2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

WIP: Developing Entrepreneurial Mindset Habits in circuits curriculum

Presented at Electrical and Computer Engineering Division (ECE) Technical Session 18

This work-in progress study investigates the effectiveness of the integration of hands-on activities and structured reflection [1, 2] during Fall 2025 semester in an electronic circuits lab, aiming to develop selected elements of the entrepreneurial mindset among engineering students [3]. Within
the broader 3C’s framework of Curiosity, Connections, and Creating Value, this work focuses on a subset of specific habits namely - embracing ambiguity in design, customer focus, and systems thinking. In order to meet the above learning objectives, the students engaged in a series of
structured activities designed to cultivate each skill in practice, as summarized below.

1 . Customer-focus: Students examined products that were technically impressive but commercially unsuccessful, identifying engineering strengths and weaknesses, and proposed one improvement to enhance the chance of success.
2. Embracing ambiguity: Students received important design information in stages for their power converter module, requiring them to make decisions iteratively under incomplete information.
3. Systems thinking: Students analyzed how different modules integrated to form a working power converter, considering cost and performance trade-offs across the system.

The lab activities are were followed up with carefully designed reflection exercises that will serve a dual purpose—helping students internalize their learning experiences and providing instructors with a means to assess whether the intended learning objectives were achieved. The research team will evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum changes in fostering the aforementioned entrepreneurial habits through qualitative analysis of students’ reflections and artifacts. Additionally, the team will use focus group interviews to gain deeper insights into
students’ learning experiences and the impact of the changes. The final paper will include a detailed description of the curriculum enhancements and the analysis results of corresponding assessments.

References
[1] D. A. Kolb, Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. FT press, 2014.
[2] R. M. Clark and S. J. Dickerson, “Assessing the impact of reflective activities in digital and analog electronics courses,” IEEE Transactions on Education, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 141–148, 2019.
[3] J. Blake Hylton, D. Mikesell, J.-D. Yoder, and H. LeBlanc, “Working to instill the entrepreneurial mindset across the curriculum,” Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 86–106, 2020.

Authors

Eunbyul Park University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign
Chandrasekhar Radhakrishnan University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Christopher D. Schmitz http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9673-9832 University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Christopher D. Schmitz received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois in 2002.
Prof. Olga Mironenko http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1239-185X University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Dr. Olga Mironenko is a Teaching Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She received a specialist degree in Physics from Omsk F.M. Dostoevsky State University, Russia in 2009, and she received a Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of Delaware in 2020. Her current interests include improvement of introductory analog signal processing and power systems courses, training for graduate teaching assistants, and mentoring of under-represented students in ECE.
Prof. Jonathon Kenneth Schuh http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-6390-5972 University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Jonathon Schuh is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois in 2018 an
Yang Victoria Shao University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Yang V. Shao is a Teaching Associate Professor in electrical and computer engineering department at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She earned her Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. She has worked with University of New Mexico before joining UIUC where she developed some graduate courses on Electromagnetics. Dr. Shao has research interests in curriculum development, assessment, student retention and student success in engineering, developing innovative ways of merging engineering fundamentals and research applications.
Arijit Banerjee University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign
Dr. Rebecca Marie Reck http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5894-4130 University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Rebecca M. Reck is a Teaching Associate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research includes alternative grading, entrepreneurial mindset, instructional laboratories, and equity-focused teaching. She teaches biomedical instrumentation, signal processing, and control systems. She earned a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Dr. Stephanie M Gillespie University of New Haven [biography]

Stephanie Gillespie serves as the Associate Dean of the Tagliatela College of Engineering at the University of New Haven. She coordinates the first semester engineering course and support various college level initiatives included recruitment, retention, advising, assessment, curriculum, and more. She previously specialized in service learning while teaching at the Arizona State University in the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program. She has stayed active in engineering education research and has explored research questions related to makerspaces, service learning, faculty development, entrepreneurial mindset, and women in engineering.
Dr. Natasha Mamaril http://orcid.org/https://0000-0003-4883-471X University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Natasha Mamaril is currently the Associate Director for Research and Professional Development in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Grainger College of Engineering. She worked in the undergraduate research space for over 10 years managing and overseeing Grainger Engineering undergraduate research programs and college-wide initiatives.She has a B. S. in Chemical Engineering and obtained her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Educational Psychology from the University of Kentucky. She also has nine years of industry experience. Her research interests include academic motivation, assessment of student learning, and program evaluation.

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

« View session