2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Systemic Barriers to Participation in Innovation Competitions and Programs

Presented at Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Division (ENT) Technical Session 3 -Social, Equity & Research Support Topics

In addition to promoting student innovations and career readiness, Innovation Competitions and Programs (ICPs), such as hackathons, idea design challenges, start-up incubator competitions, and customer discovery labs, are essential to college entrepreneurship ecosystems. The benefits of these experiential learning experiences for student development are well-documented in the literature. However, only a small percentage of STEM students participate in ICPs. The participation rate among underrepresented STEM students is even lower than that of other groups. Overall, the literature lacks empirical evidence on systemic barriers to ICP participation. This paper describes an investigation of systemic barriers that discourage students from participating in ICPs, based on eight focus groups (four male and four female) conducted across two institutions, totaling 38 participants (18 female and 20 male). During the focus groups, the participants analyzed a fictitious ICP and its promotional materials, identifying factors that may prevent them from participating. Transcripts of the focus groups were analyzed using thematic analysis, and the emerging themes from the results revealed several systemic barriers that discourage students from participating in ICPs, including but not limited to ICP promotional materials, recruitment processes, identities of mentors and judges, and program design (format, duration, rules, and policies). The findings inform the development of a theoretical model that explains how these barriers lower the participation among underrepresented students in the STEM fields. The paper concludes with recommendations to mitigate these barriers and enhance the inclusiveness and accessibility of ICPs across student groups.

Authors

Dr. Lauren Davis North Carolina A&T State University [biography]

Dr. Lauren Davis is a Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Her research focuses on the design and management of supply chains in both for-profit and humanitarian contexts, with particular emphasis on improving operational performance under disruptions arising from natural disasters, supply and demand uncertainty, and information asymmetry. She applies stochastic optimization, simulation, and data analytics to address challenges in sourcing, distribution, and transportation scheduling across hunger relief, emergency response, and homeland security applications. Her work has been applied to food and fuel distribution supply chains, including ongoing partnerships with regional food banks to improve hunger relief operations. Dr. Davis brings more than a decade of industry experience to her teaching and research, and her educational work spans decision support systems, supply chain systems engineering, and operations research.
Dr. Sadan Kulturel-Konak http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4685-4135 Pennsylvania State University, Berks Campus [biography]

Sadan Kulturel‐Konak is a Professor of Management Information Systems and the Director of the Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development (CEED) Center at Penn State Berks. Dr. Kulturel also has a courtesy appointment at Penn State Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. She received her Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Auburn University. Dr. Kulturel’s research focuses on modeling and optimizing complex systems using hybrid approaches combining heuristic methods and exact techniques from probability and operations research. The primary application areas of her research include designing and redesigning facilities to provide significant economic benefits for US firms. Dr. Kulturel is also interested in evidence-based and data-driven pedagogical research regarding entrepreneurship/STEM fields. She served as the elected president of INFORMS-Women in OR/MS (WORMS), the elected chair of INFORMS- Facility Logistics Special Interest Group, and the elected chair of the ASEE Middle Atlantic Section. She also served as an academic member of the College Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CICMHE). She is an Associate Editor of the Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence (Elsevier). She has been a principal investigator on several sponsored projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and VentureWell. She is a member of INFORMS, IISE, and ASEE.
Dr. Abdullah Konak http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6250-7825 Pennsylvania State University, Berks Campus [biography]

Dr. Abdullah Konak is a Distinguished Professor of Information Sciences and Technology at the Pennsylvania State University, Berks. Dr. Konak also teaches graduate courses in the Master of Science in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations program at the College of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State World Campus. Dr. Konak’s primary research interest focuses on modeling, analyzing, and optimizing complex systems using computational intelligence combined with probability, statistics, data sciences, and operations research. His research also involves active learning, entrepreneurship education, and fostering an innovative mindset. Dr. Konak’s published numerous academic papers on a broad range of topics, including network design, system reliability, sustainability, cybersecurity, facilities design, green logistics, production management, and predictive analytics. He has been a principal investigator in sponsored projects from the National Science Foundation, the National Security Agency, the U.S. Department of Labor, and Venture Well.
Dr. Ada Leung http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-8751-6947 The Pennsylvania State University [biography]

Dr. Ada Leung is an associate professor of marketing at Penn State Berks whose primary research focuses on the sociological aspects of consumer behavior, including social structural factors (networks, inequality, culture, and social influence), consumption practices, and how such behaviors are related to personal values. Another research stream investigates how to improve the participation of Innovation Challenges and Programs (ICPs) among underrepresented undergraduate students.
Dr. Steven X. Jiang North Carolina A&T State University [biography]

Dr. Steven Jiang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University. His research interests include Human Systems Integration, Visual Analytics, and Engineering Education.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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