2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This paper discusses the piloting of a new undergraduate course, Entrepreneurial Design Realization, in the Engineering School at University of Maryland (UMD) over three semesters. This course is specifically aimed at tackling socially or environmentally responsible projects that include real deliverables that go out into the public domain. The course was originally conceived as a capstone followup where top viable projects with positive impact could be followed up with real opportunities for implementation. The course was developed as a part of a broader effort from the newly formed Environmentally and Socially Responsible Engineering group which aims to develop empowered, socially and environmentally responsible engineering graduates.

The student empowerment and agency arises from opportunities for real do-ing as a part of the undergraduate educational experience, with the ultimate goal of a product or service reaching the public domain. This intrinsically necessitates multidisciplinary approaches that merge engineering with other disciplines. Social entrepreneurial aspects are inherent to all of the projects, with a necessity to demonstrate positive impact in order to pitch for funding or support. Three projects have been tackled: a commercial oyster farming product with a prototype delivered to an affiliate research institution, an engineering outreach kit redesign for K-12 with over 4000 units delivered, and a therapy playground co-developed with the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences in another college.

Discussed are the lessons learned in the process so far. These include: failures to recruit non-engineering students despite partnerships across campus, challenges in selecting projects that fit within the framework of an academic course structure, student successes and challenges, the existing funding structure and the challenges of developing this aspect within the course, and finally future directions and plans to continue the effort.