Work in Progress: The missing link in I-Corps Entrepreneurship Engineering Education at a Southwestern Institution

Noemi V Mendoza Diaz; Magdalini Z Lagoudas

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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: Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Division (ENT) Technical Session 1
Tagged Division: Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Division (ENT)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/48517

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Paper Authors

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Noemi V Mendoza Diaz Texas A&M University orcid.org/0000-0003-1215-1554

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Dr. Mendoza is a faculty member of Technology Management in the College of Education-Engineering at Texas A&M University. She has worked as electrical engineering professor in Mexico. She recently obtained funds from NSF to investigate enculturation to engineering and computational thinking in engineering students. She is the co-advisor of the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers at TAMU and is interested in computing engineering education and Latinx engineering entrepreneurship.

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Magdalini Z Lagoudas Texas A&M University

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Magda Lagoudas, Executive Director for Industry & Nonprofit Partnerships, has been at Texas A&M University since 1992 and served on several capacities across the College of Engineering, including Director for the Space Engineering Institute and Associate Director for the Space Engineering Research Center. Current responsibilities include pursuing strategic partnerships with industry to provide engineering students with opportunities to collaborate on multidisciplinary teams addressing real world challenges and with industry engagement. College signature programs include the Texas A&M I-Corps Site, AggiE_Challenge, INSPIRES, and two annual Project Showcases. Magda is the Principal Investigator of the Texas A&M University I-Corps Site grant and has been active in promoting entrepreneurship both at the local and national level. Member, Institute for Engineering Education & Innovation.

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Abstract

Entrepreneurship education has made its way at most engineering institutions. Lean methods and the I-corps culture have gained notoriety and momentum across the United States. At a Southwestern institution, designated as an I-Corps Site in 2017, continuous trainings (courses) are offered to undergraduate and graduate engineering students. During spring, summer and fall semesters, students are guided to conduct interviews with potential users of their innovations and refine their entrepreneurship skills. After three years of successfully impacting students (Lagoudas et al., 2019-2020), a team of investigators is looking into aspects of the training that might have been unperceived during prior assessments. In this study, we analyze via quantitative and qualitative methods, the answer to the research question: What aspects of the I-Corps site program experience could be enhanced or modified based on performance and perceptions of participants? To answer this question, during the Summer of 2023, twelve students enrolled in an I-Corps site program experience that involved 6 weeks of guided training and answered to a pre- and post-surveys that included questions in the dimensions of: (1) interest in entrepreneurship, (2) confidence in value proposition, (3) self-efficacy in entrepreneurship, (4) self-efficacy in marketing/business planning, (5) self-efficacy in customer interview skills, and (6) current status of technology and business model. Preliminary quantitative analyses showed similar results to prior research about significant changes in student perceptions of confidence in value proposition, customer interview skills, and current status of technology and business model. However, in qualitative terms, when asked about their overall experience, those who rated it lower, expressed expectations not met related to training in market research and other entrepreneurship skills. This work in progress will present the case of those students who either did not express expectations or their expectations were not met. Preliminary results show that some students may enter the experience with misconceptions of the type of training they will obtain, or they might be too advanced in their skills to take full advantage of the experience. The results of this investigation will bring light to current entrepreneurship trainings and trainers so more refined interventions can be offered. Lagoudas, M., Yoon, S. Y., & Boehm, R. (2019, July). The Implementation and Assessment of an I-Corps Site at a Southwestern University: Lessons Learned. In Zone 1 Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education. Lagoudas, M., Yoon, S. Y., Boehm, R., & Asbell, S. (2020, July). Impact of an I-Corps site program on engineering students at a large southwestern university: Year 3. In Zone 1 Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education.

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Mendoza Diaz, N. V., & Lagoudas, M. Z. (2024, June), Work in Progress: The missing link in I-Corps Entrepreneurship Engineering Education at a Southwestern Institution Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/48517

TY - CPAPER
AB - Entrepreneurship education has made its way at most engineering institutions. Lean methods and the I-corps culture have gained notoriety and momentum across the United States. At a Southwestern institution, designated as an I-Corps Site in 2017, continuous trainings (courses) are offered to undergraduate and graduate engineering students. During spring, summer and fall semesters, students are guided to conduct interviews with potential users of their innovations and refine their entrepreneurship skills. After three years of successfully impacting students (Lagoudas et al., 2019-2020), a team of investigators is looking into aspects of the training that might have been unperceived during prior assessments. In this study, we analyze via quantitative and qualitative methods, the answer to the research question: What aspects of the I-Corps site program experience could be enhanced or modified based on performance and perceptions of participants?
To answer this question, during the Summer of 2023, twelve students enrolled in an I-Corps site program experience that involved 6 weeks of guided training and answered to a pre- and post-surveys that included questions in the dimensions of: (1) interest in entrepreneurship, (2) confidence in value proposition, (3) self-efficacy in entrepreneurship, (4) self-efficacy in marketing/business planning, (5) self-efficacy in customer interview skills, and (6) current status of technology and business model.
Preliminary quantitative analyses showed similar results to prior research about significant changes in student perceptions of confidence in value proposition, customer interview skills, and current status of technology and business model. However, in qualitative terms, when asked about their overall experience, those who rated it lower, expressed expectations not met related to training in market research and other entrepreneurship skills.
This work in progress will present the case of those students who either did not express expectations or their expectations were not met. Preliminary results show that some students may enter the experience with misconceptions of the type of training they will obtain, or they might be too advanced in their skills to take full advantage of the experience. The results of this investigation will bring light to current entrepreneurship trainings and trainers so more refined interventions can be offered.
Lagoudas, M., Yoon, S. Y., &amp;amp; Boehm, R. (2019, July). The Implementation and Assessment of an I-Corps Site at a Southwestern University: Lessons Learned. In Zone 1 Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education.
Lagoudas, M., Yoon, S. Y., Boehm, R., &amp;amp; Asbell, S. (2020, July). Impact of an I-Corps site program on engineering students at a large southwestern university: Year 3. In Zone 1 Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education.

AU - Noemi V Mendoza Diaz
AU - Magdalini Z Lagoudas
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Work in Progress: The missing link in I-Corps Entrepreneurship Engineering Education at a Southwestern Institution
UR - https://peer.asee.org/48517
ER -