scholarly journals The Significance of Including an Entrepreneurship Course in Engineering Programs

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Mosly
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Introductory Course ◽  
Sufficient Knowledge ◽  
Willingness To Change ◽  
College Of Engineering ◽  
Study Participants

This paper studied the significance of entrepreneurship education in engineering programs. It looked into its influence on engineering students’ perception and willingness to change their future job direction. The study was performed at the College of Engineering-Rabigh Branch, of King Abdulaiziz University in Saudi Arabia. Entrepreneurship education was introduced in 2013 to all of the college’s engineering programs in the form of an introductory course on entrepreneurship (IEN 481). This study reveals the importance of entrepreneurship education to engineering students, as the majority of study participants seek to establish their own business in the future. Moreover, 90% of the participants agreed that the IEN 481 course provided them with sufficient knowledge and skills required to establish their future businesses. In addition, the IEN 481 course changed the students’ mindsets and increased their entrepreneurial awareness.

scholarly journals Creativity in Design Engineers: Attitudes, Opinions and Potentially Influential Factors

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Neufeld ◽  
Omid Mirzaei ◽  
Mark Runco ◽  
Sean Maw
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Design Engineers ◽  
Creativity Research ◽  
College Of Engineering

Is creativity important in engineering design? If it is, then why do most undergraduate engineering programs spend so little time teaching creativity? And therefore, as a result of our programs, do our students emerge more creative, less creative or no different compared to when they arrived? If creativity is worth developing, can we accurately measure it in our students, and can we enhance it systematically?These were some of the questions that motivated the initiation of a creativity research program in the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. The assumption was that creativity is important in engineering, especially in design. The intent was to understand how we could assess creativity in our students and then enhance it.The focus of this initial study is a precursor to many of these more applied questions. We had students and faculty from a variety of Colleges, including Engineering, answer an online survey that probed attitudes towards creativity, respondent personality characteristics, opinions regarding conditional influences on creativity, and potential demographic factors influencing the creativity of individuals. As well, we employed a validated creativity attitudes and beliefs measurement tool (rCAB) as an accepted benchmark for assessment.The survey included both closed- and open-ended questions. The results from some of the open-ended questions have been analyzed to determine emerging groups of similar types of answers, and then efforts have been made to relate the groups in a meaningful framework.The results for the Engineering students are emphasized, but they are also compared with students and faculty from other Colleges. Closed questions were analyzed using inferential statistical tests (distributions, means, standard deviations, t-tests, ANOVA, Cronbach’s alpha), while the open-ended responses are compared more qualitatively when they cannot be quantified easily.The survey went through ethics approval and was distributed in the latter half of the Fall 2015 term.

Assessment of Introductory Transportation Engineering Course and General Transportation Engineering Curriculum

2013 ◽  
Vol 2328 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rod E. Turochy ◽  
Jon Fricker ◽  
H. Gene Hawkins ◽  
David S. Hurwitz ◽  
Stephanie S. Ivey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Civil Engineering ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Transportation Engineering ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Credit Hours ◽  
Introductory Course ◽  
The Status ◽  
Primary Focus

Transportation engineering is a critical subdiscipline of the civil engineering profession as indicated by its inclusion on the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination and overlap with other specialty areas of civil engineering and as recognized by TRB, ITE, and ASCE. With increasing transportation workforce needs, low numbers of students entering the pipeline, and limited hours within undergraduate civil engineering programs, it is important to ensure that civil engineering students receive adequate preparation and exposure to career opportunities in the transportation engineering field. Thus, investigations into the status of transportation engineering within civil engineering programs and specifically the introductory transportation engineering course are essential for understanding implications to the profession. Relevant literature and findings from a new survey of civil engineering programs accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology is reviewed; that survey yielded 84 responses. The survey indicates that 88% of responding programs teach an introductory course in transportation engineering, and 79% require it in their undergraduate programs. Significant variation exists in the structure of the introductory course (number of credit hours, laboratory requirements, etc.). Common responses about improvements that could be made include adding laboratories, requiring a second course, and broadening course content. In addition, nearly 15% of instructors teaching the introductory course did not have a primary focus in transportation engineering. This finding should be investigated further, given that the course may be an undergraduate civil engineering student's only exposure to the profession.

A framework explaining the entrepreneurial intentions of engineering students in public universities

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (71) ◽  
pp. e2210736
Author(s):  
Pilar Ester Arroyo ◽  
María de Lourdes Cárcamo-Solís ◽  
Héctor Cuevas-Vargas ◽  
Salvador Estrada-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Predictive Ability ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intention ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intentions ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Entrepreneurial Attitudes

This study explains the Entrepreneurial Intent (EI) of university students enrolled in engineering programs at the public university of the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, in terms of the three constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior, formal (entrepreneurship education) and informal (the entrepreneurial demonstrated behavior of family and friends) institutional factors, and two individual traits (innovativeness and need of achievement). The conceptual model proposed also examines the role of entrepreneurship education in strengthening entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Survey data is analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings indicate entrepreneurial attitudes have the most significant predictive ability on entrepreneurial intention over entrepreneurial education and the manifest entrepreneurial actions of close social groups that have only a moderate influence on EI. The analysis also confirms that entrepreneurship education enhances entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Based on these results, it is recommended that Engineering Schools devote more attention to experiential learning to create favorable entrepreneurial attitudes and develop students’ entrepreneurial skills, particularly among those with a high need for achievement.

scholarly journals What Motivates Students to Study Engineering? A Comparative Study between Males and Females in Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Wafa Labib ◽  
Amal Abdelsattar ◽  
Yasser Ibrahim ◽  
Abdelhakim Abdelhadi
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Considerable Effect ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Engineering Majors ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Engineering Programs

Motivation to study engineering in undergraduate study is of great importance to students. It encourages undergraduate students to enroll in an engineering program and continue their studies without dropping out. Male students enroll in engineering programs with large numbers compared to female students in many parts of the world. In Saudi Arabia, there were limited engineering programs for female students. In this research, the motivation to study engineering is studied and compared between male and female students in the College of Engineering at Prince Sultan University, the first private university in Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted through a detailed survey distributed to 41 male engineering management students and 45 female architectural engineering students. These students’ performance and experience were considered and compared considering their gender to evaluate their persistence toward engineering study. According to the results obtained, the highest degree of the parents had a considerable effect on the selection of engineering major for male and female students. Most surveyed male and female students select an engineering major because of its positive impact on the community and its role in improving the way of life. Male students may differ in that they considered engineering in order to start their own business after graduation with a higher percentage compared to female students. There was a very limited role of the school in selecting engineering majors according to the surveyed male and female students. This role should be enhanced and utilized to encourage more female students to consider engineering majors in their college study.

scholarly journals EMBEDDING LIBRARIANS IN ENGINEERING PROGRAMS: THREE CASE STUDIES WITH ENGINEERING STUDENTS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Figueiredo ◽  
Helen Power ◽  
Kate Mercer ◽  
Matthew Borland
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Formal Structure ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Embedded Model ◽  
College Of Engineering ◽  
The University ◽  
Information Landscape

As the information landscape becomes increasingly complex, librarians must adapt accordingly. With information so readily available, students overestimate their research skills and lack awareness of how the library can help. However, librarians’ academic training makes them ideal resources to support students’ complex information needs - whether students know it or not. In this paper, we argue that embedded librarianship is the solution to this disconnect between librarian and user. Specifically, this paper provides case studies at two Canadian universities of librarians approaching embedded librarianship from different directions. At the University of Waterloo, two engineering librarians worked toward an embedded model of librarianship where this was not yet an established model in the Faculty of Engineering. At the University of Saskatchewan, a librarian was hired with the intention of the new position being embedded, without a formal structure or precedent for this within the College of Engineering.  The term “embedded librarian” describes a service model where an academic librarian participates in an academic course or program on a continuing basis in order to understand the learning objectives and determine which resources best support them. In order to “do this, the librarian has to be familiar with the work and understand the domain and goals. Doing this, the librarian becomes an invaluable member of the team” [1]. The variables associated with embeddedness include location, funding, management and supervision, and participation [1]. To this end, the authors explore how each of these variables contribute to the success of moving towards this embedded model: how moving out of the library influences overall connection, how they acquired funding to grow a new collection, how management supports the overall goal, and how sustained participation in the program grows new opportunities.  At both universities, librarians have seen most success embedding in programs with a strong emphasis on integrated STEM education where the focus is on providing real-world context with the aim of graduating well-rounded engineers [2]. The authors will discuss how programmatic learning outcomes and trends in integrated and interdisciplinary education have allowed them to stretch beyond the traditional boundaries of academic librarianship to demonstrate value to the Engineering departments in new ways.  This paper reports on the experiences, advantages, and lessons learned in moving toward this model, and provides concrete examples for adapting these concepts to programs at other institutions. Through an intrinsic case study [3] the authors aim to understand how librarians’ embeddedness can adapt and change to support student learning in different contexts. This session is targeted towards practicing engineering librarians and engineering faculty members and educators. Attendees will leave the session with ideas on how to stimulate new partnerships between their library and Engineering programs.  

scholarly journals High School Pre-Engineering Programs: Do They Contribute To College Retention?

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Cole ◽  
Karen High ◽  
Kathryn Weinland
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
College Retention ◽  
Descriptive Data ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Technology Center ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Course Sequence ◽  
College Of Engineering

The study examines the retention of studentsin the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology at Oklahoma StateUniversity that enter college with a defined course sequence in a pre-engineeringprogram from a regional career technology center as compared with the retentionrates of university engineering students for the same time period. In additionto descriptive data, results from one-sample

scholarly journals SHORT DESIGN PROJECTS FOR AN INTRODUCTORY THERMOFLUIDS ENGINEERING COURSE

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Hastie ◽  
Jan Haelssig
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Introductory Course ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Second Year

The Faculty of Engineering at Dalhousie University offers a common introductory course that covers the basic principles of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics in a unified manner. This introductory course is a mandatory part of the curriculum for all engineering programs offered at Dalhousie. In this course, students are required to perform six laboratory experiments, and since 2012 students have also completed short, four-week design projects.The short design project helps students to acquire more of the graduate attributes defined by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), including design, communication, and team work skills. They also provide students with a well-deserved break from purely theoretical work in lectures and tutorials, and a chance to develop some hands-on abilities.This paper describes the lessons learned from the last three design projects, which were focused on modifications to a Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube, design of a pop-pop boat, and design of a double pipe heat exchanger. The primary challenges have been the limited engineering design experience possessed by students in their third semester of studies, the heavy workload that second-year engineering students already have, and the relatively large class size. Even though there are clear challenges related to integrating a design project into a large second-year class, the results seem to indicate that these design projects provide a positive learning experience for the students.

scholarly journals DEVELOPMENT OF “INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING” COURSES FOR FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING STUDENTS: A FOCUS ON STUDENT ATTITUDES

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel B. Frey ◽  
Ryan Banow
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
First Year ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
College Of Engineering

Many students entering an engineering program have a strong appreciation of the importance of math- and science-based skills for their future career as an engineer, but often have little grasp of what it means to be entering a professional college.  For this reason, many engineering programs in Canada include some form of an “Introduction to the Engineering Profession” in their first-year program.  The University of Saskatchewan’s College of Engineering has been working toward the launch of a completely redesigned first year program.  This project has afforded the College an opportunity to apply a novel and transferable approach to shaping this “Introduction to the Engineering” experience.  The structure of the proposed new first year program has allowed for short and intensive “Introduction to Engineering” modules, which bookend each of the regular session terms.  This timing makes them an orientation for the program, allowing for timely deep dives into matters of importance to engineering students: study skills, time-management, teamwork, self-assessment, support services, student well-being, ethics, academic integrity, and health and safety.  The timing of the modules also allows for completion of term-long assignments and reflection on both personal and academic growth. This paper describes the process employed to develop the course learning outcomes, schedule of topics and activities, and syllabi.  The process focused on over-arching target attitudes, such as “I am on the path to becoming a professional”, and ensured constructive alignment between these attitudes and the learning outcomes, learning activities, and assessment.  The nature of the process made it easy to clarify what was essential to include in the courses, and to make a compelling case for the importance of the courses in the context of a myriad of foundational technical topics.   

WPI iCREATE: Innovation and Translation in Senior Level Biomedical Engineering Course

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn R. Gaudette ◽  
Frank Hoy ◽  
Kristen L. Billiar
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Technical Knowledge ◽  
Graduate Courses ◽  
Technology Entrepreneurship ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Problem Solvers ◽  
Teaching Modules ◽  
Innovation And Entrepreneurship

Traditional engineering programs provide an excellent foundation in technical knowledge and skills. However, to be effective problem solvers, today’s engineering students need to develop an innovation mindset. With this goal in mind, a group of faculty from WPI Engineering Departments and from the Business School formed WPI iCREATE: iCREATE: Innovation Center for REsearch And Technology Entrepreneurship. This new center is focused on bringing innovation and entrepreneurship to both undergraduate and graduate courses, partially through the development of teaching modules.

Feeding the Recruitment of Inner City Kids to MSE by Keeping 5TH Graders on Track for Engineering in College

2000 ◽  
Vol 632 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Brower
Keyword(s):  
Inner City ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Fifth Graders ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
College Of Engineering

ABSTRACTThe fifth grade inner city volunteer teaching project (5GVP) at Marquette University's College of Engineering has attempted to inform and inspire Milwaukee's inner city fifth graders about engineering for the last ten years. Each year I have recruited our engineering students to volunteer to take self contained science lessons into the Milwaukee Public Schools'fifth grade classrooms. Although the lessons are on science and the career touted is engineering in general, the lessons are flavored by my being in MSE. Being excited about a career is certainly a precursor to choosing that career. I have found the fifth graders very excited about seeing and experiencing science in action as the engineering students present it to them. Hopefully, the program at Marquette will result in more inner city students choosing to enter college as engineers, with MSE garnering its usual share.

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