2008, the Program Directors are being more strategic about informingstudents of the internship process. PGCC has an internship readiness process where studentsparticipate in workshops including career and life planning, resume writing and review, andmock interviews. David Hillman is also expected to hire

Conference Session

Course-Based Approaches to Entrepreneurship

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jonathan Weaver, University of Detroit Mercy; Nassif Rayess, University of Detroit Mercy

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

of the case study delivery, thestudents are engaged in an exercise where they are asked how they would proceed to setupappropriate scale model tests/non-dimensional parameters for this situation.Case 2: Ray Gunn and Somanetics and ClarityRay Gunn Case: Background MaterialThis case study is about a man named Raymond (Ray) Gunn whom Professor Weaver first heardspeak at an NCIIA Invention to Venture Workshop at Lawrence Technological University. RayGunn has spent his career acting as the principal financial and strategic architect to build concepttechnologies into commercialized ventures/companies. He has led ten teams through theirformation, funding, growth, and ultimate sale or Initial Public Offering (IPO). Additionalinformation about

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education: Unique Approaches

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul A. Nelson, Michigan Technological University; Edward Lumsdaine, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

businessschool, so the only courses in the engineering curriculum related even remotely toentrepreneurship were a course in economic principles and a course in engineering economy.Accordingly, in 1948 a Department of Engineering Administration was established and a B.S. inEngineering Administration degree was offered as a second undergraduate degree for personsobtaining engineering degrees. This fifth-year degree covered accounting, finance, marketing,management, and industrial relations, but its focus was on career responsibilities for engineersworking in large firms, not on entrepreneurship.The Department of Engineering Administration grew into a business school in the 1950s, butMichigan Tech did not offer a single course with the word

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Raviv, Florida Atlantic University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

interactive, innovative workshops aretaught by practicing professionals whose real world involvement, language and style give themimmediate credibility with students. These business and industry leaders help to expand thetheoretical world of the college experience. Some of the proposed workshops would cover: (a)Teambuilding and Teamwork, (b) Creating and Maintaining Professional Portfolios, (c)Developing a Resume, (d) Making Effective Presentations, (e) Knowing Yourself – True Colors,(f) Developing a Career Plan; (g) Corporate Culture and You, and (f) Graduate SchoolOpportunities. Class structure The class met once a week for three hours each time, and usually had most of the followingelements: o Group discussion of brain teasers (led by a