Fostering the entrepreneurial mindset in the junior and senior mechanical engineering curriculum with a multi-course problem-based learning experience

Abstract

This paper presents a multi-course problem-based learning (PBL) experience to foster the entrepreneurial mindset in the junior and senior mechanical engineering curriculum. Previous senior project students designed, fabricated, and validated a fluid-powered gantry crane that exhibited areas for improvement. To improve upon the project gantry crane, junior-and senior-level students implemented concurrent problem-based learning activities in three courses: Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, and Mechatronics. Even though the PBLs targeted both technical and entrepreneurial objectives, only the results of entrepreneurial mindset attributes are discussed in this paper. Assessment results including student commentary are detailed and discussed in the paper. Preliminary results indicate extensive student practice of entrepreneurial skills.