2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This paper describes the process of co-developing a degree program in Social Entrepreneurship with a focus on Engineering. The degree program is designed as an interdisciplinary graduate program that models the real work of being a social entrepreneur. In order to develop this program, we worked with several groups of stakeholders to define the needs around knowledge, skills, and dispositions to work as an entrepreneur with a focus on social entrepreneurship and Engineering. The stakeholder engagement has helped us to define the needs, develop syllabi, define course activities, and develop a group of engaged “knowers’ that continue to help us develop this program. We took the following steps:
1. Worked with industry stakeholders and industry funders to define the skills, knowledge and dispositions needed to become a successful entrepreneur whose business model emerges at the intersection of social entrepreneurship and Engineering
a. Started with a research-based list of competencies and gathered feedback from industry stakeholders on that list
b. Conducted interviews with industry stakeholders in order to get a deeper sense of the terms and needs
c. Analyzed that data in order to arrive at a more defined list of needs, and then used that list of needs to develop a call for course proposals that would become official courses in this program
2. Worked with faculty to develop course proposals
3. Worked with a group of Engineering and Business students to get their feedback on the course proposals, as well as their thoughts about the degree program
a. This took the form of interviews
b. Analyzed the data from the interviews in order to provide feedback on the courses to the faculty
4. Worked with the group of industry stakeholders to get their feedback on the course proposals
a. This took the form of interviews
b. Analyzed the data from the interviews to provide feedback on the courses to the faculty
5. Brought together faculty and industry stakeholders to hone the courses and reassess the needs for the program
a. This involved interviews and focus groups with faculty and industry stakeholders
b. Analyzed the interviews and focus groups to iterate on the courses and on the degree program
6. Worked with faculty, student groups, and industry stakeholders to define the gaps that were still missing after we gathered and iterated on course proposals. This involved a redefinition of terms and needs for specific skills, knowledge, and dispositions that are important at the intersection of Social Entrepreneurship and Engineering

The paper discusses the data collection and analysis processes, as well as what we learned about the process of co-developing coursework and degree plans. Furthermore, the paper examines our findings around the skills, dispositions, and knowledge that need to be taught in social entrepreneurship programs.