Open AccessTECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP @ SFU: EXPERIENTIAL, INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING THROUGH AN IMMERSIVE TWO-YEAR PROGRAM
Author(s) -
Kevin Oldknow,
Sarah Lubik
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
proceedings of the ... ceea conference
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2371-5243
DOI - 10.24908/pceea.v0i0.6521
Subject(s) - experiential learning , entrepreneurship , commercialization , scope (computer science) , stakeholder , mechatronics , program design language , engineering , knowledge management , engineering management , engineering ethics , sociology , computer science , business , marketing , pedagogy , public relations , political science , software engineering , finance , control engineering , programming language
This paper provides an overview of experiences to date in developing and delivering the Technology Entrepreneurship @ SFU program - an interdisciplinary program in which Mechatronic Systems Engineering and Business students at Simon Fraser University collaborate on market-driven, entrepreneurial initiatives that simultaneously satisfy their respectivecapstone project requirements. The paper includes a discussion of program scope and objectives, design, implementation and revisions. The role of the program in providing experiential, interdisciplinary learning for Engineering and Business students through an immersive experience is discussed. Qualitative and quantitative program results to date are reviewed, with program enrollment and completion trends, course evaluation data and key stakeholder metrics indicating a level of successin: (1) creating an interdisciplinary, entrepreneurial culture amongst the students, (2) preparing students for future career paths that may include entrepreneurship and (3) potential further commercialization of prototypesdeveloped in the Technology Entrepreneurship program. Longer-term measures of success are also considered and discussed in light of the experiences to date.