Integrating Innovation and Entrepreneurship Principles into the Civil Engineering Curriculum
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 141, Issue 3
Abstract
As the field of civil engineering evolves to address twenty-first century challenges, the demand for creative and innovative thinking rises. Engineering institutions around the nation have begun to integrate sustainability into the curriculum. Topics such as innovation and entrepreneurship are highly correlated with sustainability goals; however, many times they are viewed as market or management-driven principles. The Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN) Program was established to transform the U.S. workforce through equipping graduate engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset. This program is based on KEEN student outcomes (KSOs), which can be incorporated into department level, as well as course level, curricula. This paper focuses on the integration of KSOs into a senior civil engineering capstone course through two course activities over two years. KEEN rubrics are used to assess student achievement of the KSOs focused on innovative thinking and productive collaboration. The assessment results indicate that there are existing strengths as well as future opportunities to enhance student performance of innovative thinking and open-ended problem solving—skills that are essential to promoting sustainable design and development.
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Published In
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 141 • Issue 3 • July 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 23, 2014
Accepted: Nov 2, 2014
Published online: Dec 2, 2014
Discussion open until: May 2, 2015
Published in print: Jul 1, 2015
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