Unpacking the impact of engineering entrepreneurship education that leverages the Lean LaunchPad Curriculum

摘要

The role of entrepreneurship in engineering education has undergone a substantial transformation over the last several years. Engineering entrepreneurship has evolved from the traditional business school model, focusing on business skills and business plans, to include cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset to enhance engineers' professional formation. Engineering programs are incorporating entrepreneurship into both formal and informal learning through the integration of formal courses, pitch competitions, mentorship, start-up weekends, and maker-spaces into student offerings. While it is becoming generally accepted that entrepreneurship education requires active student-learning pedagogies, assessment of student learning in relation to these pedagogies is still evolving. Of the few existing engineering entrepreneurship assessments, most have broadly assessed students' perceptions of business skills and knowledge, self-efficacy, attitude towards entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial intent. However, with the considerable amount of variance in course content and instruction, further comparative research in controlled entrepreneurship education environments is needed to accurately assess student outcomes. The recent widespread adoption of the Lean LaunchPad Curriculum and Business Model Canvas has recently provided engineering programs with straightforward, common curriculum and pedagogical approaches, as well as an opportunity for targeted assessment across institutions. Prior to the Lean LaunchPad curriculum, there was no consensus on introductory entrepreneurship content and delivery for non-business students. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the Lean LaunchPad curriculum and pedagogy on undergraduate students with regard to self-efficacy, behavior, and knowledge. In this study, entrepreneurial self-efficacy was measured using a validated survey from existing entrepreneurship research. Additionally, a validated entrepreneurial behavior inventory was used to assess entrepreneurial behavior, as opposed to measuring behavioral traits and attitudes. To examine entrepreneurial knowledge, students were asked to complete open-ended survey questions to determine how they would pursue a new venture at different stages of development. The preliminary results of these surveys are discussed in this paper in an effort to better understand the impact of the Lean LaunchPad Curriculum on student outcomes.