2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 287: Fostering Leaders in Technology Entrepreneurship (FLiTE): Second Year Progress

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session

The NSF S-STEM-funded program titled Fostering Leaders in Technology Entrepreneurship (FLiTE) hosted by Western Carolina University has now completed it’s second year of operation. The program aims to create graduates who bring impactful contributions to industry employers or who create new businesses with their own original technology innovations. FLiTE has continued its mission to cultivate entrepreneurial and growth-oriented thinking among financially needed engineering and technology students. Program activities for the 2023 calendar year included induction of a new recruiting class, connection with campus resources and veteran entrepreneurs, and scholar participation in a formal pitch creation course. Pre- and post-year surveys were completed by the scholars to characterize personal perceptions of their initial and developing aptitudes toward the entrepreneurial mindset. This paper describes the cohort teaming sessions, invited speakers, informal and formal pitch presentations, and survey results from the spring and fall semesters of 2023. Summary results show an improvement in scholar perceptions of their entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial thinking. Findings from these activities may inform the curriculum at the host university and the content of similar entrepreneurship programs.

Authors

Dr. Paul M Yanik http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1311-7131 Western Carolina University [biography]

Dr. Paul Yanik is a Professor of Engineering Technology at Western Carolina University. His research interests include human-robot interactions, assistive devices, pattern recognition, machine learning, and engineering education.
Dr. Scott Rowe http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5691-079X Western Carolina University [biography]

Scott Rowe is an Assistant Professor in Western Carolina University’s School of Engineering + Technology. He joined Western Carolina University in 2021 after studies in concentrated solar power and controls engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. Scott’s research relates to accessible and inexpensive engineering equipment for laboratory education.
Wendy Cagle Western Carolina University
Dr. Andrew Ritenour Western Carolina University [biography]

Andrew Ritenour is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering + Technology at Western Carolina University (WCU). In addition to teaching in the field of electrical engineering, he coordinates the senior engineering capstone program which is a multidisciplinary, two-semester course sequence with projects sponsored by industrial partners. Within this role, he focuses on industrial outreach and the teaching and assessment of professional skills. Prior to joining WCU in 2018, he spent a decade in industry managing and developing innovative technologies across a broad spectrum of applications: SiC and GaN high voltage transistors for energy-efficient power conversion, radio frequency (RF) surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters for mobile phones, and flexible paper-like displays for e-readers. He holds 31 patents related to semiconductor devices and microfabrication and has published in IEEE and AIP journals and conferences.
Dr. Chip W Ferguson Western Carolina University [biography]

Chip Ferguson is the Associate Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology and Professor of Engineering and Technology at Western Carolina University.
Dr. Wesley L. Stone Western Carolina University [biography]

Dr. Wes Stone is professor and Director in the School of Engineering + Technology at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC. He earned his bachelors degree from the University of Texas at Austin, masters degree from Penn State, and PhD from Georgia Tech, all in Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Stone combines 9 years of industry experience at General Electric with his 22 years teaching in Engineering to pursue his interests in Lean Six Sigma and outdoor gear design and testing.

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