Weaving Entrepreneurially Minded Learning Throughout a Civil Engineering Curriculum

The Kern Family Foundation has provided funding to Villanova University to implement the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) initiative. This nearly decade-old initiative seeks to instill concepts of Entrepreneurially Minded Learning (EML) into the undergraduate engineering curriculum. EML emphasizes educating the “whole engineer” by supplementing traditional engineering theory with nontechnical concepts related to curiosity, connections, and creating value (the three Cs). “Curiosity” encourages students to investigate and question the society that surrounds them within the context of the technical material they are learning in class. In short, it encourages students to be problem seekers and definers as opposed to just problem solvers. Students are then ready to make “Connections” to synthesize new and old knowledge to create innovative solutions to problems. Lastly, “Creating Value” is about improving society and quality of life by creatively applying their engineering skills. It is important to note that this approach to education is not about creating start-ups or commercial products, rather, it is a way to foster inventive thinking. Nearly half of the faculty members in the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) department have participated in KEEN workshops that focus on implementation of EML in their respective courses. These faculty have woven EML throughout the CEE curriculum to ensure that students have assignments that relate to the three Cs every semester from freshman to senior year. These assignments are also used to fulfill ABET and ASCE Civil Engineering Program Criteria. This paper will describe class assignments for courses with EML content, extraand co-curricular EML activities, the relationship between EML and ABET criterion 3 and the ASCE Civil Engineering Program Criteria, and provide thoughts on linking EML to educational assessment. Introduction Entrepreneurially Minded Learning (EML) is an approach to learning that emphasizes the three Cs: curiosity, connections, and creating value. This approach to learning includes in and out of class experiences to develop critical professional skills. The skills emphasized include working well in team settings, thinking critically and creatively, communicating effectively, demonstrating persistence in the face of failure, bringing value to customers, committing to social responsibility, and appreciating the role of individual liberties and freedom in success. Villanova University began its partnership with the Kern Family Foundation in 2007. That first grant supported implementation of the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) initiative. Subsequent grants from the Kern Family Foundation have supported intrapreneurship development and intercollegiate entrepreneurship opportunities, faculty training to attain the goal of including EML into at least half of the engineering classes in the College, and creation of an Engineering Entrepreneurship minor that can be attained during the school year or through a single summer-intensive program. The training workshops for faculty at Villanova University are held each summer. Approximately eight faculty members from all four departments participate each year. At the time of writing about 1/3 of the faculty in the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) department have participated in these workshops. To encourage “buy-in” from the departments and to ensure better integration of EML, each department has a designated “EML Champion” that is a veteran of the EML faculty workshop and has implemented EML into their own classes. At Villanova University, the reticence on the part of some CEE faculty could be attributed to several misconceptions: EML is about start-ups, making widgets, and the faculty does not have the appropriate experience. The responses that had the largest impact to dispel these misconceptions were: EML is not about start-ups and widgets: it is about thinking creatively and creating value for society, which are critical aspects of being a civil engineer. Furthermore, many of the graduates from Villanova University work for or own consulting firms and need to understand how they add value to their company, their customers, and society. Faculty are naturally entrepreneurial: they write grants and successfully convince others to sponsor their work, build research teams, communicate the results broadly, find creative ways to teach new material, and make connections to other classes in the curriculum. The literature provides several examples and case studies of implementation of EML into engineering curriculums1, 2, 3; however, the literature is sparser on the implementation of EML into Civil Engineering curriculums. This paper is meant to provide examples on how EML can be woven throughout a Civil Engineering curriculum and how it relates to the proposed ABET criteria and the current Civil Engineering Program Criteria. In addition, extra and co-curricular programs at the university are described. Admittedly, assessment of EML at Villanova has been weak, however, several ideas of how EML could be assessed in the future are provided. Institutional Background Villanova University is a comprehensive Roman Catholic institution founded in 1842 by the friars of the Order of St. Augustine. The University welcomes students of all faiths and is located in a western suburb of Philadelphia. The University offers a wide variety of degree programs through six colleges: the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies, and the Charles Widger School of Law. The College of Engineering offers five BS and nine MS programs through its four departments: Civil and Environmental, Chemical, Electrical and Computer, and Mechanical. The College also offers a PhD. The university’s Carnegie Classification is a Doctoral University with moderate research activity (R-3). Relationship to Proposed ABET Criterion 3 and the Civil Engineering Program Specific Criteria Prior work has related the KEEN EML outcomes4 to ABET Criterion 33,5 and demonstrated that there is significant overlap and alignment. In addition, EML can align well with the Civil Engineering Program Specific Criteria (CEPSC) and assessment of student work (Table 1). Table 1. Relationship between KEEN Outcomes and the Proposed ABET Criterion 3 and Civil Engineering Program Specific Criteria Entrepreneurial Mindset Curiosity demonstrate constant curiosity about our changing world explore a contrarian view of accepted solutions Connections integrate information from many sources to gain insight assess and manage risk Creating value identify unexpected opportunities to create extraordinary value persist through and learn from failure KEEN Outcome Example Behaviors Related Proposed ABET Criterion 3 (1 – 7) Related CEPSC Example Assignments for Assessment Engineering thought and action Apply creative thinking to ambiguous problems Apply systems thinking to complex problems Evaluate technical feasibility and economic drivers Examine societal and individual needs (1) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics (2) an ability to apply the engineering design process to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration for public health and safety, and global, cultural, social, environmental, economic, and other factors as appropriate to the discipline (3) An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions apply knowledge of mathematics ... and at least one additional area of basic science; apply probability and statistics...; analyze and solve problems...; conduct experiments... and analyze and interpret the... data; design a system, component, or process...; include principles of sustainability in design Capstone design report that utilizes Envision6 to score sustainability; any open-ended assignment that requires creative solutions; engineering economics problems that determine the effect of civil engineering infrastructure on trade and economic growth Collaboration Form and work in teams Understand the motivations and perspectives of others (7) an ability to function effectively as a member or leader of a team that establishes goals, plans tasks, meets deadlines, and creates a collaborative and inclusive environment Peer evaluations of team members in group assignments; CATME7 evaluations Communication Convey engineering solutions in economic terms Substantiate claims with data and facts (4) an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences explain basic concepts in project management, business, and public policy Develop business canvas8 for student group in capstone design and present to class; develop value proposition canvas8 for experiment designed in soil mechanics Character Identify personal passions and a plan for professional development Fulfill commitments in a timely manner Discern and pursue ethical practices Contribute to society as an active citizen (5) an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts (6) an ability to recognize the ongoing need to acquire new knowledge, to choose appropriate learning strategies, and to apply this knowledge explain basic concepts in leadership; analyze issues in professional ethics; and explain the importance of professional licensure Develop professional development plan; analyze ethics cases from ASCE; track number of students involved in service and volunteer activities Entrepreneurially Minded Learning in the Civil Engineering Curriculum The ultimate goal of the CEE Department is to weave EML into the cu