Jablonski, E. (2014, June), Fostering Intra- and Entrepreneurship in Engineering Students  Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--20515

\bibitem{asee_peer_20515}
  Jablonski, E. (2014, June), \emph{Fostering Intra- and Entrepreneurship in Engineering Students}
  Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana.
  10.18260/1-2--20515

Erin Jablonski.  "Fostering Intra- and Entrepreneurship in Engineering Students".  2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2014, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2014.  https://peer.asee.org/20515 Internet.  24 Apr, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_20515}
  Erin Jablonski.
  "Fostering Intra- and Entrepreneurship in Engineering Students".
  \emph{2014 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2014, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2014.
  https://peer.asee.org/20515 Internet.  24 Apr, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_20515
author = "Erin Jablonski"
title = "Fostering Intra- and Entrepreneurship in Engineering Students"
booktitle = "2014 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2014"
month = "June"
address = "Indianapolis, Indiana"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/20515}
number = {10.18260/1-2--20515}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -         Fostering Intra- and Entrepreneurship in Engineering Students:        Taking innovation and design through development, market research,        technical feasibility and economic analysis, to commercialization or                      implementation…and sometimes failing.Engineers value the ability to solve problems in novel ways, the capacity to envision alternativesolutions, and the knack for design. However, traditional instructional and evaluation methodsmay make students overly risk averse, impacting their willingness to innovate to the extentnecessary to make disruptive changes to technology. Fostering an entrepreneurial spirit inengineering undergraduates may allow them to be more creative and less risk averse in theirapproach to solving multi-faceted, ill-defined problems. Analysis of student feedback fromreflection essays, self-report attitudinal surveys, and instructor assessment in two very differentcourses that promote the entrepreneurial mindset through student-driven projects will be used todistill the attitudes and behaviors students value in being more creative and less risk averse.The courses to be discussed aim to foster the development of an “entrepreneurial streak” instudents through posing ill-defined problems that they may fail to completely solve – and focusassessment on their approach to the process. Realizing the wisdom gained from failure and theexperience of trying to get something to work only to find it is not feasible – whether it be fortechnical, economic, or practical reasons – is invaluable to engineering students. Because thethreat of failure should not paralyze students’ ability to move forward, but rather challenge themto fully engage with technical content, failing forward is proposed as a valuable component ofengineering coursework. As a test-case for teaching the fail forward model, two courses havebeen developed, instructed and assessed with respect to how to improve students’ capacity andwillingness to be creative, take risks, and learn from failure.The two courses in which the fail forward model has been implemented include an upper-levelelective in entrepreneurship and a Fluid Mechanics course. In semester-long projects that thestudents select and justify (unique to each group), students are challenged with demands thatthey know they may not meet with the understanding that they will be assessed on progress andprocess. Grade-focused students are initially uncomfortable taking on a project they may notcomplete, and with little information about how “far” they are expected to get, but over thecourse of a few weeks they let go of that distraction and focus on the work at hand and how theycan improve their initial designs to make completion more feasible. Students value this lesson,although many characterize it as an educational struggle, but it prepares them for the reality ofmaking decisions with incomplete information and working through design alternatives. Themost rewarding part of teaching with the fail forward model, and perhaps the most valuableoutcome, is building students’ confidence in both their knowledge and their willingness to justgive it a try.
AU  - Erin Jablonski
CY  - Indianapolis, Indiana
DA  - 2014/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Fostering Intra- and Entrepreneurship in Engineering Students
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/20515
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--20515
ER  -