Conference paper
Engineers learning about entrepreneurship: The journey through the lens of an engineering academic
Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education, pp.715-721
Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education, 28th (Sydney, Australia, 10-Dec-2017–13-Dec-2017)
Australasian Association for Engineering Education
2017
Abstract
Context: In 2016, an innovative course, Startup LaunchLab, delivered by the School of Business, University of the Sunshine Coast, was first offered to engineering students. This innovative course aims to bring an authenticity (the tasks resemble those required in professional life) and proximity (the setting resembles professional contexts) to a work integrated learning (WIL) experience to enhance USC graduates' employability. Embedding experiential entrepreneurship for a multi-disciplinary cohort, which includes engineering students as part of their formal education was a new experience for both the students and engineering academics at USC. The course prepares students to develop a startup in teams, then integrates 'Startup Weekend' as a WIL experience for the students, and asks students to reflect and decide on the next steps to progress their new ventures. This accelerates their learning of what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Purpose The purpose of this project was to develop entrepreneurial skills among a multidisciplinary cohort of students, required to meet the dynamic labour market challenges, occurring through the combined influences of digital disruption, automation and globalisation. Approach: This project evaluates the impact of experiential entrepreneurship on the learning experience and career orientation of a multi-disciplinary cohort of students. In the 2016 offering of the course, the cohort consisted of 24 students across several disciplines (eg. business, journalism, creative industries, education and science), including four mechanical engineering students. A mixed method methodology was employed, collecting survey data before and after the course experience, as well as interviewing students three months after course completion. In 2017 eight engineering students who were enrolled in the fourth-year Reservoir and Stormwater Course participated in the Startup Weekend as one of their assignments. Results: The 2016 quantitative data collected showed students experienced significant attitudinal changes related to their entrepreneurial intentions, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and practical steps to start a new venture,. The interview data, analysed thematically, showed engineering students realised the value of leveraging multi-disciplinary skills and collaborating with business, and design students as well as the importance of being customer focused when developing solutions, which forms the basis of a new venture. Finally students highlighted the importance of taking an experimental approach to test assumptions regarding their new venture, and confirm assumptions or pivot (adapt) when discovering their assumptions were incorrect. Conclusions: Engineering students who collaborate with team members, who have complimentary skills, are able to progress their startups quickly, and these venture team members are useful in articulating the value proposition of the startup to non-technical audiences. The Startup LaunchLab course is particularly useful to develop entrepreneurial skills as graduate attributes. This is critical given that engineers are known globally to have engineering skills to develop high potential ventures, with the prospect to become job creators.
Details
- Title
- Engineers learning about entrepreneurship: The journey through the lens of an engineering academic
- Authors
- Helen Fairweather (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringMargarietha J de Villiers Scheepers (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and LawRenee Barnes (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and LawJane A Taylor (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringIrene Visser (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and LawK Starks (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
- Contributors
- Nazmul Huda (Editor)David Inglis (Editor)Nicholas Tse (Editor)Graham Town (Editor)
- Publication details
- Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education, pp.715-721
- Conference details
- Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education, 28th (Sydney, Australia, 10-Dec-2017–13-Dec-2017)
- Publisher
- Australasian Association for Engineering Education
- Date published
- 2017
- ISBN
- 9780646980263
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2017. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Organisation Unit
- School of Business and Creative Industries; School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; USC Business School - Legacy; School of Health and Sport Sciences - Legacy; School of Creative Industries - Legacy; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Engage Research Lab; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy; Sustainability Research Cluster; School of Health - Public Health
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450796602621
- Output Type
- Conference paper
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