2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The 21st century presents engineering students with complex, interdisciplinary challenges that require a combination of technical and entrepreneurial skills. This case study examines the implementation of a backward design approach within a joint business and engineering program at a large Midwestern university. The program encourages students to first explore patented advanced technologies and then identify new real-world applications for these technologies. This initiative supports the integration of interdisciplinary learning to better prepare students for modern industry demands.
The purpose of this study is to investigate how backward design fosters critical thinking, entrepreneurial abilities, and collaboration among engineering and business undergraduate students. Leveraging novel technologies from a global aerospace agency, students develop problem-solving skills applicable to 21st century engineering and business challenges.
The four-semester program begins with a feasibility study phase, which includes a business alignment exploration component, prior to students' senior capstone projects. And it is supported by partnerships with a government technology transfer office, research institutions, and industry leaders. In the early phase, technologies are pre-vetted and aligned with trends in non-competitive industries. Using a structured technology push methodology, potential applications of the technology's attributes are explored.
This work-in-progress case study highlights the potential of backward design as a pedagogical tool in engineering education. The backward design approach emphasizes interdisciplinary learning and public-private collaboration by tasking students with identifying problems that can be addressed using off-the-shelf technologies applied to non-competitive fields of use. Feedback from key stakeholders including industry, business, educational, and commercial mentors, technology providers, and student participants, will be used to assess the effectiveness of this approach. Reflections and insights gathered from these stakeholders will inform future iterations of the program with additional student teams. The preliminary findings from this study will also guide the development of future full-scale studies and curriculum improvements, with a focus on assessing the generalizability of the approach.
Additionally, this study contributes to workforce development by equipping students with the interdisciplinary skills and problem-solving capabilities that align with the expectations of private and public sector partners supporting real-world problem solving through technology transfer.