NSF-Retaining Engineers through Research Entrepreneurship and Advanced–Materials Training (RETREAT)

The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering REU site was established with the goal of persuading an increased number of engineering students to continue into engineering careers in industry or proceed to postgraduate training in materials engineering research post baccalaureate. The uniqueness of this REU site lies in our program’s ability to combine training in multiscale multifunctional advanced composites with entrepreneurship principles and ideals. It involves a successful collaboration between the Industrial and Manufacturing Department and the Jim Moran Institute "JMI" of Global Entrepreneurship (FSU College of Business). The appeal and competitiveness of the program to STEM undergraduates is evident from the over 90 applicants annually from all branches of engineering and the sciences. Each summer since 2011, ten successful candidates have completed several structured, vigorous, yet fun-filled sessions of class work, seminars, practical training, experimental work, and presentations through the 10 weeks of the program. Each summer, the REU RETREAT program ended with an EngiPreneurship (Engineering Entrepreneurship) Competition where the interns presented their business plan to commercialize their research work to a seasoned set of panelists from the JMI and the Office of Intellectual Property and Commercialization of FSU. At the end of the RETREAT program, the students were motivated to pursue careers in the STEM disciplines and equipped with the capability to identify needs/problems, develop innovative solutions/products at competitive prices, and develop a business plan to successfully commercialize them.