2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Research experiences for undergraduates (REUs) are crucial in shaping academic and professional development. Engaging in research allows students to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world problems, fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills. Moreover, students benefit in many ways by living in the university dorms for 10 weeks, exploring a new university town, making new friends, and taking on new life experiences.

The purpose of this NSF Grantees Poster is to provide a holistic overview of undergraduate student researcher perceptions related to participating in an NSF REU Site program, titled “NSF REU Site: Growing Entrepreneurially-Minded Undergraduate Researchers with New Product Development in Applied Energy.” This REU integrated the strengths of academic applied research, including a solid theoretical foundation and rigorous scholarship, with key business practices such as real-world customer discovery and the creation of viable business models. The intention of the REU was to equip students with an entrepreneurial mindset, expanding their research toolbox and skillset.

At the end of the 10-week REU program, participants completed a final reflection responding to the following questions:
1. Entrepreneurial Mindset: The entrepreneurial mindset is defined as “the inclination to discover, evaluate, and exploit opportunities.” What are the 3 most important things you learned about an entrepreneurial mindset (or entrepreneurship) by participating in the REU program?
2. Research Skills: Identify the top three research skills gained while participating in the REU program.
3. Advisor Research Lab: What did you like about working with your advisor? What opportunities for improvement can you recommend?
4. Connect to Real World: What skills did you learn that are important for engineers conducting research in the real world? Please consider both professional skills (e.g., communication, collaboration, etc…) and context specific skills (e.g., topic area).

Thematic analysis was conducted on the reflections using NVivo. Findings and lessons learned are provided.