A Multi-Institutional Assessment of Entrepreneurial Mindset Perceptions of Students Participating in Entrepreneurial REU Programs Through Concept Maps

Alexandra Mary Jackson; Cheryl A Bodnar; Cassandra Sue Ellen Jamison; Kaitlin Mallouk; Mary Staehle

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Biomedical Engineering Division (BED) Technical Session 2
Tagged Division: Biomedical Engineering Division (BED)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46460

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Paper Authors

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Alexandra Mary Jackson Rowan University orcid.org/0000-0002-4662-6653

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Alexandra Jackson is a third year PhD candidate at Rowan University in Engineering Education. She began her research in Rowan's Experiential Engineering Education Department in the Fall of 2019, and has developed interests in entrepreneurial mindset and student development. In particular, she is interested in assessment of entrepreneurial mindset through both quantitative and qualitative methods, and is currently working in survey, concept map, and narrative assessment. She was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in April, 2022, and hopes to continue her research in entrepreneurial mindset assessment using narrative inquiry.

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Cheryl A Bodnar Rowan University

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Dr. Bodnar is an Associate Professor in the Experiential Engineering Education Department at Rowan University. Her research interests relate to the incorporation of active learning techniques such as game-based learning in undergraduate classes as well as innovation and entrepreneurship.

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Cassandra Sue Ellen Jamison Rowan University orcid.org/0000-0002-0253-1636

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Cassandra (Cassie) Jamison is an Assistant Professor in the Experiential Engineering Education Department at Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ). Her research interests focus on understanding and improving the learning that occurs in experiential, out-of-class activities for engineering students. Cassie previously received a B.A. in Engineering Sciences at Wartburg College (Waverly, IA) and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in BME from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI).

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Kaitlin Mallouk Rowan University orcid.org/0000-0003-4367-1165

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Kaitlin Mallouk is an Associate Professor of Experiential Engineering Education at Rowan University. Prior to beginning that role, she spent five years an Instructor in the Mechanical Engineering and Experiential Engineering Education Departments at Rowan.

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Mary Staehle Rowan University

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Dr. Mary Staehle is an Associate Professor and the Interim Department Head of Biomedical Engineering at Rowan University. Before joining the faculty at Rowan, Dr. Staehle worked at the Daniel Baugh Institute for Functional Genomics and Computational Biology at Thomas Jefferson University.

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Abstract

Entrepreneurial mindset (EM) development in undergraduate biomedical engineering students ties to development of traits, such as innovation, designing for a customer base, and communication, that are highly valued for the development of new biomedical devices and products. One approach to instilling an EM for biomedical engineering students can be through the inclusion of research experiences, such as the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, where students develop research-based skills and learn to communicate effectively in a research setting. These research experiences have shown prior improvements in general engineering students' EM skill sets such as confidence and critical thinking, and have promoted retention in engineering programs. A recent initiative, supported by the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN), created biomedical engineering-focused entrepreneurial experiences called entrepreneurial REUs (eREU) that involve mentorship by start-up company researchers and seamless integration within existing, traditional REU programs at one of three partnering institutions. This initiative aims to foster the development of an EM in undergraduate biomedical engineering students under the well-studied paradigm of REUs.

As part of the program, seventeen students who participated in biomedical engineering REU programs as traditional REU or eREU students at one of the three partnering institutions were asked to engage in an activity where they defined EM through the creation of a concept map. Concept maps were selected as an assessment method due to their ability to directly assess students' perceptions of EM, as compared to indirect assessments such as self-reported surveys. These concept maps were assessed using categorical scoring with six categories: Creating Value, Education, Design Process, Business/Company/Organization, Innovation/Intellectual Property, and KSAs. We found that students most often used KSAs, Business/Company/Organization, and Design Process in their concept maps. When separating the sample between eREU and REU students, we found that there was no statistically significant difference in the categorical scores between the two groups, showing that although eREU students were exposed to an entrepreneurial intervention, it did not necessarily strengthen their perception of EM from a concept mapping standpoint over the short duration of this intervention. eREU students tended to use the KSAs category, aligning more with the perceptions of business students and professionals rather than other engineering students, which may be due to their exposure to working in a business and research setting in tandem. This study identifies the impacts of exposing biomedical engineering students to entrepreneurial research experiences during their undergraduate years to assist in development of the necessary understanding of EM and identify areas of potential further development to assist in better preparing biomedical engineering students for the roles that they will serve in their profession.

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Jackson, A. M., & Bodnar, C. A., & Jamison, C. S. E., & Mallouk, K., & Staehle, M. (2024, June), A Multi-Institutional Assessment of Entrepreneurial Mindset Perceptions of Students Participating in Entrepreneurial REU Programs Through Concept Maps Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46460

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Entrepreneurial mindset (EM) development in undergraduate biomedical engineering students ties to development of traits, such as innovation, designing for a customer base, and communication, that are highly valued for the development of new biomedical devices and products. One approach to instilling an EM for biomedical engineering students can be through the inclusion of research experiences, such as the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, where students develop research-based skills and learn to communicate effectively in a research setting. These research experiences have shown prior improvements in general engineering students&#39; EM skill sets such as confidence and critical thinking, and have promoted retention in engineering programs. A recent initiative, supported by the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN), created biomedical engineering-focused entrepreneurial experiences called entrepreneurial REUs (eREU) that involve mentorship by start-up company researchers and seamless integration within existing, traditional REU programs at one of three partnering institutions. This initiative aims to foster the development of an EM in undergraduate biomedical engineering students under the well-studied paradigm of REUs. 

As part of the program, seventeen students who participated in biomedical engineering REU programs as traditional REU or eREU students at one of the three partnering institutions were asked to engage in an activity where they defined EM through the creation of a concept map. Concept maps were selected as an assessment method due to their ability to directly assess students&#39; perceptions of EM, as compared to indirect assessments such as self-reported surveys. These concept maps were assessed using categorical scoring with six categories: Creating Value, Education, Design Process, Business/Company/Organization, Innovation/Intellectual Property, and KSAs. We found that students most often used KSAs, Business/Company/Organization, and Design Process in their concept maps. When separating the sample between eREU and REU students, we found that there was no statistically significant difference in the categorical scores between the two groups, showing that although eREU students were exposed to an entrepreneurial intervention, it did not necessarily strengthen their perception of EM from a concept mapping standpoint over the short duration of this intervention. eREU students tended to use the KSAs category, aligning more with the perceptions of business students and professionals rather than other engineering students, which may be due to their exposure to working in a business and research setting in tandem. This study identifies the impacts of exposing biomedical engineering students to entrepreneurial research experiences during their undergraduate years to assist in development of the necessary understanding of EM and identify areas of potential further development to assist in better preparing biomedical engineering students for the roles that they will serve in their profession. 
AU  - Alexandra Mary Jackson
AU  - Cheryl A Bodnar
AU  - Cassandra Sue Ellen Jamison
AU  - Kaitlin Mallouk
AU  - Mary Staehle
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - A Multi-Institutional Assessment of Entrepreneurial Mindset Perceptions of Students Participating in Entrepreneurial REU Programs Through Concept Maps
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/46460
ER  -