2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The role played by Entrepreneurship and Manufacturing as the leading contributors of the U.S. economic growth remains undisputed. Entrepreneurship has long been a topic of economic study and a standard component of the curricula of business schools while manufacturing has remained in the engineering realm. Since the past 20 years a significant growth of entrepreneurial education has occurred outside of the economic and business disciplines. Entrepreneurship is one of the fastest growing subjects in today’s undergraduate curriculum. While the traditional manufacturing education has largely remained unchanged since the past several decades, it’s only recently that newer approaches have been introduced into its pedagogical style. This is largely due to two factors (a) significant innovations and developments in the science and technology field during the past decade and (b) acute shortage of skilled manufacturing personnel which was an outcome of the shortcomings of traditional manufacturing education methods.
At this Mid-Atlantic R2 classified institution a course on Advanced Manufacturing is taught every spring semester. In 2022 it was offered in both Spring and Fall semesters. It is taken by both undergrad and graduate students. The topics taught are advanced manufacturing technologies (subtractive, formative and additive), Automation (Robotics, CNC), Industry 4.0, and Quality Control. The course has a hands-on project component. Students are required to form groups of three and work on innovating a consumer product. It could be an entirely new product or a redesign of an existing product. The objective is to fulfilling an existing gap in the consumer needs. The development cycle should be documented either in a report or in a video. This includes the CAD design and manufacturing of the prototype. Along with this the teams will need to present a cost analysis and the marketing strategy. They are expected to justify the initial investment, manufacturing costs, profit margin, advertising and sales costs and strategy, and finally the marketing strategy (whether whole sale, retail or online).
This paper will discuss some insights gained by analyzing the student project submissions. Trends will be identified, e.g. which is the most preferred prototyping or manufacturing method? What is the most common marketing strategy? Any innovative methods presented? How are the students identification of consumer needs impacted by their learning environment? How has their curriculum enabled them to present a well defined entrepreneurial plan?